The U.S. government has implemented a law requiring employers to report their employees' earnings to the IRS. Because of this, many work at home companies require you to type in your SSN (Social Security Number) when applying for a job. The problem with this is that scam companies could (or already do) use this law as an excuse to get people's SSNs online. Think about it. When applying for most online jobs, you not only are giving out your SSN, but also your Name, Address, Phone Number, as sometimes even your date of birth. All of these things can easily set a person up to have their identity stolen. Just as an example, I know of many fellow wahms who are extremely careful about avoiding phishing scams and hate giving out their credit card, yet happily type their social security number into any website that offers them a chance of making money online.
We all need to be more careful when applying to work at home jobs. Your social security number is your life, and could never be guarded carefully enough. Even when sites aren't scams, you still should be careful. I recently was applying to work for stay at home job that was well known and 100% legitimate. I had passed all of the certification tests, and was at the form where you have to fill out your SSN number, when I noticed something. The site was not even encrypted! Even when a site is legitimate, if it isn't encrypted, a hacker could easily swoop in and steal your info.
Below is a list of things to look at before applying to an online job.
- Is the company well known and trusted? To find this out, you will have to do a little research. Google the company's name. If there are no results for it, or many complaints, the company is likely a scam. Next, check the Better Business Bureau (bbb.com) to see if any complaints have been filed against the company. Then, go to a work at home forum ( I prefer using wahm.com) and see if anyone has talked about this business.
- Does the company say that you will make large amounts of money in little or no time? If it says anything like this, leave the site immediately.
- Is your information encrypted and secure when you send it to them? The way to check for this is to see if a picture of a lock
appears either in the upper or lower toolbar of Internet Explorer when on the company's page. I recommend downloading the new Internet Explorer 7 on your computer as an added benefit, as the address bar of your computer will turn green when you are on a secure website. - Lastly, trust your instincts. If the site seems like a scam, don't put in your info! Hopefully, these tips will help to keep your identity secure as you search for work at home jobs.
If you found this article helpful or interesting, please subscribe to my blog. To do this, just click the orange box in the right hand column, or enter in your email address below it and press submit. I hate spam just as much as anyone, and promise not to send any to you.
