How To Avoid Work at Home Scams 5 Precautions to Take

How To Avoid Work at Home Scams 5 Precautions to TakeHow To Avoid Work at Home Scams 5 Precautions to TakePeople seek out work from home opportunities for a variety of reasons such as a yearning for better work-life balance, the aspiration to reduce their carbon footprint, or the desire to be more productive by spending less time commuting and more time working. While more opportunities to work from home exist than ever before, there are challenges and pitfalls of finding a work at home job that can complicate a job search. So if you are looking for home-based work, take theseprecautions in order toguard yourself from zugreifbar job scams, and then you can focus on landing a fulfilling, legitimate job opportunityHere are 5 Tips to help you avoid work at home scams1. Protect your social security number (SSN).If someone steals your social security number (SSN), they can obtaincredit cards, apply for loans, and other activities that can damage your reputation, credit, and financial secu rity. Because of these risks, it is highly important to use it only when necessary.For tax reasons, you do need to provide your SSN to be paid by a legitimate employer. However, you may groe nachfrage into a number of scenarios when someone who does not need your SSN requests it from scammers posing as employers to legitimate employers requesting it on job applications.It is in your best interest to provide your SSN to an employer only after you have accepted a job. By that point, make sure you have collected and confirmed complete contact information for the employer including contact names, company name, website, street address, phone, and email. In addition, never send your SSN to anyone via IM, email, or an unsecured form on a website.Security expert, Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com suggests that people even consider incorporating as a business, so that they can provide the employer with a federal employer identification number (EIN) as opposed to an SSN. Otherwise , for tax purposes you will ultimately have to give out your SSN either before or after you get paid. preferably after. Mr. Siciliano also recommends that after you provide your SSN to anyone, you think about applying for a credit freeze or fraud alerts as protection from identity theft.2. Consider how you disseminate your contact information and work history.For any resume, and especially ones you use to apply for work at home job, consider the following recommendationsLimit your contact information Limit the contact information you place on your resume to your name, an email address, and if necessary a cell phone number. Use an email address that you setup specifically for your job search, and keep it professional (such as jane at yahoo.com vs. wackyjane at yahoo.com).Remove work history specifics Consider including company descriptions instead of including employers names (e.g., mid-sized online advertising agency). Forego specific dates, and instead include the length of time yo u worked for an employer (2 years and 4 months instead of April 2005 August 2007). If you choose to do these things, it is worth mentioning at the bottom of your resume that specific work history information can be provided upon request.Posting your resume online Read the privacy policies of any website where you deutsche post dhl your resume. Dont include unnecessary personal or contact information on an online resume. Keep track of everywhere you post your resume, and go back and delete your resume/account if you are no longer looking for a job.Never include unique identity information such as SSN, drivers license number, alien registration number, passport number, employer identification number, or even birth date on any resume, cover letter, or job application.Only provide this information on an as needed basis, and only after youve confirmed the company is legitimate.Employer requests for information If you ever feel pressured to provide personal or sensitive information in o rder to apply for a work at home job, ask the employer for an explanation about why the information is being collected. If you are not satisfied with their explanation or dont receive one it could very well be a scam.3. Defend your computer.This is for anyone who uses a computer, but especially if youre using your computer to look for an online job.Most attacks on computers come from the Internet, and through the popular browsers and operating systems, but no operating system or browser is safe from attack. Malware, malicious software installed without a computer owners consent or knowledge, can have devastating results for their computer and privacy. If a keylogger, for example, is installed on your computer, it can reveal your passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information by capturing and reporting back to the bad guys every keystroke made on your computer.All computer users should regularly activate an antivirus abtaster and a dedicated web scanner. Affordable products such asAVG Anti-Virus(which even offers afree version) provide crucial protection. Browsers, operating systems, and software need to be update regularly with the latest patches to protect them from the thousands of new malware released daily.Other smart ideasRegularly back up your hard drive, so that if something did happen to your computer, you wouldnt lose all of your data.Consider using an alternative browser to Internet Explorer (which is known as a more likely target for attacks), such as Firefox which offersan array of security featuresandadd-onsthat can enhance browser security.Install a firewall on your computer.4. Protect your financial information.Your financial information can be compromised online in a number of ways, but you can take steps to protect your bank accounts, credit card numbers, and other financial information. Some of this is redundant, but worth mentioning againGuard your SSN number and contact information (we cant say this enough).Defend your com puter on an ongoing basis.Monitor your statements and report and suspicious activity immediately.Check yourcredit report, or enroll in a regular credit monitoring service which will notify you if theres anything suspicious or irregular activity in your name.Never provide your passwords or security question answers to anyone. Ever. leid by phone, email, or IM.Dont store login information in your browser, especially if its a shared computer.Do not provide credit card or bank account information to a potential employer as part of a job application process.Before making a payment to a company- research the legitimacy of the company, read its privacy policy, andmake sure that it is a secure website.5. Consider your online behavior.For many of us, much of our professional and personal lives take place online. Email, blog, social network, and tweet with an awareness that predators and scammers do use these online tools to get information about their victims. A few guidelinesAvoid posting i nformation like contact information or your resume in any publicly accessible online location.Read terms of use and privacy policies to determine how websites will handle or share private information you provide them.When in doubt, opt out.This is to help prevent websites from selling or sharing your information with other sites or companies.Never post or say anything you would not want your family, employers, prospective employers, colleagues, or neighbors to see.Use privacy settings as appropriate.Dont inadvertently reveal information on a blog or social networking profile that can be used to break into your accounts. For example, answers to common security questions such as your mothers maiden name, high schools name, pets name, favorite sports team, or the place you met your spouse could easily come up in online interactions. If they do, change your security questions.Sara Sutton, CEO of, advises, Unfortunately a lot of scammers try to prey on job-seekers, especially in the work at home niche. You should always exercise caution online, and while you are looking for a work at home job be particularly careful. Make use of these precautions, common sense, and persistence so that you can become one of the millions of people who successfully, and safely, work from home.Additional Resources for Protecting Yourself Against Online Identity TheftFederal Trade Commissions Identity Theft SiteIdentityTheftResourceCenterScared Safe Lifes Little Identity Theft Prevention Handbookby Todd M. Feinman, CEO, Identity FinderThe Tech Herald articlesSecurity Myths Your Should Know,Anti-Virus and other layers of protection (Part 1),Anti-Virus and other layers of protection (Part 2)Readers, how do you avoid work at home scams? Let us know in the comments section below