Its bad enough to lose your money to work-at-home scammers, but you can also lose your freedom! There are several scams in which the victim unwittingly perpetuates the scam and as a result is at risk for getting in legal hot water. Scams that could result in an arrest include:

Envelope stuffing: The Federal Trade Commission does investigat and act against people who promote envelope stuffing. Unknowing victims send money to get a “job” envelope stuffing and are taught how to use the same ad and system to get others to promote envelope stuffing as well thereby perpetuating the scam.

Fake Check Scams: Obviously this scam isn’t  advertised as “fake check scam”. Instead scammers use titles such as “customer service”, “mystery shopping”, and “payment processor”. But customer service and mystery shopping are sometimes legitimate options. So how can you tell the difference? When a scammer asks you to deposit a check (eve if its an official looking cashier’s check) into your bank account and then send back a cashier’s check for the full amount minus 10%, you are risking being a victim of a fake check scam. Not only can you lose thousands of dollars and banking privileges, but since its against the law to cash fake checks, you can be arrested as well.

Repackaging/Freight Jobs: In this scam, the victim is “hired” to accept packages, wrap them in new packaging, and ship them to the “employer”. The problem is that the items in the packages are bought with stolen credit cards. When the authorities track down the purchases, they find and arrest the victim for credit card fraud.

You might be thinking that once you explain the situation you’ll be okay. But ignorance isn’t an acceptable defense. Many people have paid thousands of dollars to “explain” the situation and get out of jail.

When researching work-at-home options, take the time to learn about the scams as well. All three listed above should be avoided at all costs. If you ever feel tempted, use your common sense. Is it really cost effective for a company to pay someone $1 or more per stuffed envelope when they can use a machine or pay minimum wage and have them stuffed for much cheaper? What employer would trust his employee to return thousands of dollars? Why would he need an employee to use a personal bank account to help it do business? And what company would need its packages re-packed on its way to its destination? It all doesn’t make sense when you really think it through.