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Home » Business And Finance Articles » How Envelope Stuffing Scams Con

How Envelope Stuffing Scams Con

Here's a legitimate looking advertisement found in the classified section of a local newspaper.

"Our Company will pay you up to $5 per envelope stuffed! Hurry this opportunity will not last long!"

Most work at home envelope stuffing scams look legitimate. A perfect way to make fast cash!

Now the hard cold facts: It's practically impossible to make several hundred a week stuffing envelopes a few hours a day. This is what the promoters of these misleading ads want you; the unwary victim to believe.

Here's how the scam works: The promoters of the envelope stuffing scam run an ad in a local paper offering great opportunities with their company stuffing envelopes. To get further details about this opportunity they request respondents send in a fee.

They further state the small fee is to separate the serious applicants from the non-serious factor. And they also assure you that you will quickly earn back the money.

Once they mail you the information you realize they were not offering a legitimate work at home job. And you will have to find your own customers/victims!

The fog clears, you realize you've been scammed!

You realize for your "fee" you've received a flimsy brochure and a letter instructing you how to place your own ad in local newspaper describing this great envelope stuffing job. You realize the only way you will recoup your fee or make any money is to recruit more victims for the company!

Avoid Scams-Use Your "Noggin"

Use your head. What company would pay an individual $1 or more per envelope stuffed?

Business owners would much rather purchase a letter folding and envelope sealing machine for a few hundred dollars than to pay you thousands per month for the same task!

Beware of these ads promising unrealistic salaries, amazing profits, without disclosing background information. Like how you will actually be paid. Weekly, monthly, quarterly. Are you considered an Independent Contractor or Company Employee. All very important things to consider.

Be wary of companies that request a fee up front before they will send you information on the opportunity. Most legitimate companies will not request a fee up front.

The Real Deal. The only true way to make money stuffing envelopes is to start your own Direct Mailing Service. Where you are the BOSS and are operating a legitimate business serving other small/home business owners. More on that in a future article.

If you've been scammed contact the following places.

The Federal Trade Commission. www.ftc.gov

Your local Consumer Protection Agency.

Your local Better Business Bureau.

BB Lee (C)2004

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

PR: How Sweet It Is!

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Net word count is 800 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

PR: How Sweet It Is!

The public relations goal and strategy make sense; the message is persuasive and compelling; the communications tactics are aggressive and well-targeted. YES!!

For those of us in public relations, how sweet it is when members of an important target audience appear to understand why the rumor was wrong and what they believed about the organization is simply not true.

While that happy result can be yours, including the inevitable improvements in behavior, it doesn't just happen. And especially before somebody in the organization even recognizes the importance of doing something about what those key audiences think about you.

When that epiphany does occur, it's usually because target audience perceptions have led to behaviors that just hurt too much.

Why wait? Get hold of your target audiences now before they do damage and possibly affect the survival of your organization.

And I'm talking about damage such as prospects who decide not to do anything with you; existing customers who stop doing business with you, or community leaders who lose faith in your organization's value to their constituents.

It's not worth it to ignore beginning an aggressive public relations effort a minute longer.

Start by listing those two or three outside audiences whose behaviors can ruin your day. Let's take the one at the top of the list and see how we can get organized to change the perceptions of members of that group and, thus, their behaviors.

Can't look to improve perceptions if you don't know how key audience members currently view you and your organization. Get out there and interact with them. Ask questions like "What do you think about our organization?" You must stay alert to factual errors in their responses as well as inaccuracies that need to be corrected. And don't overlook misconceptions or rumors that are just plain wrong.

Now you're in position to set a corrective public relations goal. And make sure it zeros in on a specific problem. For example, shoot down that rumor. Or clarify that misconception. Or correct that inaccuracy.

Here, you come to three forks in the road to a workable strategy that will show you how to get to your public relations goal. When it comes to altering opinion (perceptions), you have just three options available to you: create opinion where there may be none; change existing opinion, or reinforce it.

Pick one that obviously is required by the public relations goal you selected.

Now we come to real work, preparing the persuasive and compelling message you need to alter perceptions, and thus behaviors in your direction. For example, if members of your target audience are persuaded that you in fact offer quality service instead of the inferior service they believe you provide, their behaviors will signal change when they begin doing business with you again.

But your message must not only be persuasive and compelling, it must be easily understood, completely factual and, of course, truthful in all details. That's the only way your message will be believable enough to alter perceptions.

Is there a difference of opinion about how to get your message to the eyes and ears of members of your key target audience? Not really because there are so many communications tactic "foot soldiers" available to carry that message for you. They range from fraternal club speeches, newspaper and radio interviews and awards ceremonies to brochures, face-to-face meetings, plain old emails and dozens of others.

Once you fire the communications tactics gun, and give it several weeks to sink in, you must return to monitoring what members of your key target audience are NOW thinking about you. And that means more questions.

If you fail to do so, you will never know for certain if your public relations effort is making any progress.

You should use the same questions as you did for your first information gathering session. The difference now is your objective: have perceptions been altered in your direction because, if so, a change in behavior cannot be far behind?

And so, your public relations goal and strategy will make sense; your message will be persuasive and compelling, and your communications tactics will be aggressive and well-targeted.

A sure path to public relations success.

end