Starting and operating a successful work from home business is a dream shared by millions. More small business opportunities exist today than at any other point in recent memory.  By the same token, there have never been more scams floating out there which makes it hard to find the legitimate opportunities.

We are constantly reminded by an endless stream of advertising how we can all become millionaires by starting our own businesses. The sheer proliferation of scams out there in the home business market make it very difficult to identify the legitimate opportunities. Here are the top five scams being used by con artists and shady businesses in the work from home genre:

Crafts
Envelope Stuffing
Computer Scams
Medical Billing
Pyramid Schemes

Are you good working with your hands? Making products in your own home to sell to companies for profit is one of the most profitable and booming small businesses on the market today. With some variation, that is pretty much the standard pitch for this scam. When it is all said and done, this scam just wants the investor to purchase over-priced equipment and materials. Naturally the company never intended to buy any products from the investor and can legally avoid doing so by citing poor work and inferior quality.

This probably comes as no shock to many, but yes, the envelope stuffing business is another scam. By the time most realize what has really happened, the simple yet devilish nature of this scam tends to catch most completely off guard. Upon paying for the "insider secrets" or whatever they are calling it, the investor will be told to place the same type of ad in their local newspapers and other marketing venues. This self-perpetuating scam forces people to scam other people in order to get their investment back.

If you have a computer and an Internet connection, then you are a potential target for a scammer. While there are literally thousands of various computer-related scams floating around out there, the most common are those promising you money with some sort of data entry or word processing work. These companies will teach you precisely where and how to get started in these computer-related work from home opportunities, but it will cost you.

But while the investor is waiting for specific information or perhaps even a job, what they usually end up with is some worthless and vague report about how much money they could make--just nothing specific, and certainly no job. Reports without specific information on how to literally secure the work and profit from it are ultimately worthless. so avoid these scams like the plague.

Another big scam floating around out there centers around the health care industry and ways to capitalize on the current shortage of workers. These scams appear legitimate because they are trying to fill needs in the medical billing field, which is in desperate need for qualified workers or vendors. Investors are often required to pay "franchisee" and other fees that can cost thousands for most programs.

Most investors are unable to recoup this large initial investment because they are simply unable to secure ongoing business or make any money. Attaining contracts with health care providers is so difficult that even the FTC has issued warnings to consumers about medical billing home based business programs. Despite true opportunities and some success stories, the odds of making any money are so small, these medical billing programs amount to little more than scams.

The pyramid scheme, or multi-level marketing, is certainly the most common work from home scam out there today, and can be found in hundreds of different forms. These companies are easy to spot because they are always looking for new people to help expand the pyramid, and will die when they cease recruiting fresh blood. For the unwitting investor, this all appears to be a perfectly legitimate company with real products and a real opportunity to get ahead. But when the veneer is stripped away, the products are truly worthless and only served to help funnel money to the top of the pyramid or MLM scheme. Pyramids are doomed to failure, illegal, and will never make the average investor any real money.

We have only covered some of the most common home based business scams. New scams are being created every day. The world is filled with thousands of scams but there are even more legitimate opportunities out there. You just have to know how to spot and capitalize on the legitimate ones!

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