Capital Enterprises, Inc.

All over the country, on signs affixed to utility poles, ads in the newspaper, fliers posted at bus stops, online classifieds, and even social media you will find offers to earn a living by starting your own home based business. In these hard economic times job seekers and those looking to supplement their income might find these opportunities appealing.  The unfortunate reality is these jobs are generally scams. Instead of being a means to help you make ends meet, they tend to be another way for scammers to separate you from your money.

These advertisements fail to mention they aren’t employment opportunities. You won’t be hired to work for the business, but for yourself--and sometimes illegally. They also don’t tell you that you may have to work many hours without pay or of the amount of money the offer may end up costing you in the end. These schemes often involve you sending money before you even find out how the proposal works. More common than not, you won’t receive anything of value to help you make the high earning most of these ads claim.

While these opportunities may be different, the results are the same. People who pursue these “opportunities” lose not only their money, but also their time and energy. Some may even face legal woes and can be liable if they’re found perpetrating a fraud by promoting and selling fraudulent products or services to others whether intentionally or inadvertently.

Be aware of the following work at home schemes:

Stuffing Envelopes

For an up-front fee ads claim you can earn loads of money just from stuffing envelopes. Once you pay however, you find out there is nothing to stuff. Instead, you receive instructions on how to deceive others by placing an ad like the one you responded to. The only way to make money is if people respond to the same fraudulent offer you responded to--not by stuffing envelopes.

The U.S. Postal Service warns, "Thousands of people have helped unscrupulous promoters pocket victims’ hard-earned dollars. Beware! Work-at-home schemes will not guarantee regular salaried employment. They will require you to invest your money before you learn how a plan works or before you are sent instructions. The work you are asked to do often continues the fraud by getting other victims involved.” Regarding envelope stuffing, they advise, “Always suspect any ad from the mail or via the Internet claiming you can earn unusually high income with little or no effort on your part." 

Assembly and Craft Work

Other opportunities require you to send payment for instructions and assembly kits to get paid for assembling gift and specialty products such as baby shoes, aprons, plastic signs, jewelry, etc. You may even have to invest hundreds of dollars for equipment and supplies or spend countless hours assembling products.

In reality there’s little or no market for the products. Generally the business won’t even offer to buy back or pay for the finished product.  They will undoubtedly claiming that your work doesn't pass their inspection or meet their standards.  Often times the company goes out of business.  In any case, you are left with equipment and supplies and the necessity of finding your own customers. 

Processing Rebates

You may have noticed offers to process rebates to earn extra cash. The pitch often used in these ads suggest the price you pay for training, certification, or registration is small compared to the earnings you’ll make from processing rebates from home.

What you receive, if anything, are useless materials and nothing more because there are no rebates to process. Few seldom receive refunds for the fees they paid to start processing rebates.

Medical Billing

These offers typically state with no experience necessary you can begin making high earnings by starting your own medical billing service. For an upfront investment, they offer to provide everything you need to provide medical billing services, including software to process claims, client lists, and technical support. They frequently purport that there are a wealth of doctors who are looking for billing support.

The companies rarely provide contacts in the medical field and the lists contain out dated information or doctors who have never requested billing services. The software may not even work. Most doctors’ offices process their own medical claims, and doctors that do contract out their billing functions often use large, well-established firms, rather than individuals working from home. Most individuals who invest in these types of business opportunities often find they’re unable to find clients and cannot start a business or generate income. They rarely recoup the money they spent on the investment.

If you are considering an offer, ask the business for an extensive list of previous purchasers to contact for reference. If they can only provide a couple of contacts, this is a red flag. Research and contact organizations that provide medical billing or claims processors about this field to gain knowledge about how it works and what is required to be successful.

Our Experience

Work-at-home promotions generate thousands of inquiries each year. We have found that most fail to provide information to us when general information is requested, or when advertised claims are challenged. 

Complaints generally allege misrepresentation of the offer, false advertising, non-delivery of information or materials, and failure to issue refunds. In most cases, the company refuses to respond to complaints.

Work-at-home businesses rarely use physical addresses (usually they operate with a PO Box address), and tend to close up shop frequently. Once they shut down, the same operators regularly resurface again under another alias. This makes it almost impossible to track the individuals down when problems develop or to request a refund.

What to Watch Out For

Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) advises consumers use extreme caution in accepting a work-at-home offer.  In considering whether to go ahead with it or not, keep these admonitions in mind: 

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  Consider it a warning if you have to buy something to start the program.


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  Beware of "no experience necessary" ads that promise attractive profits and part-time earn­ings, guaranteed markets and a demand for your handiwork.


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  Don't be taken in by personal testimonials the promoter relies on to convince you that the program is legitimate.


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  Realize that you may be perpetrating a fraud and risk investigation by government authorities by selling the same program you bought to others.