9 red flags in work-from-home offers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission publishes clear advice on job scams, business opportunity scams and multi-level marketing. These nine signs come up again and again.

The red flags

1. Guaranteed income. Real businesses can't promise what you'll earn. "Make $5,000 a month" in the headline is a warning, not a feature.
2. Pay to get the job. A legitimate employer doesn't charge you to start. Fees for "training", "certification" or "starter kits" are a classic sign of a scam.
3. Pressure to decide now. "Only 3 spots left" and countdown timers are there to stop you from thinking it over.
4. Money comes from recruiting, not selling. If the main way to earn is signing up other people, ask who actually buys the product. The FTC warns about this pattern.
5. Earnings only in screenshots. Screenshots of dashboards and big checks are easy to fake and say nothing about typical results.
6. No product you'd buy anyway. Ask yourself: would I pay for this if there were no income opportunity? If not, be careful.
7. Vague answers about costs. You should be able to see every fee, upgrade and monthly charge before you pay anything.
8. Asked to buy inventory or deposit checks. Buying stock you have to resell, or depositing a check and sending part of the money back, are well-known scams.
9. No way to cancel or get a refund. Read the terms. If cancelling is hard to find, assume it will be hard to do.

Ask these before you join

The FTC suggests asking the person recruiting you two simple questions:

• "How much money did you make last year, after expenses?"
• "What were your expenses last year?"

A good recruiter will answer both. If they change the subject, that's your answer.

A 2-minute checklist

• I can see every cost before paying.
• There's a real product I'd consider using anyway.
• I can try it free or for less than $20.
• I know how to cancel.
• I'm only spending money I can afford to lose.