Beware of this kind of home business opportunity which can cost you a lot of money and get you into deep trouble.
In March, 2007, Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC aired a story called "To Catch an Identity Thief" in which a man became victim to an international identity theft ring.
What made him a victim was that he lost tens of thousands of dollars in the reshipping of products overseas using his own money.
Reshipping fraud is the newest home based business opportunity scam.
Home business shippers are promised lots of money if they receive, repackage, and then ship items that were ordered online to a foreign address.
What the shipper is not aware of is that the goods were purchased with stolen credit cards.
In effect, the home business shipper becomes part of a larger identity theft ring by receiving and shipping stolen goods.
This scam has cost victims thousands of dollars.
How do reshipping scams work? This scam is everywhere.
Some advertisements are placed in newspapers, and you can even find listings on CareerBuilder.
com as well as other job placement websites.
When you answer the ad, the reshipping "employer" will ask that you send your personal information such as your social security number and date of birth.
After the employer receives your information, packages will start arriving at your house with instructions on how to repackage and then ship the goods to addresses abroad.
When your payment for services performed arrives, it will be in the form of a third party cashier's check.
This should raise red flags on your part since the accepted way of doing business is with a paycheck.
These cashier's checks will usually be greater than the initially agreed amount.
Then the employer will ask that you send back electronically what was overpaid to you.
The moment you have completed this transaction, another problem arises.
The bank will discover that the cashier's check was fake and hold you responsible for the full amount of the check.
In addition, your "employer" has your personal information which will be used to defraud more unsuspecting people who become "employees" of this illegal money making scheme.
You, the reshipper, can get into big trouble because all the goods that you shipped overseas was bought with stolen credit cards.
Investigate before you invest into a home business offer If you see an advertisement for a home based business opportunity that seems extremely easy to do (like envelope stuffing) with the promise of big, easy money, then you should investigate the opportunity before you become financially involved with it.
Con artists prey upon people with low incomes and lack of education with these bogus job opportunities because they are very aware how much they need the money.
It is up to you, the consumer, to educate yourself regarding home business opportunities.
There are legitimate offers and there are frauds.
Be prepared to have lots of questions about the opportunity before you sign on the dotted line.
If you do not investigate the opportunity before you invest your time, you could be the next interviewee on Dateline NBC and be the next victim of a crime of reshipping fraud.