Work At Home Schemes

In a bad economy, you might be tempted to try and make extra money at home. Countless work-at-home Web sites claim you can earn thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. But be wary. The Federal Trade Commission has gone after hundreds of work-at-home schemes in recent years. Consumer Reports looked at several current offers and can tell you what kinds to avoid.

For instance, maybe you’re handy and would like to assemble flies for fly-fishing or other products at home. Gone Fish’n Tackle Company promises to pay 50 cents per fly. But Consumer Reports says here’s the catch: After you pay for the materials from Gone Fish’n, you’d have to tie more than 30 flies an hour just to make minimum wage. A longtime fisherman says that even with his experience, he couldn’t tie that many good flies in an hour, and certainly not all day long.

Another site—MyEasyHomeJob.com—promises to teach you how to make as much as $350,000 a year stuffing envelopes and mailing company circulars. Consumer Reports paid $67 for access to a Web site that tells you how to place ads and ensnare other people in get-rich-quick schemes.

Then there’s Google Money Tree, which is not affiliated with the Google search engine. It claims its free CD will tell you an “amazing secret” of selling on the Internet. The information isn’t very helpful and if you don’t cancel within a week, the company will charge your credit card $72 a month for access to its Web site.

Consumer Reports says that before you sign up for any offer, check with the Better Business Bureau at: http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews. It gave all three of those companies a big “F.“

Consumer Reports contacted all three companies, but only Gone Fish’n responded. A spokesperson says dissatisfied customers can get a full refund on the fly-tying kit within 45 days of purchase.