OFT hunts for online scams

The OFT is scanning thousands of websites in a search for online fraudsters – in particular work-from-home scams.

It joins 53 consumer protection agencies from 21 countries looking into the scams.

According to OFT research, five million people in the UK fall victim to scammers each year.

There are three main types of scam homeworking scheme:
Directory schemes - these often appear in e-mails as well as local and national press and shop windows. They ask for a fee of about £15 up front in exchange for a list of companies offering work to homeworkers. The recipient normally receives a photocopied sheet or leaflet, of other homeworking scheme adverts, charging from £10 to £200 to register with no genuine offers of work at the end.

Recruitment schemes - these typically ask for people to send £15 for information on homeworking opportunities. The recipients are then told to place more adverts in shop windows to recruit more people to the scheme, in order to receive a marginal sum for each new person recruited who also paid £15. This is essentially a pyramid selling scheme that encourages people to con yet more victims.

Kit schemes - these often offer work making arts and crafts products from kits provided by the advertiser on the understanding they will buy it back from the homeworker when it is complete. The kits can cost from £10 to £200 and however good the product made by the homeworker it will be rejected on the grounds that it has 'failed' the quality standards. The victim never makes any money from the scheme.

Mike Haley, head of the Scambusters team at the OFT, said:
“Bogus schemes are an increasing problem for those looking for genuine work to do at home. Like all scams the tell-tale sign to beware of is the fact that the company will ask for money up-front. You should never have to pay a fee to get paid work.”

www.oft.gov.uk