Is there a low tide in the till again? Ads like “Earn 1,500 euros by working from home!” come in handy. However, there are often bad tricks lurking behind it...

Dubious home work: Earn 2,500 euros a month part-time? Fine! But if you're now wondering, because 2,500 euros corresponds to the monthly income of a teacher, for example, and how are you supposed to earn that on the side... Then we can only say: Your doubts are completely justified!

the essentials in brief

  • There are many tricks to get money out of other people's pockets.
  • There have been common rip-off methods for part-time jobs for years, which we come across again and again at the NRW consumer advice center.
  • We describe some of them here.

Rip-off 1: The telephone scam

We can even tell you what usually happens when you dial the phone number provided. There is almost always a lot of talk and a lot of promise. Often you don't even get a chance to speak because the voice is coming from the tape at the other end. You rarely get information; most of the time you have to call a different phone number. This second number (or even the first) is often an expensive 0900 number that easily costs up to two euros per minute! Well, you think, for a few thousand extra euros a month you have to make sacrifices.

But even under the second number there is only a tape that refers to a third telephone number. When you finally have a human being on the line for the third number, you will often be questioned: name, address, telephone number, cell phone number, what your favorite deodorant is called, how often you go to the disco, how much you earn, etc. Apparently you will This information is used, for example, to refer you to companies as a test person.

[mk_ad]

Well, and then?! Then often nothing happens anymore because the people you expect to do a great job have already gotten everything they want: They earned money from the expensive 0900 numbers you called and they have your name plus address and many more personal information.

This data is worth its weight in gold for the alleged job broker. He can sell them to address dealers, who in turn flood the world with personally tailored advertising letters.

Rip-off 2: The business idea scam

Well, you think, there are also job offers on the Internet. You will definitely land on pages that are called “Working from home!” or “My own boss”. Strangely enough, it never says what kind of work it actually involves. Instead, “people like you and me” talk about their fabulous successes.

You have to click through pages of jubilant reports from people who supposedly became rich effortlessly - and then at the end (big surprise!) you can order the so-called "success concept" as a download for 29 euros! If you're in a hurry, you can also get training at a seminar for 75 euros. Without knowing where exactly the seminars will take place (only one city is mentioned) and what great things will be taught there, you should definitely register.

Some sites lure job seekers by saying you can supposedly earn hundreds of euros a month by texting. To find out how to do this, you sometimes have to sign up: either for a one-time fee or even a monthly subscription with “auto-renewal”.

Rip-off 3: The middleman scam

But there are other tricks to get money out of your pocket when looking for a job. So-called structural sales companies are not only targeting you, but also your friends. The scam: You become a “freelancer” for a company and have to buy a large batch of a certain product (slimming powder, cosmetic products, household appliances, etc.), which you are supposed to resell at a profit.

You become a middleman, so to speak. So that the stuff doesn't sit around in your shop forever, you start selling the products to your friends and relatives (you don't have a store). They then become annoyed within a very short time because you always want to sell them something.

[mk_ad]

Things get even worse when it comes to a multi-level marketing system. You will be offered hefty commissions if you recruit new sellers. So you should persuade people to deliver energy drinks or cheap cosmetics that can't be sold to your apartment so that you can get your commission.

These sales methods are often propagated in seminars and training courses in an atmosphere reminiscent of cults or psychogroups. Structural sales or multi-level marketing are not always completely clean in the criminal law sense: in many cases the criminal police are already investigating.

Rip-off IV: The work from home scam

Another nasty trick at the beginning is reminiscent of what one traditionally imagines as working from home: screwing together ballpoint pens, bagging letters, packing something. However, with some “job providers” you have to buy the individual parts beforehand and the finished items are then bought back.

[mk_ad]

Only: When you're done, the company no longer exists or they refuse to buy back the goods you painstakingly put together because you supposedly did something wrong. Unlucky …

When you should become suspicious:

  • If it is not stated what work or activity it is.
  • When unrealistically high earning potential is advertised.
  • If no company name or address is given.
  • If you are lured into becoming an “area director” or something similar.
  • If you have to sign “non-disclosure agreements”.
  • You should never (NEVER!) pay money in advance for a business idea or something similar. Regardless of whether the supposedly valuable and promising information is offered as a letter, on CD-ROM, as a download, seminar or in book form: stay away!
  • You should be careful not to dial expensive 0900 numbers. Most of the time you don't find out much about lucrative jobs there and instead you just get a big phone bill.
  • Even if you first have to buy the things you want to earn money with yourself, you still need to be extremely careful. Think carefully about how long you have to work to recoup your investments. And what do you do if you don't get rid of the goods at all?
  • Avoid pyramid schemes! You shouldn't make money by exploiting your friends and relatives by involving them in dubious business ideas in order to get a commission yourself. Friendship often ends when it comes to money.
  • The best addresses for looking for a job are still the employment agency, private advertisements in the newspaper and personal contacts. Just spread the word to neighbors and relatives that you are looking for a part-time job, and you will be surprised at how many babysitters, garden helpers and inventory helpers are needed in stores!

In keeping with the topic: More and more online rip-offs with puppies

Source: checked4you
Article image: Shutterstock / fizkes


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