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Students need to be leery
of work-at-home scams
By Doug Kerns
Staff Reporter
The old adage, “If it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is,” is a
perfect touchstone for students to avoid
work-at-home schemes, according to
Dan Parsons, special assistant to the
Nebraska attorney general.
The office of Don Stenberg, Ne
braska Attorney General, recently re
leased a consumer bulletin to media
outlets, consumer groups, public li
braries and chambers of commerce
across the state, urging them to use
caution and discretion when consider
ing work-at-home offers.
“Probably the best advice is to
be diligent in asking questions and
beware of those offers which ask you
to put money up front before having
the opportunity to learn more about
the company,” Parsons said.
Parsons said college students are
good targets for this type of fraud.
“They are targeted toward those in
that age group who show that they’re
looking for a second income or a way
to make some money without spend
ing a lot of time doing it.”
Many work-at-home offers, legiti
mate or not, are advertised in the clas
I • ^ ‘/t? *•"'■ ’ ' ' '* * . . « t.r
sified section of major newspapers.
“There is no requirement by law that
any publication check out the truthful
ness of an ad before running it,” Par
sons stated.
Parsons admitted it is often diffi
cult to tell between a true and a fraudu
lent ad.
“Quite frankly, it is sometimes dif
ficult even for us to discern which
ones might be legitimate and which
ones aren’t without doing some fur
ther checking,” he said.
The punishments for running these
scams can be severe.“We can ask the
judge to fine them up to $2,000 for
every one ot tne people tney scammea,
so that could add up in a hurry,” Par
sons said.
Unfortunately, the attorney general’s
office usually hears of this type of con
sumer fraud after it is too late.
“We find out usually after the fact
from people who have been scammed,
although some consumers do alert us
to ads in papers.”
If you have any information about
a possibly fraudulent work-at-home
scheme, contact Attorney General Don
Stenberg, Consumer Protection Divi
sion, 2115 State Capital Building, Lin
coln, NE 68509, or call 471-2682.
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