Sounds great so far. But I had my doubts. How many of these were legitimate opportunities? How do I find out if they're not hoaxes? I decided to phone a few and find out. With the newspaper classifieds section in front of me, I began responding to ads that said something about Internet-involved work. Here's what happened:

The first lady I called hesitated to let out any information and wanted me to attend a daylong lecture in a little-known place. After convincing her that I live far away, I was given another number and asked to contact "the senior-most person". He would be able to guide me and then if I still had doubts, I could call her again. But the only 'new' information I got from this person was that there were 10 different ways of earning money from home using the Internet. I'd have to attend the seminar to understand all about it. He too refused to divulge anything about the work itself.

Surprisingly, two other numbers I called got me the same kind of response! As I was scanning for more ads, I found a name and number that looked oddly familiar. It suddenly dawned upon me that this was the same "senior person" I'd called a few minutes ago! Only he was offering Rs 10,000 per month, while the lady had offered Rs 20,000. Everything else was the same!

Another place I called, I was asked to pay Rs 500 for the software and brochures that would be mailed to me in a couple of days. But how could I be certain if I'd really receive them? This may seem like a small investment for many, but for the operators, it all adds up. I also decided to email a few of them through one of my less used IDs. But every message I received was "personalized" spam. I was automatically added to some mailing list that sent spam about work-from-home offers.

Some ads mentioned Web sites. I thought at least these would have more information, but I was wrong. Earnezee.com was one of them. "We are a leading company in a $427 Billion Industry doing business in 50 countries and adding more every year!", they claimed. Even after browsing for over half an hour and seeing page after page of success stories, I was unable to understand the nature of the work. Finally, I had to provide my name, address and email ID to contact them for more "information". I haven't heard from them yet.

Another such site is Live Your Dream ('A business opportunity with a solid company which has a yearly turnover of more than 1.9 billion dollars'). I contacted a gentleman (Sameer) who appeared to be reading out all the information I was asking for. He told me they were hiring people for customer care, part time/ full time work from home using the Internet, marketing etc. and to report to a location in Bandra (suburb in Mumbai) at 8:00 pm for an interview. That's all he would say. He asked me to attend the interview for more information. The site didn't answer any of my questions and my follow-up email got no response.

So how does one spot a real opportunity from a hoax? It's not so simple. Enter "work from home" in any search engine and you'll be amazed at how many such sites exist. I visited a few at random. They all followed the same pattern. None provided the exact nature of the work, but kept saying how successful their business was and how people were earning thousands of dollars a week. Many carried photographs and success stories of smiling people. For more information -- you guessed it, write to them (and, perhaps, get more spam in your mailbox).

Unfortunately in India, there are no sites that offer information about legitimate, proven home-business opportunities and alert people against false offers. Not all such offers may be scams. There could be some genuine ones. But those would probably not advertise a large amount of cash in a short time span. It's usually through word of mouth, job sites or placement consultants that one gets to know of such offers.

Some of these offer work-from-home opportunities for the computer-literate. Like Expertcity, that provides live technical support for any computer-related question. Anybody with good knowledge of computers can sign up and work as their representatives. You answer a question and charge accordingly. Payments are prompt. Also the customers pay only if they are satisfied with your answer. Due to an overwhelming response, they've cut down on accepting new applications. But I've worked for this site myself and can vouch for it.

At Google Answers one can sign up as a researcher, deal with questions and charge accordingly. However, they have temporarily stopped accepting new applications. Be on the lookout. For more information, go through their FAQ section. Also check out this article on legitimate online opportunities.

A couple of other sites that offer work-from-home opportunities are Tech24 and Attenza. Both require you to be technically proficient. Customer queries are answered in real time using a chat tool.

The only investment to work for the above sites is a computer with a decent Internet connection.

There are also companies that offer a good salary for Web design and programming from home. Keep an eye out for such opportunities. Such offers can also be found on popular job sites and with placement consultants.

So, before grabbing the first such opportunity that comes your way, stop and ask the following questions:

• Check the company credentials. You can use a good search engine for that purpose. Find out if the company is listed, where it is operational (if it is a global company) and what products and services it offers.
  
  
• Try and find out people who have personally benefited from them.
  
  
• Does it require you to invest any money? More importantly, what are the returns on investment?
  
  
• Have they answered all your questions/ doubts satisfactorily?
  
  
• Are you satisfied with their business model? Does their product have a market? Research it thoroughly before you make a decision.