# Are the "Earn Big $$$ From Home" offers ever legit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412 "2009-03-05T17:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/1 "2009-03-05T17:57:38Z")
Been jobhunting a couple weeks and I keep seeing these pop up. Occam’s Razor says there’s a catch, but what is it? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/2 "2009-03-05T18:18:57Z")
No. Now, it is true that with some internet companies they allow many workers to work from home, but that’s different. In general, most are scams. A few are a decent way to pick up a couple of odd bux. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/3 "2009-03-05T18:22:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A few are a decent way to pick up a couple of odd bux. or ¢¢¢ ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/4 "2009-03-05T18:47:39Z")
Here’s a hint: if the promise is to make big bucks with _little or no effort_, it’s bogus. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/5 "2009-03-05T18:49:48Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Here’s a hint: if the promise is to make big bucks with _little or no effort_, it’s bogus. Also if offer is tacked to a telephone pole. ---
**Author:** ![Amfet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Amfet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amfet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/6 "2009-03-05T18:50:59Z")
Since they are paying “Big $$$” to work from home, imagine what they must be paying the fellow who actually has to leave his house and put up these signs. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/7 "2009-03-05T18:52:07Z")
If you would like to get into the business of posting signs and online ads advertising “earn big $$$ from home,” then making your money by charging folks to get in on the same scam, these ads offer you a valuable opportunity. In some cases the people running the ads make money off their victims in an even less ethical fashion (getting them involved in money laundering or phishing scams). Not that there aren’t some legitimate opportunities to work from home, but the $$$ are commensurate with what the job would pay otherwise. If you have experience doing telephone customer service, you may be able to find a job paying about what any other customer service job would pay that would allow you to work from home. There is no free lunch. The legitimate companies that do this are trying to save on office space (which usually means they run very lean, don’t expect perks or a cushy gig) or to get more experienced folks for lower wages, or a combination of these factors. The legitimate opportunities will emphasize the skills and experience they are looking for, not the $$$ and not the work at home aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/8 "2009-03-05T19:02:36Z")
And the ads below just feed the fire. Well, they did. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-earn-big-from-home-offers-ever-legit/488412/9 "2009-03-05T21:23:49Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > And the ads below just feed the fire. Well, they did. Two out of three still do. Here are the ones that just now came up for me: Earn Huge Income Online. $250K+ Annual Income Potential. Make The Internet Work For You. www .[scamblocker]. net Free Home Based List Avoid Scams Get Our Free List Now! Earn $25 - $100 hr Working At Home. www .[scamblocker]. com $200 - $1,500 (Cash Loan) Instant Approval. No Faxing. No Credit Check. 98.4% Approved. www .[scamblocker]. com