Here is a list of the top home based business and work at home scams and how to avoid them:

1. envelope stuffing- This scam has been around for decades. The ad promises big bucks for stuffing envelopes-all you have to do is pay a small processing fee. What do you get in return? A booklet telling you to plaster your town with flyers advertising a work at home "opportunity". The envelope stuffing part? The flyers tell people to send you $2.00 and a self addressed stamped envelope. You in return stuff them with yet another flyer and mail them out. Illegal and stupid.

2.Cash Gifting- This is just a fancy name for the old pyramid scheme scam. You are promised big returns if you "gift" some money. In return you are expect to persuade others to gift money to you. Again, very illegal.

3. "Payment Processors"- The ads say an overseas company is looking for someone to process payments from their U.S. customers. All you have to do is receive the payments, cash them, and wire them to the company. In reality you're laundering money for them. The funds come from stolen bank accounts, credit cards, and even phoney eBay auctions. In another version of the scam, the checks and money orders you "process" are fake and eventually bounce. In both cases, you're left holding the bag as you've committed a crime-and are responsible for making restitution to any victims. RUN from this one.

4.Email Processing- Want to be a spammer? Then respond to this ad. What you get for your money are instructions to spam message boards, forums, newsgroups and mailing lists with the same ad you responded to. Great way to make enemies fast.

5."Rebate Processors"-This one promises hundreds of thousands a year can be yours for a mere 1-4 hours of work a day. All you have to do is send $200 to get their training kit. The kit is actually a list of companies you can apply for rebate processor jobs at. The site advertising this amazing opportunity doesn't hire anyone-they just make money off of their "training kits".

Remember, if an opportunity seems too good to be true, it is. Be wary of any that ask for money, advertise via unsolicited email, and/or promise huge amounts of money for little work. There are legit and profitable work at home and home based opportunities out there, you just have to be careful!