Homeworking schemes – London Borough of Bromley

In this guide, the words 'must' or 'must not' are used where businesses are legally required to do (or not do) something. The word 'should' is used where there is established legal guidance or best practice that is likely to help businesses avoid breaking the law.

This guidance is for England, Scotland and Wales

Have you seen a job offer, received a text out of the blue or spotted a post on social media claiming that you can earn money from home or in your spare time? Did it catch your attention? You will need to find out whether this is a genuine business venture or, as is likely, a homeworking scam.

These scams rely on lots of people sending off money on the promise of high or unlimited earnings, but you are unlikely to receive any payment and may even lose money. You may be recruited to become part of an illegal pyramid-selling scam, then enticed into signing up friends and family who end up getting scammed too.

These scams are really common and varied, and can involve completing bogus online surveys or assembling products at home where you often have to buy expensive kits as a start-up. When you send your finished products back, they will fail the quality check, regardless of how well you have done the job.

There are steps you can take to try and ensure that the business you are dealing with is genuine.

It is important to remember that all scams are fraud and a crime.

TYPICAL SCAM HOMEWORKING JOB OFFER

You may have seen this type of offer before, via posts on social media, online, by email or text message, or perhaps on information boards in your local store.

HOMEWORKERS REQUIRED URGENTLY

UNLIMITED EARNINGS. NO QUALIFICATIONS OR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

THERE ARE LOADS OF COMPANIES AND CONTACTS OUT THERE AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!

ALL YOU NEED IS A SMARTPHONE, TABLET OR LAPTOP TO GET STARTED

CLICK ON THE 'APPLY NOW' LINK OR MESSAGE FOR DETAILS

People are drawn to offers of this type, as they come with the promise of making money at home. The words used may be different to the example, but the common thread is that they promise high earnings for relatively little work, an up-front fee is usually payable and the details of the actual work to be done is vague.

BOGUS ONLINE SURVEYS

There are criminals who claim to offer you cash to complete surveys, trials or carry out market research with payment being made to you by bank transfer or via an online payment system. Criminals will even offer to sell you access to online survey businesses, with the promise of potentially high earnings.

ENVELOPE STUFFING

Typically, the details of the scheme will be advertised on social media. The advertisement will give you enough information to capture your interest by highlighting the possibility of big earnings for relatively easy 'envelope stuffing' work.

The advertisement will ask you to 'register' with a scheme. The wording of some schemes is very clever; read it carefully and look for the small print. There will usually be a request for a payment of a fee. You pay the fee, only to find that you have bought a 'pack' that you have the right to promote and re-sell to others. That is where the envelope stuffing comes in. Any predicted income would come from other people buying a copy of the pack from you.

Some scheme operators are so confident in their ability to defraud people that they include accurate information buried within their terms and conditions on what the scheme really involves.

This type of envelope scheme is just one of many. Other schemes involve:

filling envelopes with 'circulars' or other advertising material
offering to supply you with a list of 'homeworking opportunities', which turn out to be a list of similar envelope-stuffing schemes
you pay for a starter pack, and any work you do addressing envelopes is continuously returned to you as not of the required quality and therefore you do not get paid

ASSEMBLING PRODUCTS AT HOME

Other homeworking schemes require you to buy kits for assembling products at home. The assembled goods are then returned to the organiser for payment. The products can include craft goods and decorations.

How do these schemes work? You respond to advertisements and receive the introductory information. You may be required to pay a registration fee and will also have to buy the un-assembled products in kit form.

Once the kit is received, you will be expected to assemble the products and return them to the organiser. The documents will state that for every correctly assembled product, you will be paid a fee. However, the organiser has complete control over whether the product passes their 'quality check'. Your products will never pass quality control and you will never be paid. In some circumstances, the organiser may ask you to part with more cash to buy more kits, but the outcome will remain the same. You will be left with useless, expensive products that you have paid for and spent time assembling, which have been rejected.

HOMEWORKING CHECKLIST

Not all homeworking opportunities are scams. The following tips may help you to work out whether or not a homeworking opportunity is genuine:

stop, think and be sceptical
be cautious if the details of the homeworking scheme are vague
be prepared to ask lots of detailed questions and find out as much about the job as you can
be sceptical about advertisements that claim to make you rich very quickly or promise high earnings for what appears to be very basic work
do not pay money up-front to 'register', buy a starter pack or attend an expensive training course. Genuine employers offering genuine employment will not expect you to make an up-front payment of this type
do not allow yourself to be pressured or enticed by false deadlines or time-limited 'bonuses' to transfer money quickly
genuine employers will give you their full contact details allowing you to research the company before you go ahead
be aware that criminals may ask you for your bank details to set up payments. They may then use these details to take money from your account
if the advertisement you have come across resembles the typical advertisement in this guide then avoid it
avoid any scheme where you have to recruit others or pay an up-front fee
do not 'buy' customer leads. You could be scammed into unwittingly contacting other people with false offers of work
avoid organisers that use only mobile numbers or personal email accounts. This could be an indication that they are not a reputable trader. Look for a landline that can be traced and searched on the internet
be aware of pop-up advertisements and adverts placed on dubious homeworking websites or social media platforms, that appear to offer 'cheap loans' to those who are 'in-between jobs'. They are likely to be scams
if you are asked to provide payment or financial details by an employer who advertised via an online job site, report it to job site as soon as possible
be aware of schemes or adverts that ask to use your bank account for any reason. This could mean that you become what is called a 'money mule', and you could be breaking the law. For more information see the Action Fraud website
if you are considering self-employment as a direct seller, selling goods via a catalogue left at a consumer's home or through a home demonstration of a product, check that the supplier is a member of the Direct Selling Association. Use the online contact form or email dsaoffice@dsa.org.uk
be aware that some streets are 'No Cold Calling Zones', where residents do not wish to have cold callers at their door. Look out for 'do not call' stickers. For more information on these, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service / Advice Direct Scotland (contact details can be found at the end of this guide)

HOMEWORKING SCAM: WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS AND WHO DO I REPORT IT TO?

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits commercial practices that are unfair to consumers.

A commercial practice is unfair if it is likely to cause you to take a decision about a purchase that you would not otherwise have taken as a result of the practice involving:

a misleading action, which includes giving you false or misleading information relating to the purchase - for example, fraudulent claims about high 'potential earnings'
a misleading omission, which includes leaving out important information
an aggressive practice, which involves harassment, coercion or undue influence - for example, engaging in high-pressure selling that limits your ability to make an informed decision
contravention of the requirements of professional diligence - for example, the trader does not deal honestly or fairly with you

A commercial practice is also unfair if:

it leaves important information out of an invitation to purchase - for example, a sales document that does not include the identity / business address of the trader
it is one of 32 commercial practices listed in Schedule 20 to the Act, all of which are unfair in all circumstances. Pyramid promotional schemes are listed as unfair (or banned) commercial practices. A scheme of this type relies on individuals obtaining fees from recruiting other individuals to the scheme, rather than from the supply of products. If you come across a scheme of this type, report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service / Advice Direct Scotland.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 includes provisions that give you rights of redress if a trader has engaged in an unfair commercial practice involving a misleading action or an aggressive practice: the right to unwind the contract, the right to a discount and the right to damages. However, this is not yet in force. See 'Misleading and aggressive practices: rights of redress' for information on the rights of redress you have under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

If you have been the victim of fraud via a homeworking scheme you can report it to Action Fraud; for advice call the Citizens Advice consumer service / Advice Direct Scotland. If you have paid any money, contact your bank immediately.

If you see advertisements for homeworking schemes that you think are misleading, you can refer them to the Advertising Standards Authority or you can report them to the Citizens Advice consumer service / Advice Direct Scotland. The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) sets out the rules for non-broadcast advertisements, direct marketing communications and sales promotions. Section 20 of the code covers the Advertising Standards Authority's expectations of employment, homework schemes and business opportunities.

IN THIS UPDATE

Changes made to reflect the coming into force of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Part 4, Chapter 1: 'Protection from unfair trading').

Last reviewed / updated: October 2025

Key legislation

Please note

This information is intended for guidance; only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.

The guide's 'Key legislation' links may only show the original version of the legislation, although some amending legislation is linked to separately where it is directly related to the content of a guide. Information on amendments to legislation can be found on each link's 'More Resources' tab.

For further information in England and Wales contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 2231133. In Scotland contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000. Both provide free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues.