Tory Johnson: Get a Job, Work at Home

Get paid to shop and eat at great restaurants and then report back to the corporate headquarters on the level of service and cleanliness to help improve the customer service experience. This is not a way to make steady money, but there are opportunities for small amounts of money here and there -- and to get free products and services -- depending on where you live. Don't get hooked into paying $25 to $100 to become an official mystery shopper and assume you'll automatically get hired. There is no such thing. A legitimate opportunity will not cost you any money, nor will it be steady, so you can't rely on this to support a family. But if you're just looking for a few extra bucks, Mysteryshop.org may be a helpful resource in getting started.

Envelope Stuffing

Since the most popular work-from-home opportunity on the Internet is envelope-stuffing, I decided to give it a try. I sent in $19.95 and in some cases $29.95 for "starter kits" from 10 different Web sites to learn how to make "up to $1,500 a week or more" stuffing envelopes. Every one of them was a scam. All I'm doing is getting other people to "stuff envelopes," and if they're sucker enough to pay the $20 fee, then I'll get a cut of it. Don't fall for this -- even though the ads are compelling, it doesn't work. When evaluating any advertised opportunity to make money at home, keep two key tips in mind:

• Talk to a live person. Do not send money if there is no contact information for a live person on the Web site. E-mail is not sufficient. You must be able to talk to someone at the company directly in order to pose questions and evaluate the opportunity to determine if it's right for you.
• Beware of promises for "easy money." Some marketers are so clever with language that they had me fooled on more than one occasion with promises of making easy money at home. But of course, get rich-quick-schemes are just that -- schemes. There is no easy way to make money from home. Every thing takes work and skill, so don't jump into something until you know the facts.

Tory Johnson is the workplace contributor on "Good Morning America" and the CEO of Women for Hire. To connect directly with Johnson, visit www.womenforhire.com.