Auctions | Free Auctions | Online Auctions

Inside Job: Avoiding Work-at-Home Scams; Don't Be Taken In

Had enough of the rat race? Maybe it's time to start your own business -- and many people have had success opening shop from within their homes. In our Inside Job special feature, we've gathered information you can use to learn the ins and outs of doing a home-based business right.

Audri and Jim Lanford are co-directors of Scambusters.org . They were online to discuss the pitfalls awaiting those who don't snoop out work-at-home scams -- and how to avoid them.

The Post's Annys Shin examined the topic of work at home scams in her latest entry to her consumer blog, The Checkout .

For more on entrepreneur ism, visit last year's Small Business 101 special feature. And there is plenty more information on jobs and careers in our online Jobs section .

The transcript follows below.

____________________
like to start the discussion off with a general question about ScamBusters. Who are you, why did you start the web site and what do you consider the primary need you are attempting to address?

Audri Lanford: ScamBusters.org is a public service that we've been publishing for 12 years to help people protect themselves from Internet scams. We have about 2 million visitors and 110,000 subscribers to our free newsletter. Scammers are getting more and more clever, so we want to help people not get taken.

Forestville, Md.: I'm retired and looking into working out of my home, something to supplement my retirement. I have been trying to do paid surveys and have yet to earn any money. Recently I've signed up for eBay. My question is can you actually make the kind of money they advertise that you can or is it just another scam?

Audri Lanford: Paid surveys will most likely not lead to earning any decent money. You might earn a few dollars and get a few products, but that's it.

You can earn money selling on eBay -- tens of thousands of people do. However, you have to know what you're doing. And, you do work -- it's not that you get money just popping up in your bank account.

Start small.

You can find some good advice by going to Ezine Articles and typing eBay into the article search.