ANY readers considering taking up the many home working opportunities which are in circulation at the moment are advised by City of York Trading Standards to be cautious about believing assurances that there is a good income to be made from minimal outlay.

The latest "opportunity" arrives in the form of an email and offers a significant income to recipients who have a little free time, a mobile phone and a bank account.

The scheme, which originates abroad, does not clearly explain what the work involves, but seems to offer commission on payments made through a personal bank account.

City of York Trading Standards advises recipients of such emails to be wary of providing financial information as this could make participants vulnerable to fraud.

Opportunities for home working are often to be found in advertisements in newspapers or shop windows.

Beware of any scheme that asks you to provide money upfront. Such schemes include envelope addressing, where people are asked to pay for materials, but work is often rejected as not being of good enough quality.

Similarly, kit schemes, where you pay for a kit in order to make a product to sell, can prove problematic. Often the kit will be provided with no instructions and/or the materials will be of such poor quality that the organiser of the scheme will reject the finished article as being unsaleable.

Recruitment schemes, which often require a registration fee, can be similarly problematic.

People looking to work from home who reply to these adverts often merely receive instructions on how to place adverts, such as the one they replied to.

These schemes involve sending out mail shots, such as the one to which the potential home worker originally responded, requesting fees from other people.

At about 30-50p per enquiry it is difficult to make a worthwhile sum of money.

Anyone considering responding to a home working opportunity or who has sent money to a company and got nothing in return should contact Consumer Direct which can provide information as to whether the firm is a limited company, when it was incorporated and details of organisations which specialise in home working advice.

York consumers experiencing problems with a specific company can seek advice from City of York Trading Standards. Phone Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

Updated: 10:12 Thursday, March 31, 2005