Long before the deluge of spam promising easy money, hucksters used the newspaper classified section. The ads would say something like, "Make $500 per week stuffing envelopes at home... Send $3.95 for more information!"

It took me a year or so, but eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. I sent in my money and waited with bated breath.

Four to six weeks later, as promised, the secret to making my fortune from the couch arrived. Much to my surprise, it wasn't some big manual, but a single piece of paper with one sentence typed on it.

"The secret to making $500 per week stuffing envelopes", the instructions said, "is to take out an ad in the paper, and promise people they can make $500 per week stuffing envelopes." I had been scammed.

That was then, this is now...

With the internet revolution, the ability to get the wool pulled over your eyes has gone up exponentially. Many of us, as we scramble to keep up with the cost of living, desperately grasp at money making opportunities. In our haste, we often ignore some of the tell-tale signs of a scam.

Here are some red flags to look for, before you respond to an offer that is to good to be true:

Red Flag #1: It Costs Money To Get The Job

If someone is really interested in hiring people to work from their home, they're going to try and attract as large of a pool of applicants as possible. Wouldn't you want to choose from as many as resumes as possible, instead of just the people who paid a fee?

No legitimate work-at-home job is going to charge a "small fee" to make a good amount of money.

Red Flag #2: The Job Found You

No legitimate work at home employer is going to send out spam emails. At bare minimum, they're going to place ads on job websites like Monster.com. Even more often, legitimate work-at-home jobs are publicized through an existing company's employees. You will probably never hear about them on the net.

Red Flag #3: The Company Exists Only In Cyber-Space

If a company doesn't have a physical address, an office, or a phone number, you should be wary. At best, this is a startup company that may or may not be able to follow through on their payment promises. At worst, it's a way for scammers to avoid being tracked down.

Red Flag #4: The Company Does Not Produce Anything Or Provide A Service

In other words, you cannot make a living surfing the web, filing out surveys, or reading emails. At best, you will make a few cents here and there, but will have to wait months or years to accumulate enough of a

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