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Work-at-home scams update

Our June cover story, "Making Money From Home," reported on the growing problem of work-at-home scams.

A Google search on "work at home" yields about 1.8 million results, some touting intriguing pitch lines such as "Earn $500-$1000 per day" and "Mom Makes $5K/Month at Home." Guess what? Most such ads are simply scams dressed up in work-at-home clothing....

[One of the most common scams], promoted on hundreds of web sites, goes by many names: Google Money Tree, Google Profits, Google Money System, Fast Cash with Google, Google Home Business Kit — you get the idea....

The pitch varies from site to site, but is often something like this: "Hi! My name is Cindy Ward, and I'm a stay-at-home Christian mom in Greenville, South Carolina. I've discovered how to make a great part-time income using my computer from home! I work about 15 hours a week and bring in an extra $1,300/week on average. I can stay home with my three wonderful kids and still make money, and anybody can do it!" (One site with the "I'm-a-stay-at-home-Christian-mom" pitch advertises heavily on conservative blogs, targeting conservative Christians who are ripe for taking the bait.)

Now, Google has filed a lawsuit against Utah-based Pacific WebWorks and 50 other unnamed companies alleging unauthorized use of the search-engine company's name.

From Google's complaint (PDF), filed this week in U.S. District Court in Utah:

At the heart of the scheme is a false representation that consumers can participate in a Google-sponsored program that will allow them to make hundreds of dollars a day working at home performing a simple task that requires no particular experience or qualifications.

Although the program is often advertised as “free,” in fact consumers must pay an "instant access" fee for online access to a members-only portal, or a "shipping and handling fee for a DVD, that, they are told, will explain how to make money through the program. Consumers must pay the fee by submitting their credit or debit card information through a website....

[However, c]onsumers are not enrolled in any program that provides opportunities for generating income. Instead, they are subjected to continuing monthly fees that often exceed $50 and range as high as $79.90 After discovering that they have been duped, consumers typically find it difficult, if not impossible, to cancel the continuing charges, or get a refund of their money.

According to a blog post published Tuesday on Google's official site, the company is taking steps to remove scam-related URLs from its search index.

That said, we can't guarantee that schemes like these won't pop up...someplace else online — either on a different network or under a different name.... [So] you should be skeptical and review any offers online before sending any information, and always be on guard when presented with an offer that seems too good to be true....

Names to be wary of: Google Adwork, Google ATM, Google Biz Kit, Google Cash, Earn Google Cash Kit, Google Fortune, Google Marketing Kit, Google Profits, The Home Business Kit for Google, Google StartUp Kit, and Google Works.

At a Senate hearing in September, Jon Leibowitz, head of the Federal Trade Commission, offered (PDF) specific information on Google Money Tree:

[This and similar alleged scams] simply lure consumers into divulging their financial account information using the false promise of a lucrative work-at-home opportunity. Consumers who purchased the Google Money Tree work-at-home kit expected a small charge of $1.99, but what they got were months of recurring monthly charges they never authorized.

For legitimate work-at-home ideas, see SMI's "Making Money From Home."

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