Consider carefully the following guidelines when trying to find a legitimate work at home opportunity.

1.    How long has the company been in the industry? A solid and reliable company should have been operations for at least 5 years or more. Watch out for new companies who have just launched within the year or the past months as these businesses are still unstable and can close out or crash at any time.

2.    What is the company’s reputation in the industry? A great company is certainly recognized in the market. Read reviews from various sources and learn what others have to say about the company.

3.    What is the physical address of the business? A real company should have a physical address where all its operations actually take place. Physical address and a landline telephone number are two of the basic qualifications for businesses before they are granted permits or licenses.

Stay away from companies that offer big-time home business opportunities if they don’t have an actual office that you can personally visit. Scams or fake businesses often give only their mobile number and e-mail.

4.    Does it offer regular compensation? Work-at-home opportunities that are offered by stable companies usually offer regular wages with competitive rates. You should be paid according to the tasks you are assigned to do. However, be wary about companies that promise to pay exceptionally large salaries for doing very simple tasks or not requiring any work. There is often a catch to that offer.

5.    Are you required to invest money for training or equipment? Some legitimate companies do require payment for the sales kit or the equipment necessary for the business. Nevertheless, many scammers use this tactic to acquire money from unsuspecting victims. Watch out if you are asked to submit an expensive sum of money in exchange for your training or equipment.

6.    Do you need to have certain skills to get the job? Watch out for opportunities that are open to everyone. A real company who is looking for work-at-home workers should seek specific qualifications. The scope of the job should also be clearly defined and explained.

7.    Who are the founders of the company? Who are the people behind the company? It’s important to know the owner and the managers of the company. Get to know their background and reputation. Do they really have the skills and capability to run a company? What does their background say about them?

8.    Are you encouraged to sign up in a hurry? A legitimate and stable company should have confidence in itself and would not rush applicants to sign-up right away or the opportunity would disappear. If a company forces you to sign up today, there is a risk that the business is a scam.

The fact is, many home based businesses that are advertised on the market are actually fraudulent or scams. People who are not aware could easily get attracted to the promise of high paying work-at-home jobs. They could instantly sign up for the business, invest their hard-earned money without realizing that they’ve already fallen in a trap.

Therefore, if you have plans of starting a business, be alert and watch out for scams. Before you plunge in to any home based business opportunity, carefully examine your options and do extensive research. What are the signs of work-at-home scams that you should be aware of? How can you spot a fake opportunity from the legitimate one? Here are some tips:

Incomplete contact details. A legitimate company should give its complete contact information – physical address, telephone number, fax number, etc. If a company only uses a cell phone number or an e-mail address to keep in touch with clients or refuses to give complete information,  chances are, it’s a fake.

You need to pay to get hired. It’s best to stay away from work-at-home jobs or home based business opportunities that require you to invest money in order to get hired. You may be asked to send in a “one-time training fee” or “membership fee” to get started. Since submitting upfront payment leaves you no assurance that you can will a real job, better find a company that doesn’t require any payment at all.

There are no products or service to sell. Does the company promise you to earn big without doing anything? If you’re not required to sell anything or the company has no actual products to sell, it is a major warning sign that the company could be a scam.

It is a new company with no track record. It is better to join a company that has been in business for at least five years or longer. This way, you can check its history to see if it has a good, clean track record. A new company may not be stable enough to last on the market. Aside from this, since the company has just started, there is no way you can check its reliability and reputation.

You should sign up today or never at all. Watch out for companies that compel its readers to sign up immediately before the opportunity disappears. A legitimate home based business opportunity should be stable enough to last for a long time. You should not be forced to make decisions in a hurry just to grab the chance to be part of the company.

Don’t be fooled by spam mails. Scammers often resort to spamming to victimize unsuspecting consumers. You may receive hundreds of mails in your inbox from unknown senders inviting to you to join their company.  Bear in mind that legitimate companies do not advertise in this manner.

Look out for the ‘Get Rich’ scheme. The promise that you can get rich quickly or that you can earn thousands of dollars weekly or monthly never fails to attract people. But don’t be fooled!  If this is how a company advertises the business, chances are you dealing with a scammer.

Be cautious about data entry work at home jobs. There are thousands of paid surveys and data entry jobs advertised in the internet. You may even be asked to pay a membership fee to get started. Beware! Before signing up for a data entry job, be sure that you have done extensive research about the company’s background and reputation.

Consider starting your own home business. If you are really serious about having a business or working from home, why not start out on your own? If you have a hobby, you may consider creating your own crafts or offering your services from the internet.

Check out forums or community business groups. To find potential home based business opportunities, you can also participate in forums or business groups online. You can learn a lot from other entrepreneurs based on their firsthand experiences. However, do not base your decision on information that you hear or read alone. After gathering ideas, be prepared to do your own investigation.

Inquire from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB monitors all businesses in the US so if there were complaints or legal cases filed against a company, you should be able find out about it.

Be prepared to work. Avoid home base business opportunities that promise you to earn big money without doing much work at all. Any type of business- whether online or offline involves hard work.If a particular company offers you the chance to be rich without hardly doing anything, then you should know that you are dealing with a scammer.