In a tough economy more and more people are looking for ways to make money from home. Unfortunately, many will fall victim to Internet and email schemes and scams at a time when the financial loss will be most devastating. Here are some common scams and schemes to watch out for.

Cash Gifting Clubs - New members join these clubs by giving cash “gifts” to others who have been members for some time. In some clubs, members receive gifts from anyone else they recruit to join. In others there are membership fees and other requirements to be promoted to a level that receives gifts.

While the club’s organizers and existing members claim it is legal to give away money to whomever you please, the FTC says they are illegal pyramid schemes.

Payment Processing Jobs - Scammers often send out emails offering jobs processing payments. They claim that you can make money by receiving and cashing checks, then wiring the money (minus your fee) to the end recipient. But in most cases, the check is bogus. The bank doesn’t realize this until the check has cleared, which can take a couple of weeks. So they then debit your account for the amount of the check, and the scammer walks away with the proceeds.

Medical Billing Jobs - Doing medical billing from home sounds legitimate enough, when a company promises you training, software, and job placement. When you send them your money (usually several hundred dollars), you often get trained to use out-of-date software. Then you receive a list of doctor’s offices in your area to call and see if they will hire someone to work from home. In reality, most offices prefer to have their staff on-site, especially when they start.

Envelope Stuffing - Advertisements for envelope stuffing aren’t unique to the Internet. They have been found in newspaper and magazine classifieds for years. With promised pay of a few dollars per envelope, it sounds too good to be true. And it is.

Advertisements for envelope stuffing jobs usually ask interested parties to send $3 to $5 for more information. Victims do not think twice about making this small investment because of the promised pay. But when they send in their money, they receive instructions to place ads just like the ones they responded to and send respondents the same instructions they received. They are only paid when someone orders more information about stuffing envelopes.

Business Opportunity Scams - Business opportunity scams are perhaps the most difficult to spot. Some are fronts for pyramid schemes, which involve earning commissions by recruiting other people into the program, not by selling actual products. Others offer information about how to make money online in various ways for a fee, then they don’t deliver. And some offer direct sales type opportunities, but collect money from reps without delivering the products.

When you’re trying to get started making money from home or online, wading through the scams can be tricky. If you are in doubt about a particular opportunity or job offer, do some research on the company. Try to contact the company, and if you get someone, ask lots of questions. If you are unable to get in touch with anyone after a few attempts, chances are they have something to hide. Ask around for people who have had experience with the company and find out if they recommend them and why. Do an Internet search for reviews of the company. This may sound like a lot of extra work, but it’s worth it to stay away from the scams.

Scams can cost opportunity seekers lots of money, and being taken in by them can be very disheartening. By doing your homework on any company you consider getting involved with, you can usually weed out these scams. Most importantly, use your common sense. If something just doesn’t seem right, move on.

There are many legitimate opportunities out there. Avoid the scams, but don’t let the fear of being scammed stand in your way.