HUNDREDS of people are still losing out on what they thought were genuine opportunities to work from home.

Staff at the Office of Fair Trading and trading standards officers say bogus homeworking schemes are a major source of complaint, despite warnings which they try to give to people who might be at risk.

The investigators say the homework cons are aimed at the most vulnerable: the elderly, disabled, carers looking after sick relatives, students, the unemployed and housewives.

Sue Jones, of the Office of Fair Trading, said one of the most common cons is a variant on pyramid selling.

She said: "People write to an address and in return receive an 'introductory letter', asking them to send a registration fee of between £10 and £15. It is not until this fee is safely banked that the victims realise they have been duped.

"Instead of the expected list of addresses to put on the envelopes they are told to place advertisements, at their own expense, like the ones they originally saw.

"The aim is to persuade other people to write to the original victims. To earn just a few pence these new victims' names must be then sent on to the original advertiser - more possible new victims to con out of their 'registration' fee."

Trading standards staff say they want to hear from anyone who is suspicious of a homeworking scheme or if they have been conned. It may expose a con and stop other people from being taken in.

They say the best advice is to approach all home-based work with extreme caution and be suspicious if any money is asked for.

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