Having a remote job can help you transition to a full or part time business that you can work from home or any location. Many times remote work is flexible, helping you save money, while earning full or part time income and balancing other household responsibilities.

Transitioning to a Home Office

As a transition from working in the office, to starting a business or side hustle, many people who work a traditional 9 to 5 in the office can add a part time work from home job.

If the work from home job is a good fit, they transition away from the office with a part time work from home job, working their way to a full time work from home job. 

Another benefit or working from home is that you can regain time spent commuting. For example, if you spend a half hour each way driving to work, you can easily add an hour or more to your day. That time can be used to start a full or part time side hustle to bring in even more income to your household.

Whether choosing a work from home job or side hustle, earning from home has become a very attractive option for many people. 

Savvy scammers know that the prospect of working from home is really attractive. And if you're not careful it can be easy to become swept up into something unwanted.

Striking While the Iron is Hot

Our Facebook page provides remote job leads from a number of sources, including Indeed, Simplyhired, WeWorkRemotely, Jobicy, ProBlogger, and Remote.co. These companies source jobs from across the web with jobs in North and South America, Canada and EU.

Remote jobs tend to be filled quickly and the competition is fierce. Our page lists remote opportunities as soon as they are provided by their respective sources. This give our followers a quick and easy way to find remote opportunities before they are found by the masses.

The Types of Remote Work You'll Find

Some of the jobs you'll find on our page are full or part time, some have set hours, others offer schedule flexibility, others are freelance opportunities with no benefits, others are remote opportunities with benefits.

The companies are traditional, well known companies who are hiring talent to work from home, because they recognize the benefits of having a remote staff. In these roles you will have the same benefits as employees who work in the offices.

Other jobs may be contract or freelance roles where you'll be paid for each assignment or on an hourly basis with no benefits.

It's important to read the job descriptions carefully, because there are lots of way to work from a remote location. Additionally, the job itself is not offered by the job site, like Indeed, or SimplyHired,  that advertised it.

These jobs are offered by a number of different employers. Some employers you'll recognize, others not so much. And this is why it's very important to do your homework before applying for any remote opportunity found online.

Each job site (like Indeed, SimplyHired, etc) has procedures and systems in place to reduce or eliminate scam listings and for vetting employers that come through their sites. However, even with the best systems in place there will be scammers who find a way to get through.

Recognizing Scams to Stay Safe Online

We recommend that you perform the steps outlined in this article and check sites like the Better Business Bureau, and any similar organizations for for jobs outside the U.S. While there's no guarantee that you won't be scammed, performing these steps will reduce your chances of being taken advantage of.

When you start your remote job search, go into it expecting to being exposed to scams. Unfortunately, scammers are present in every aspect of our lives, these days. It's up to us as consumers to be aware, as questions and avoid anything that doesn't seem right.

What is a Remote Job Scam?

A scam occurs when a scammer lists a fake job position with the intent of stealing money or sensitive personal information. Scammers also do things like impersonate recruiters and legitimate companies to earn your trust.

Those unfamiliar with these types of scams (frequently of the “too good to be true” variety) may then unknowingly provide the fraudulent “employer” with personal or financial information, putting themselves at risk for identity theft or other cyber crimes.

It's important to research any company you're interested in working for. And avoid these warning signs when searching for a remote job:

• Never pay for a job
• Never give financial information
• Information about the company can't be found
• Don't give remote employers access to all your funds
• You're being pressured
• The salary doesn't seem right for the work
• The company promises to send you a huge payment upfront
• Glaring grammatical or spelling errors in the listing
• The contact email is personal, i.e. gmail, yahoo, etc.
• Your salary depends on recruitment
• Never put your home address on a resume
• Walk away from anything that doesn't feel right
• Remote jobs involving receiving or processing checks 
• Cold calls about jobs
• Higher-than-average pay
• Interview process is done strictly over email
• Fake URLs, company names, and photos; impostors of well-known companies
• Mystery shopping, re-shipping, check-cashing, and car wrap job offers 

Not doing your homework when working with a new company can result in not getting paid for the work you performed, being asked to perform tasks that are illegal, receiving paychecks that bounce,  and having money stolen from your bank account.

You can also suffer long term financial losses if a scammer gets into your financial information, even when giving out something as simple as information to set up "direct deposit".

What Scammers are Looking For

Those perpetuating employment fraud seek at least one of two things from their potential victims: money or personal and financial information. Because normal employers have close access to both these items regularly, it leaves many job seekers with their guard down. 

Sometimes scammers strike immediately upon making contact by stealing money from your accounts. In other cases fraudsters lay a trail of deception for weeks or months, slowly taking money from an unaware victim. 

So it's important to know that just because you "start" the job and get a check, scammers may not strike immediately. If you receive an offer to send you a huge check upfront for work performed, walk away. In some cases scammers have been known to send a huge check to perform a tasks like shipping, buying things, processing money orders, etc., and then suddenly they disappear.

If this happens, by the time your bank determines that the check has bounced, you can be left holding the bag for outstanding purchases or other expenses if remote employer suddenly ceases to exist. 

Performing Company Research

When you find an opportunity that you're interested in, start out by performing a quick Google search for information on the company, the person you're interacting with, or both.  When you find a profile, website or other information, review it with a critical eye.

Many employment scammers spend countless hours to present the position as authentic. In fact, most people reported that they engaged with an employment scam because it seemed legitimate.

Checking sites like Glassdoor for ratings and employee reviews can be very helpful in performing company research.  Seeing what others who have worked for the company in the same or similar roles will give you insight on what it's like to work there. The rating puts together the experiences of others as a whole and helps you evaluate whether it might be a good experience for you. Be aware that you may not find ratings on Glassdoor for newer or smaller companies. 

Fake or Spoofed Websites are Common

One common tactic scammers use is to impersonate a legitimate company by using real business names and company information. Even if the job is with a familiar company, look for these signs of a spoofed website:

1. Look closely at the domain name. One way fake websites trick people is by using a domain name that is extremely close to a real business’ or organization’s domain name. Upon closer examination, you might notice that two letters are swapped or it’s just slightly misspelled. If you find a spelling error in the domain name, you’re not on the official site and it’s best to close the tab.
2. Watch out for tricky subdomains. Sometimes attackers hope you will confuse a subdomain with the real domain name of their website. For example, a scammer might use the domain name netflix.com.movies.com hoping you won’t notice the real domain name is actually movies.com.
3. Be careful with links in emails. Phishing scams are extremely common. A scammer might send you an email that looks like it comes from a reputable business in hopes that you’ll click on the links without a second thought. Always hover over links in unsolicited emails and even in emails that come from a brand, business, or person you think you know. If the link doesn’t match the blue text or if it’s a short link and you can’t tell where it leads, don’t click it. If you do, you may end up on a lookalike website where your personal information could be compromised.
4. Check the design quality. Low quality visuals, odd layouts, and poor web design can all be warning signs of a fake website. Before you take action on a site, ask yourself if the design quality measures up to the reputation of the business or person it represents.
   
   
5. Pay attention to contact information and shop policies. Legitimate online stores should provide you with a physical address and working phone number in the contact section. If those elements are missing, it’s best to take your business elsewhere. Return and shipping policies should be clear and easy to understand. If a shop has policies, but you aren’t convinced it’s legitimate, try copying and pasting the policy section into your web browser to see if it’s been copied and pasted from another website.
6. Do a search for reviews and potential scams. If you still can’t tell if a website is real or fake, try typing the website name along with the word “scam” or “reviews” into your web browser. If other people have been victims of a fake site, you’re likely to find reports when you search for scams. A reputable store should have plenty of reviews for you to examine. Be alert to reviews that are generic, sound robotic or unnatural, or are too brief as these could be fakes.

Next, search sites like Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn to see if you can find a company profile on one or all of those sites. Employees typically leave messages on those sites and give them ratings on things like working conditions, salary and benefits. This will give you an idea of the experiences others have had working for the company and help to make the case that it's a legitimate company.

The Better Business Bureau is a good source of information and they have a "scam tracker" that helps you review and report scams. They also have a study that they did on job scams which is a great source of information.

If you're not able to find anything on the company, that is a red flag that something isn't right. If a company has no online presence, it's probably not one you would want to work with. Plus, if they're not online, they wouldn't be able to offer a remote job opportunity, right?

Scammers are even impersonating recruiters, so beware if a recruiter contacts you regarding a remote job.  Perform a Google search on their company and check LinkedIn to see if you can find a personal profile for the person contacting you. It's important to know if they are a real person.

A Few More Things to Note:

Finally, here are the things to be on the lookout for:

• Never Pay for a Job

Asking you for personal financial information, is a no no. If a company does this, walk way, quickly.  Never give out financial information. Requiring that potential employees buy something, (even something that's called a "kit" or "resource") is not how legitimate companies operate.

• Information about the company can't be found

If you're not able to find anything online about the company that's a red flag that something is not right. How can a company have a remote job, if they don't have an online presence? If a person contacts you about a job, ask for their website and a return phone number, and check both to see if things check out.

• You're being pressured

A reputable company is not going to pressure you to start a job. If you're feeling any kind of pressure, walk away. That's also a red flag that something isn't right.

• The salary doesn't seem right for the work

If you're being offers a huge salary for a job that normally doesn't pay what you're being offered. Check sites like Glassdoor or Indeed for company and salary information. There is information on those sites for the going rate for a particular company and job title. If the salary seems too good to be true, it usually is. If things don't match up, walk away.

• The company promises lots of money upfront
  

As my mom used to say, there is no free lunch. This is a red flag, and you should avoid any company that uses this kind of language or makes these kinds of promises. If a company offers to send you a huge check before any work is performed, that's a red flag.

• Glaring grammatical or spelling errors in the job listing

Reputable companies take time to proofread before sending out job requisitions. They are more than likely approved by more than one person, to catch errors. If you see that there are lots of typos, that would be a red flag.

• The contact email is personal, i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

This is a real red flag. There should be a company email address and I would avoid a company that sent me correspondence using their personal email.

• Your salary depends on recruitment

That's no way to make a living!  There are legitimate commission based jobs, however if your income depends on bringing more people to the job, that's probably not a job you would want. There are plenty of sales and account executive jobs with reputable companies that don't require that you recruit.

• Never put your home address on a resume

When you're applying for a remote job, your address shouldn't matter. If a job is only available in a certain state, it will normally state the requirement in the listing. You can also ask a recruiter if a job is available in your state, but your home address is still not something they need to determine whether you should be a candidate for employment.

Until you know that you're dealing with a legitimate company provide as little personal information as possible. If you find during your research, that you've found a legitimate company you want to work with, and the information is needed for a specific purpose, you can provide it then.

Don't give remote employers access to all your funds

Never give a company access to all your funds. Have a separate account with a payment debit card set up that will allow you to receive your paycheck. Have alerts set on the card if possible to let you know if there is any unusual activity. Use a card that allows you to transfer in your paycheck to your primary account once the payment has cleared. Make sure to limit the paycheck account only to the amount that you expect to be paid.

If you locate a scam, or you feel that a company is not legitimate, report it to the Better Business Bureau in the U.S. and the site where you find the job, i.e. Indeed, LinkedIn, etc., so that they can take it down.

We have a number of resources for job seekers, including a Facebook page that shows you remote job openings, resume templates and other resources. Sign up for our news, Remote Jobs Made Easy to learn more about finding a remote job that will enable you to lose the commute and use that time to do the things that matter most.