By The Work From Home Mom (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Aug 06, 2015 01:09 AM EDT
Tags work from home, work at home, online, social media, Facebook

Finding a legitimate work online is a challenge. Gone are the days when you have to browse through the classified ads in dailies as everything is going digital these days.

Your gateway to information opens with just a single mouse click, but as everyone knows, the World Wide Web is also home to scammers prying at their next victim, and that victim could be you.

So how can a work from home mom avoid the lure of cyber criminals?

1. Do a self assessment - First, make a list of the things you want to do. Work is important, but working for something that you are passionate about is something else. Ensure that the skills you have are aligned to your target job.

2. Browse through legitimate job post portals - This can be tricky. A good job listing will clearly state the job description and the role that you will have to take. Your prospective client should have a working website that shows information about the company, its address and its services.

3. Check social media - Companies are now using various social media channels to post available jobs. If you are eyeing a specific company, see if it has an existing profile and if it has a considerable number of followers. Ensure that it is a verified account.

4. Join social media groups that cater to work at home moms - A good way to check available jobs that you can do at home is to join social media groups. For example, there are several Facebook groups that you can check out and the community or the administrator will help you determine if the job post is fake. The response is almost always immediate.

5. If it's too good to be true, chances are the job post is a scam - A lot of "companies" offer jobs that guarantee easy money but this is suspicious. While this may work for some, never fall for something that will require you to submit sensitive information. In addition step away from job posts that will require you to pay a specific amount of money or will require you to submit your bank information. Always remember: Success cannot be achieved overnight.