Have you ever received an offer that sounds too good to be true? Maybe it was even sent to you by a trusted source. I got this one in my email inbox the other week: "Work At Home Mum Makes $10,397/Month Part-Time." Before handing over your credit card information or any other personal info, make sure you know the facts and the risks involved.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, "the reality is many of these jobs are scams. The con artists peddling them may get you to pay for starter kits or certifications that are useless, and may even charge your credit card without permission." Their 30 second PSA sums it up nicely:

On March 1st, 2012 new FTC regulations went into effect requiring that all work-at-home sellers must now disclose five key items of information in a simple, one-page document:

• the seller's identifying information;
• whether the seller makes a claim about the purchaser's likely earnings (and, if the seller checks the "yes" box, the seller must provide information supporting any such claims);
• whether the seller, its affiliates or key personnel have been involved in certain legal actions (and, if yes, a separate list of those actions);
• whether the seller has a cancellation or refund policy (and, if yes, a separate document stating the material terms of such policies); and
• a list of persons who bought the business opportunity within the previous three years.

If you're considering a work-at-home offer and the seller won't provide this information, don't give them your credit card number!

As for the link that landed in my inbox, I did a little snooping around. It went to a hidden page on a Lithuanian photographer's website which immediately redirected me to the "News Daily 7" page on a domain which had been registered in the Ukraine that same day. Clicking anywhere on that led to a high-pressure sales pitch on another domain which had been registered in Panama 9 days prior. And at the end of the sales pitch an Add to Cart link took me to a checkout page for their $97.95 starter kit. Trying to leave that page resulted in popup messages offering a lower price. I'm lucky that I know enough to spot the red flags and not hand over my credit card number. Sure enough, the person who sent the link soon followed up with a message that they didn't actually send it - their email account had been hacked into.

For more information on work-at-home schemes, see this FTC fact sheet: