You can protect yourself, and find an honest and legit home based business.The first thing you must do before you make any decisions about joining any work at home business, is research opportunity and company thoroughly. This will be your best defense against being scammed. One thing to remember, If it sounds to good to be true,more than likely it is a scam.

Here is some places that you can check and do research on any work at home business.If you have been scammed I have listed where and how to file a complaint.

Research: check for listings with National Fraud Information Center at:

http://www.fraud.org/

Contact your local Better Business Bureau:

http://www.bbb.org

There you will find a link to locate BBB in your area. Also you will find information on work at home opportunities and scam.

You can also conduct researches on business opportunities on NewsGroups. If someone has been scammed by a work at home business, they will most likely post this information on these forums.

Google Groups

http://www.groups.google.com/

Yahoo Groups

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/

Here's how it works: The most common scam offers to pay $3 or $4 per envelope you address or stuff. They ask that you send [to cover cost of shipping and handling/registration fees] $30, and they promise to send you a list of companies that want to pay you to stuff envelopes for them.

THE SCAM_ Most envelope stuffing con games are same way: You pay your "registration fee" [usually $30 ,pure profit for scam artist] . They will then send you a copy of ad that you orginally responded to, along with wording to a classified ad, telling people about how much money they can make stuffing envelopes, and to send a self-addressed-stamped-envelope for more information. When you receive [if you ever do] someone's S A S E, you send them a copy of ad. There, you have stuffed your first envelope.