Work at Home Scams

Scams come in all shapes and sizes, designed specifically to entice, swindle and trick as many people as possible. 

Working at home scams operate on the principle of pretending to provide part-time or work-from-home (WFH) job opportunities and alternative income streams for people who need to subsidise or replace their current income. They may even falsely use well-known e-commerce brands, like Amazon, to portray themselves as legitimate.

At-home employment scams may also be known as a “YouTube Like and Subscribe scam”, though this is more commonly used in countries like the Philippines and India.

In 2021, a company operating a similar scam in the US was banned by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after using illicit and deceitful practices to entice victims while falsely claiming to be affiliated with Amazon.

What is a Working From Home Scam?

You may have seen similar job adverts in the past, where an online advert – usually found at the bottom of an online news site or dodgy social media post – tries to convince you that “you can make thousands of pounds per day working from home”. 

Often, these fraudsters centre their scam around legitimate e-commerce platforms, like Amazon, Ecwid and Ecart, telling victims that they will be operating as employees or agents helping to increase sales. 

While you would believe you were working for a legitimate company, you would actually be doing tasks for a fake scammer, who would likely never pay you or con you into ‘spending money to make money’. 

How Do Remote Working Scams Work?

Typically, these online business scams involve using the phrase “missions” – essentially, work tasks. This is how victims are frequently approached and won over with the offer of working from home and earning easy money through the idea of these simple online “missions”. 

We have frequently seen the task of promoting a product being referred to as ‘missions’, with victims allocated around forty “missions” at a time.

These “missions” involve boosting sales of products listed on an e-commerce site like Amazon by interacting with a particular item, whether that be saving it to a wishlist, leaving a review, or adding it to their basket to artificially portray the item as being in high demand. In return, fraudsters claim to offer payment rates of around £25 per hour.

Examples of How Scammers Take Your Money

While there are many different types of working-from-home scams, some of them tend to follow similar patterns for when and how they actually take your money:

• Offering a more advanced role: The victim would now earn more money via commission from the products sold. However, in order to be eligible for this commission, they’re asked to deposit funds into a virtual account in order to purchase the items.

• Pressured to add more money to their account: Victims may be pressured repeatedly to place larger and larger sums of money into their accounts to complete more “missions” and to gain a larger return on their investment.

• False sense of security: Remote working scammers may show how much money the target has already “earned”, with victims sometimes even being allowed to withdraw some. This creates the illusion that the funds are freely accessible before being prompted for more money in return for bigger gains.

•  Requesting a fee for withdrawal or ‘ghosting’: Once these work-from-home scammers have got all they can out of their target, the victim’s account could be emptied, or a fee might be requested to ‘release the money’. They may also simply disappear and stop replying to messages.

These are all clear indications of scams, as no genuine company would require payment in order to access your own money.

Other Types of Working From Home Scams

While ‘missions’ type of WFH scams are one of the most common, fake remote companies can come in many forms – so it’s important to stay vigilant.

Here are some other examples of working-at-home scam roles to be cautious of:

• Virtual personal assistant job scams

• Mystery shopper job scams

• Reshipping/reselling scams

• Data entry job scams

• Medical billing job scams

• Investment scams

• Online survey scams

How to Spot a Work-at-Home Scam

While you now know how they work, what are some of the most common signs to spot them and avoid falling for them in the future?

• Too good to be true: In most of these cases, unrealistic offers with fairly high pay rates, seemingly minimal work and good flexibility are benefits which can entice people to explore these roles. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

• Pressure to invest/pay towards things: Part of the scam is getting their ‘employees’ to invest their money in some way, either as a ‘start-up fee’, a training fee, paying for supplies or by suggesting they’d receive commission on products by putting more money in their ‘account’. Either way, having employees pay any money to employers is a huge red flag. 

• Digital currencies: If the salary suddenly turns into digital currencies, such as Cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, or even if this is clear from the job description, this is a clear warning sign of an at-home job scam.

• Personal details requests: Remote scammers may request sensitive details, such as personal data and financial information, so be cautious of their authenticity before providing this information.

• The hiring process is simple: If the interview process is short and all communication has taken place over a messaging app, and in-person or video interviews are not on the cards, this is a warning sign of a remote working scam. 

• The company has no digital footprint: If your research into their company has come up with little to nothing – for example, they don’t have any employees on LinkedIn or have zero reviews – they’re likely a fake business.

Are All Work-From-Home Jobs Scams?

Absolutely not – there is a wealth of remote working jobs that are run by legitimate companies that simply don’t require office-based work. 

If you’re ever unsure, do your research into the company – you can check if they are registered on Companies House, if they have legitimate websites and social platforms, and you can check reviews for them on Glassdoor. 

What To Do If You’ve Been Scammed By a Fake Work-From-Home Job

The first thing to do is to report the incident. 

Report the at-home business scam initially to Action Fraud – the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. This will put the fake business on their radar and allow them to put further security measures in place to prevent more people from falling for this scam in the future.

Next, ensure that you’ve also reported the scam to the police, detailing the events of the incident, especially if you have lost significant amounts of money. They will provide you with a crime reference number, which will be valuable during any legal proceedings. 

Once the scam has been reported, you may want to file a legal claim. After discovering your new remote working job has been a scam, you may feel betrayed. The scammer has forced you to waste days, if not weeks or months, of your life, and you’ve not only lost the money you thought you’d earn, but also money that you’ve poured into the fake scheme. You’re entitled to justice.

Making a Claim Against a Remote Working Scammer

Choosing a trusted fraud and scam specialist solicitor, like Recovery Beacon ’, is essential to ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve. 

If you have lost money to a scam, whether it was a working-from-home, “mission” style scam or otherwise, do not suffer in silence. Recovering money can be incredibly difficult, but it may be possible – even if your bank has told you otherwise. 

Paul Hampson,Recovery Beacon ’ Chief Executive Officer, advises: 

“Never throw good money after bad when scammed, even if you believe it is your only hope to regain money you have already invested. Contact the police and gain legal support if you find yourself caught in a scam.”