There are several great work from home opportunities, however for every legitimate program there seems to be ten or more scams. Being caught in a scam could result in a serious loss of money, identity theft, or worse. It will shake your confidence and willingness to continue to follow opportunities. It is an absolute shame that people try and take advantage of those who just want to further themselves finically and personally. It is also one of the reason that the work from home market has begun to acquire such a bad stigma.

Though there is no shortage of scams there are ways that one can wade through the lies and find the legitimate opportunities. It is important to be able to have a strategy to tell the difference between legitimate and scam programs. What is the program claiming? Is it claiming unlimited success with very little or no work? There is one fact that rings true in life. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Anything that is going to make you an income is going to require work on your part.

Does the program specify an unrealistic timeline in which you will become wealthy or successful? Unless you win the lottery you will not get rich overnight. It will take time for you to generate a large income and you will have many obstacles to overcome and that will help you grow.

What does the program have to offer, what kind of support to they have if you need help, are they over selling? Look at the program itself, see if they have an active forum, call any contact information that they have and ask questions. Good programs sell themselves and do not need all that much flashy advertising.

Like all business opportunities you must thoroughly research any program that you intend to participate in. You should go to a popular website and put in “the program name, scam” see what comes up. Go to professional sites like the better business bureau www.bbb.org and see if there is anything negative said about the business. There are several referral services that provide listings of proven and legitimate work from home opportunities for people to review. I personally own one such service www.wealthfromhometoday.com I strive to only provide legitimate opportunities in my directories. Even if you use mine or other services you still should make sure that you follow the steps mentioned above.

Never give up on your dreams and don't let con artist take advantage of your desires. Last but certainly not least use your gut feeling. If you have a bad feeling about a program then it is best to leave it alone. Also understand that there is no such thing as a “free” program. You will inevitably have to put in some investment, advertising, time, subscriptions, etc. Most legitimate programs do cost an initial startup fee and almost all programs will require you to do some advertising. You need to developed good business since and keep track of your expenses.

Don't overdo it; if you cannot afford to spend a thousand dollars a week then don't spend a thousand a week on advertising. If you do not own a business you will have to provide your SSN for a W-9. The federal government requires W-9 for tax purposes so do not be surprise if you get a W-9 request, in fact be leery if you do not. Do what you can and reinvest some of your profit back into your business.

I must also make the point that a lot of people who said that they have been “scammed” by a legitimate program joined the program with unrealistic expectations of success and poor business sense.