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How do I find out if a business is actually a business and not just a scam artist trying to get my information?

I am trying to get a job with Trans Tech Merchant Group and I just wanted to know if they were a credible company. And if they really existed.

I have a successful home business and some of my friends and I have put together a free website to help others start their own business (and avoid scams). If you are looking for more information check out our Great Home Based Businesses site. We have specific pages on: hundreds of great ideas for home based businesses by category (including information on kit businesses and franchise businesses); resources for selling from home; resources for providing services from your home; avoiding scams and a lot of other pointers. PLEASE NOTE: we do not have a business or product that we want to sell you – our site is all about providing information.
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When it comes to avoiding scams – here are some things that we have learned – if you are unsure then you need to ask yourself the following questions:
1. What is the value that you have added to the product or project?
2. Would someone pay you to perform this service in person?
3. Do they need money upfront?
Some legitimate businesses may require that you pay a franchise fee or buy a business kit in order to start your business with them. The presence of an upfront fee is not a definite sign of a scam – many businesses have legitimate reasons for requesting upfront fees. Reputable franchises spend a lot of money on advertising, research, branding and other items. They charge a franchise fee in order to cover these costs and in order to earn a profit from the companies operating under their banner. Chances are decent that if you have heard of and seen the franchise in your real life (other than from the person "selling" it to you!!) then it is legitimate business. Kit based businesses can collect fees for the same reasons and also to cover the cost of your business start-up kit. Again this is a mixed bag – some companies charge fees that merely recover their costs of material – knowing that they will make their money off the mark-up on their products. Other (less reputable) companies often sell "kits" that are made up of books and other materials that provide little or no value to the person purchasing it – they do not care if you sell any of their products – some do not even have real products – they make their money from selling these "kits". Again it is important to go for businesses that you are familiar with or do your research.
4. Do you KNOW anyone that has successfully made money with this business?
5. Does the person "recruiting" you make money just by signing you up?
Beware of "pyramid" schemes – schemes in which people are paid based on how many people they sign up not based on sales or other indicators. Finders fee or referral fees are very common in all businesses but they are not the main source of money in a legitimate business. Not only are pyramid schemes illegal in most places but only the first few people in a pyramid actually make any money – the people in the centre are lucky to recover their initial investment and the people at the bottom are the ultimate losers – they lose their full investment.
and the main question:
6. Does it sound too good to be true?
Because if it does – then it probably is!!

You need to RESEARCH all aspects of starting a small business. This means checking with your local and federal better business bureau or other business verification agency. BTW – seeing a "Verified" or "BBB" (Better Business Bureau) logo on their website does not mean that they are actually registered with any qualified agencies. Many sites will put a dummy logo on their sites and some go as far as providing a link to a dummy verification page on their own domain!! You should be able to go directly to the agencies site and lookup that business there. If you find such a logo on a website then find that they are not members in good standing with that agency – then they are SCAMS!! Run away from this business, pausing only to report the site to your local fraud bureau.

Some of the more common scams are:
i. Stuffing envelopes: this common scam has you "buy" envelopes and flyers from a company – once you have stuffed the envelopes and submitted then the company will often say that the quality is below standards and do not pay you for your work – worse you never get your initial fee back.
ii. Home assembly: this is very similar to the scam discussed in (i) – you pay for the raw material – make the products and company rejects them – leaving you out both money and time.
iii. Medical billing: some reputable companies provide medical billing services from home and look for new typists all the time. Unfortunately, scammers have caught onto this and are trying to get people to pay hundreds of dollars to special equipment and software to do this from home. Most legitimate companies looking for workers will NOT charge the person any fees upfront. They will sign a contract with the person and provide a license to their existing software – they will also provide all of your work – you do not have to (and usual


3 Responses to “How do I find out if a business is actually a business and not just a scam artist trying to get my information?”

  1. red5050 says:

    Try using a search engine to search for the company.

    You can also check the Better Business Bureau: http://welcome.bbb.org/
    References :

  2. Under Sea Level says:

    Try to get an address and then look them up in the online yellow pages. Scam businesses usually don’t have yellow page listings.
    References :

  3. melindadiebel says:

    I have a successful home business and some of my friends and I have put together a free website to help others start their own business (and avoid scams). If you are looking for more information check out our Great Home Based Businesses site. We have specific pages on: hundreds of great ideas for home based businesses by category (including information on kit businesses and franchise businesses); resources for selling from home; resources for providing services from your home; avoiding scams and a lot of other pointers. PLEASE NOTE: we do not have a business or product that we want to sell you – our site is all about providing information.
    ————————————–…
    When it comes to avoiding scams – here are some things that we have learned – if you are unsure then you need to ask yourself the following questions:
    1. What is the value that you have added to the product or project?
    2. Would someone pay you to perform this service in person?
    3. Do they need money upfront?
    Some legitimate businesses may require that you pay a franchise fee or buy a business kit in order to start your business with them. The presence of an upfront fee is not a definite sign of a scam – many businesses have legitimate reasons for requesting upfront fees. Reputable franchises spend a lot of money on advertising, research, branding and other items. They charge a franchise fee in order to cover these costs and in order to earn a profit from the companies operating under their banner. Chances are decent that if you have heard of and seen the franchise in your real life (other than from the person "selling" it to you!!) then it is legitimate business. Kit based businesses can collect fees for the same reasons and also to cover the cost of your business start-up kit. Again this is a mixed bag – some companies charge fees that merely recover their costs of material – knowing that they will make their money off the mark-up on their products. Other (less reputable) companies often sell "kits" that are made up of books and other materials that provide little or no value to the person purchasing it – they do not care if you sell any of their products – some do not even have real products – they make their money from selling these "kits". Again it is important to go for businesses that you are familiar with or do your research.
    4. Do you KNOW anyone that has successfully made money with this business?
    5. Does the person "recruiting" you make money just by signing you up?
    Beware of "pyramid" schemes – schemes in which people are paid based on how many people they sign up not based on sales or other indicators. Finders fee or referral fees are very common in all businesses but they are not the main source of money in a legitimate business. Not only are pyramid schemes illegal in most places but only the first few people in a pyramid actually make any money – the people in the centre are lucky to recover their initial investment and the people at the bottom are the ultimate losers – they lose their full investment.
    and the main question:
    6. Does it sound too good to be true?
    Because if it does – then it probably is!!

    You need to RESEARCH all aspects of starting a small business. This means checking with your local and federal better business bureau or other business verification agency. BTW – seeing a "Verified" or "BBB" (Better Business Bureau) logo on their website does not mean that they are actually registered with any qualified agencies. Many sites will put a dummy logo on their sites and some go as far as providing a link to a dummy verification page on their own domain!! You should be able to go directly to the agencies site and lookup that business there. If you find such a logo on a website then find that they are not members in good standing with that agency – then they are SCAMS!! Run away from this business, pausing only to report the site to your local fraud bureau.

    Some of the more common scams are:
    i. Stuffing envelopes: this common scam has you "buy" envelopes and flyers from a company – once you have stuffed the envelopes and submitted then the company will often say that the quality is below standards and do not pay you for your work – worse you never get your initial fee back.
    ii. Home assembly: this is very similar to the scam discussed in (i) – you pay for the raw material – make the products and company rejects them – leaving you out both money and time.
    iii. Medical billing: some reputable companies provide medical billing services from home and look for new typists all the time. Unfortunately, scammers have caught onto this and are trying to get people to pay hundreds of dollars to special equipment and software to do this from home. Most legitimate companies looking for workers will NOT charge the person any fees upfront. They will sign a contract with the person and provide a license to their existing software – they will also provide all of your work – you do not have to (and usual
    References :
    http://www.great-home-based-businesses.com