Anyone looking for online data entry jobs quickly discovers that the vast majority of so-called “job opportunities” online are either misleading or outright scams. Some people are able to recognize these fraudulent job listings right off the bat, but unfortunately many people do get tricked. Too often, the person who gets scammed is a well-meaning individual who just wants to be able to do honest work at home. In fact, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’ve fallen for at least one of these tricks yourself.

While many of these scam job listings are pretty easy to recognize, others are a little more tricky and require some savvy to spot. If you want to protect yourself from being scammed in the future, here are a few things to watch out for.

Bait-and-switch

The most common scam when it comes to online data entry jobs is the classic bait-and-switch routine. A person will post a job listing asking for qualified professionals to perform a certain task, and then once you apply they will get in contact with you asking for something, usually money. Many of these listings are copied from legitimate job sites, which makes them tricky to recognize. However, you can usually tell when there is just something off about the person who calls or emails you. And if they ask you for money, it’s a dead giveaway.

Asking for money

Most bait-and-switch scammers ask for money, but there are other ways that people do this. Some might just ask for money outright, saying that they need an investment of a certain amount of money for you to show that you are truly interested in the job. More often than not, when you see a job like this, the person is just going to run off with your money and you’ll never hear from them again.

Of course, there are some legitimate websites that ask for subscription fees in exchange for helping you connect with potential employers. This is perfectly fine, but before you sign up for a site like this, make sure that it’s actually a good site that people have had success with. Otherwise, it may not be a scam, but it will be a waste of money.

Asking for free work

Another sign that a so-called “employer” is up to no good is if they ask you to do some work for free. You probably would never consider doing any real work without pay, but many people get suckered into these things by scammers who ask for samples, mock-ups, or trial work. If you see any of these buzzwords, go no further. Chances are that it’s a scammer just trying to get free work. Keep in mind that you are not the only one looking for this work, and a wily crook can probably get several different people to do a little bit of work each, which can add up to a full job, all for no pay.

Fishing for information

Some scammers put ads online just to get people’s information, which they can then sell to advertising companies or more nefarious entities. When you’re putting yourself out there to try to get jobs, you are of course going to have to give some basic information, but under no circumstances should you provide anything that you consider to be private or potentially sensitive. Obviously, don’t give out your credit card or banking information, and keep everything that is not pertinent to your potential jobs out of your resume, cover letters, and job bids. If you don’t follow this rule of thumb, don’t be surprised if you start getting spammed via mail, phone, and email.