Contact 6: Work-from-home scams

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- FOX6's Contact 6 recently took a closer look at some work-from-home offers to see whether they're legit.

"On the website and on the radio what they heard is they would be stuffing envelopes and being paid up to $5,000 dollars a week," U.S. Postal Inspector Daryl Greenberg said.

Over 230 people in one case alone were lured in by this bogus job offer.

"You had very young victims out of high school and you had very elderly victims. You had victims who were destitute," Greenberg said.

Victims were told to send between $50 and $500 for the starter packet -- and received nothing in return.

"They were heartfelt. They were trying to do good and make money and fell victim anyway," Greenberg said.

Tips to stay protected from this kind of scam include: 

"I have never found a legitimate envelope-stuffing project that actually panned out the way people believe," Greenberg said.

Postal inspectors encourage being on the lookout for a scam involving receiving, repackaging and then mailing merchandise to a foreign address. The problem is that the contents are usually paid for with stolen credit cards. Repackaging and mailing it could lead to criminal charges.