One of the big issues when deciding on a work from home business is whether or not it is a scam.

How to recognize a legitimate work at home business can be difficult because the testimonials and promotions of the scams are always so convincing - just what we want to hear.

• Glowing testimonials could be considered your first red flag. These are usually used as part of a sales page and if the company is putting these in front of your face all the time then you might assume they are trying to sell you something rather than provide you with a business opportunity.
• Suggestions of big money with little effort are a dead giveaway. Except for Lotto there is no easy money.
• Be wary of the person who has made $80,000,000.00 in 2 years and wants to show you how to do the same for only $67.00. You know the one where you have to act NOW because there are only 32 spaces left and they are selling fast. Why in Heaven's name would anyone who can make big money in a short space of time want to sell you the secret to their success? I have never found the answer to that.
• The business website should be of a reasonable quality. A poor website is usually the sign of a poor business.
• Go to whois.com and do a search to see who owns the website. This should provide a lot of information such as who owns the site, when it was first registered and other information which will give you a feel for the company.
• Check on hosting and contact details. Hosting is inexpensive these days so anyone using free hosting may be considered as not doing as well as they claim. Having a dedicated hosting service also provides one with control on your page.
• Contact details should include a physical address, telephone numbers and an e-mail address (preferably not a free email service such as Yahoo or G Mail). Contact them to see if they are legitimate.
• Another red flag might appear if e-mails are not answered or telephone calls are put straight through to an answering machine.
• Don't be scared to delay your decision until you have done more research and are happy with your findings.
• Get names of people already in the scheme and contact them. Ask them the hard questions. You are after all considering starting a business.
• Be wary of what information they require from you. Too much information is definitely a red flag.
• If details of your personal banking account are required run for the hills until you have checked it out completely and are 200% certain that the company is legit.
• Listen to what they call your gut feeling. I cannot tell you how many times my inner self has saved me from losing money. If it doesn't feel right, walk away. How many times have you heard people say something like this There was something about the whole deal that didn't feel right. I should have known then that I would lose my money?

It's not that hard to spot a work at home scam if you follow some basic rules. Take emotion and urgency out of it and use common sense.