When I go to check my e-mail, a flashing banner screams, “Earn $10,000 / month working from home.”

My junk folder is full of moneymaking offers every day.

Driving around town, I see posters stapled to utility poles with similar come-hither messages.

Then there’s the female (I can only assume) Work at Home promoter who plastered the toilet stalls at the Mall of America with Work at Home cards promising $1500/month PT, $5000/month FT. I was alarmed to see others who had stopped to use the restroom walking out carrying one of theses smarmy promotions.

After weeks of avoiding this avalanche of opportunity I decided to check out some of the home business offers. Posing as an eager opportunity seeker, I began responding to every ad that crossed my path.

What I discovered was a pattern or system to all of these offers. Maybe there’s a Scam School where they teach this stuff, I mused.

I call them the Work at Home Opportunistas and they are on the prowl.  Answer an ad and here’s what you’ll find:

° Big money, no product. The emphasis is on big money that you’ll earn. Very often the actual business is just alluded to. Breathing seems to be the only required skill. The focus is on opportunity with a capital O.

(Photos that include palms trees and a Ferrari are also red flags.)

° Free info that’s not so free. Request the free information offered and you’ll probably get a brochure offering to sell you the real scoop.

° The Internet is all you need. Especially popular are offers that you can pass along on the Internet. From the comfort of your own home, you can reach millions around the world and rake it in.

° Stranger than fiction. The offer that most amused me was the one offering to train me to track down deadbeat parents and collect unpaid child support. Ridiculous claims are also made for envelope stuffing and various solicitations.

° Predicted monthly income. Jobs have predictable incomes. Businesses fluctuate.

Besides the fact that few people ever profit from such plans, these schemes do little more than give working at home a shady reputation.

Of course, there are legitimate companies that offer opportunities for independent sales reps. Doing your homework can help you sort them out from the scam artists.

Sadly if you hook up with one of these Work at Home Opportunistas and you’ll spend both cash and confidence—with nothing but a sad, hard lesson in return.