Are Data Entry Jobs an Online Scam
Now you might be looking for a job that requires some excellent typing skills and, seemingly luckily for you, there is an overabundance of those types of positions popping up everywhere online. Just in the administrative section of Craigslist, for example, you can find dozens of clerical and data-entry jobs being posted every ten minutes - all you have got to do is refresh your internet browser and wait for an appealing position to show up on your computer screen.
Here is an example of your typical data entry job - and you might be familiar with hundreds of variations, but the gist is all the same. "Recent promotions have created a job opportunity in our accounting department. Founded in 1985, we have offices nationwide. Ability to multi-task and be a team player. We are looking to fill this position right now. You will be responsible for picking up the telephone, sending faxes, answering customer queries via email. Many other bonuses include monthly staff parties and supportive working environment." Generic descriptions like this make a job available to almost anyone viewing the position. By providing a founding date, the company begins to sound legitimate because its long history is revealed through the ad, therefore, providing some incentive to apply for a job. The immediacy to fill the job can also sound like sweet music to an applicant's ears, especially in this economy where everyone is trembling about keeping their current position, not getting their hours cut, or finding a job to pay their bills.
But not so fast. Before you start applying to every generic, non-descript job, you need to ask yourself (and the job poster, if they have contact information available) whether or not it is possible that the position posting is nothing other than a scam. Does the job position sound too good to be true? Do you really think that you could make $1,500 a week by doing two hours worth of typing a day? Probably not. Typing is not a skill that is unique to the very few - it is not a highly marketable skill by itself, as everyone knows how to type fast these days. For legitimate employers to be interested in a prospect, they need to specify more demanding guidelines as to what they are looking for.
If the data entry job claims to be a home job, it is more likely than not, a scam. After all, if an employer does not even want to meet a potential employee but is willing to entrust important work in the hands of an anonymous stranger, instead, alarm bells need to immediately go off in your head. Would you let a stranger work for you? Would you not take your time to interview some people, whether in person or over the phone, to make sure that you are hiring the right man or woman?
If a job post asks for a "small, one-time fee" of an X amount of dollars, beware of the mother of all scams. This old trick promises job applicants exorbitant riches and secrets to success, as long as they pay the one-time fee. Whether it is paying for a DVD that reveals the secrets to getting rich, booklets and success stories, or a list of companies that are hiring for data-entry jobs, chances are that you will never get your money's worth and be sucked into some version of a pyramid scheme. To get a job, the only thing you need to provide is your resume and your skills, not your wallet.
Are all of the data-entry jobs that you find online or in the newspaper a scam? Not necessarily, but it takes a lot of time and effort to weed out the hundreds of fake ads from a few good ones that will actually make you money for your work. Instead of waiting to find data-entry jobs online, be sure that you are dealing with real companies and real people, and not some shady rip-off schemes on the other side of your computer screen. Do not look for jobs at the other end of the world, do not communicate with the companies that you have never heard of - if there are data-entry positions available out there, your best bet is to look for the ones in your area. That way, even if it is not a telecommuting job, you will be able to make it to work every day.
Above all, it needs to be known that not all data entry positions are fake - there are a few needles in a hay stack that are worth considering. There are companies out there that truly require typing and data entry skills, but like with any position that requires a limited or not highly specialized set of skills, you need to be careful so you can distinguish a real job from a scam. Always ask a lot of questions and be sure you have your potential job employer's contact information at the tips of your fingers at all times. Remember, if you Google a company's name and nothing comes up, that company is nothing but a figment of some scammer's imagination and a ploy to get you to shell out some money in exchange for your vulnerability.
Sources:
www.craigslist.com
