iYogi Alerts: Work-at-home fraud

May 17, 2011

What is a work-at-home fraud? A trick to convince Internet users into believing that they can earn large sums of money by simply working from home

New York, NY, May 17, 2011 – iYogi, the provider of on-demand remote tech support services, has released a report on work-at-home fraud. This is a common type of fraud, which involves fraudsters, sending bulk e-mails to people, offering jobs online. These enticing e-mails provide supposed opportunities to work from home for few hours every day and earn large amounts of money. The latest edition of ‘iYogi fraud alerts‘ aims to create awareness and prevent people from falling prey to this kind of fraud. Based on research and feedback from its large subscriber base, iYogi continuously monitors and publishes activities to alert other customers of online scams and frauds.

There are a lot of people across the world today, who make a living, working part-time from home. While there are certainly many opportunities around, to make a living this way; there is always a risk of becoming a victim of work-at-home fraud. In this kind of fraud, e-mails are often sent by people, who own a fake company. Such companies affirm their authenticity and existence by setting up a fake website. Once a victim is lured in by the opportunity to work and earn from home, the company asks them for their bank account details in the pretext of needing the information to transfer their payments.  The  fraudsters would also ask for personal details of individuals such as social security number and date of birth. The information collected by them is used to monitor his/ her account activities. As soon as any large or worthwhile amount is credited into their account, the tracker wastes no time in draining it away, using the same information. The work-at-home fraud tempts people by offering easy-to-do jobs.

Stuffing Envelopes is one such job opportunity that initially offers a chance to earn money from performing a simple task of stuffing envelopes. However,  individuals who want to take up the opportunity are first asked to register by paying  a nominal registration fee.  But once the fee is paid, they are asked to convince more and more people to join the  scheme by mailing them information packs about the opportunity.  If one plans to pursue this job, he/ she may end up spending several hundred dollars in promotional activities like advertising, postage, stamps, envelops, printing, etc which may go waste if there are no takers for the scheme.

Medical Billing option lures people with promises of substantial income and do not ask for prior experience. Fraudsters direct consumers to call a toll-free number for more information. On making a call, a sales representative tempts the caller to register, stating that doctors are looking out for help with electronic claims processing that can be done from the comfort of one’s home. The fraudsters then offer to sell the caller everything one would need to start up a medical billing business for a few hundred dollars or more.  This usually means a software pack to process  claims and a list of potential clients. However, as the gullible victim soon finds out,  many doctors’ offices process their own medical claims and those who contract out their medical billing, often hire established firms and not unknown individuals who  work from home.

Craft Assembly Jobs mainly attracts people who enjoy crafting or assembling  things. These ads claim that one can make good money, assembling their craft products from home. The tasks offered can  involve  developing sign posts, stitching uniforms, mending shoes, making stuffed toys, etc. People, who show interest are asked to send money to cover instructions, and sometimes even the materials required to make a sample to send them. When the consumer receives the instructions, makes the sample and sends it across, they do not get paid for the same. Instead,  they are informed  that the sample did not pass the quality control inspection. In the end victims ends up without work and also loses the money invested.

Chain Letters  is a job opportunity that involves  making several copies of a letter and then passing it on to as many people as possible. Sometimes one is just required to email the letter to multiple recipients. In return, the person is promised earnings based on the number of letters/ emails that he or she manages to send out. Most of these are letters are of a manipulative nature which prey on people’s superstitions and predict bad luck or even death if the chain is broken. Not only does the person end up not getting paid for sending out such chain letters, he or she also loses out on the money paid to register.

What can be done about it?

• Be wary  of any unsolicited e-mail or letters related to work-at-home opportunities.
• Read  all advertisements for work-at-home jobs carefully and try figure out how authentic the opportunity is.
• If the company overstates their claims  of how effective their products or services are, the chances are that  it is a fraud.
• Do not get lured by opportunities to make  unreasonable profits.
• Use the  personal testimonials to reach out to the people and verify their authenticity and get more details.
• Never pay potential employers to work for them or receive information.
• Do not rush into jobs that do not ask for any prior  experience. All  genuine job offers come with certain minimum skill requirement.

What iYogi has to say:
“Working from home is becoming a popular option for people seeking flexibility to work on their own time and place. While many worthwhile opportunities are available today which offer a chance to work from home, there are a numerous frauds which target people who seek such opportunities,” says Vishal Dhar, President Marketing and co-founder of iYogi. “While an easy to do job and the potential of making good money while sitting at home can be tempting, one must be vigilant about spotting  job opportunities which sound too good to be true .”

About iYogi
iYogi is a global on-demand services company that provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. iYogi’s unique model, including proprietary iMantra technology and highly qualified technicians, is designed to eliminate computer-related stress and keep millions of digitally dependent consumers and small businesses protected and productive. iYogi — with its proven global expertise delivery model, intelligent customer insight systems, easy-to-use self-help tools and automated PC optimization and computer support services – offers users a simple yet comprehensive path to digital serenity. iYogi has perfected the remote technical support model to overcome the current limitations of in-store, on-site, or call center services. Major resellers and technology companies are turning to iYogi to improve customer satisfaction, reduce return rates, and deliver a compelling new-value added offering to customers. For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: http://www.iyogi.com.

Media Contact:
Chelsea Irwin
GlobalFluency
(650) 433-4163
cirwin@globalfluency.com