You have decided to start a home based business, but you want to find a honest, legit home based business.  With all the scams out there , you are unsure of how to go about finding one that is not a scam. Before starting a home business, there are many factors to consider. Many work at home opportunities are honest and will not rip you off , but also, some are scams. By learning to research work at home opportunities and the companies will protect you from the people that are scammers. Many people think about starting their own home business, but are apprehensive because they are afraid of being scammed.

You can protect yourself, and find an honest and legit home based business. The first thing you must do before you make any decisions about joining any work at home business, is research the opportunity and the company thoroughly. This will be your best defense against being scammed. One thing to remember, If it sounds to good to be true, more than likely it is a scam.

Here is some places that you can check and do research on any work at home business. If you have been scammed I have listed where and how to file a complaint.

Research: check for listings with National Fraud Information Center at:

http://www.fraud.org/

Contact your local Better Business Bureau:

http://www.bbb.org

There you will find a link to locate the BBB in your area. Also you will find information on work at home opportunities and scam.

You can also conduct researches on business opportunities on Newsgroups. If someone has been scammed by a work at home business, they will most likely post this information on these forums.

Google Groups

http://www.groups.google.com/

Yahoo Groups

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/

Scam Busters: helps people protect themselves from Internet Scams.

http://www.scambusters.com/

WorldWideScam: offers funny insight into some of the more outrageous scams today.

http://www.worldwidescam.com/

The United States Postal Service: has several web pages on their website about scams including work at home schemes, multi-level-marketing schemes, and how to file a mail fraud complaint.

http://www.usps.com/postal inspectors/

The Federal Trade Commission: Find information on work at home scams, and business opportunity schemes.

http://www.ftc.gov

The National Consumer League's: National Fraud Information Center: Offers information on pyramid schemes, MLM, and how to report a fraud.

http://www.nclnet.org/

Remember, You should always research any company or work at home business before you decide to join.  Never jump right in and join without looking into work at home opportunities, because you may find that you have been scammed . Not all work at home businesses are legit, and this is why you need to protect yourself from them.

If you have been scammed by one of these schemes, here is what you can do to get your money back and stop them from scamming anyone else:

1)  Contact the National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060 or visit their website at:

http://www.fraud.org/

2)  Contact the Attorney General in your local state.

3)  File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in the fraudulent business's state. You can find contact information for each state at the BBB website at:

http://www.bbb.org/BBBComplaints/lookup.asp/

4)  List them with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at:

http://www.ifccfbi.gov/

5)  Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Call them at 1-800-876-7060 or visit their website at:

http://www.ftc.gov/

About The Author

Tina Barraclough is a stay at home mom and owner of http://best-home-based-business-idea.com Visit her website for Business Opportunities, free e-books, Business Articles, etc.
tinabarr4@msn.com