By Lora Pabst
The Better Business Bureau doesn't want consumers to get lured in by work-at-home offers that proliferate during tough economic times. A Woodbury company offering a $39 program caught the attention of the BBB after it highlighted an endorsement from BBBreviews.org, an unrelated website that claims to investigate scams.
I wrote about the BBB's warning in today's paper. Spokesman Dan Hendrickson said the BBB doesn't want consumers to be fooled by imitation sites.
"Our fear is they are going to see BBB and think we already did the legwork," he said.
The real BBB has a list of tips for consumers to identify potential work-at-home scams. They say these offers will:
- Never offer you regular salaried employment.
- Promise you huge profits and big part-time earnings.
- Use personal testimonials but never identify the person so that you can check with them.
- Require money for instructions or merchandise before telling you how the plan operates.
- Assure you of guaranteed markets and a huge demand for your handiwork.
- Tell you that no experience is necessary.
- Often have misspelled words on their web sites.
- Take your money and give you little or nothing in return except heartbreak and grief.
The BBB's website is at www.thefirstbbb.org or you can call 651-699-1111.
