4 Sketchy Side Hustles You Should Run From

Museum of London field archaeologist Joe Severn holds a Roman gold coin found while he was excavating a site in the City of London. The coin is similar to the nearly 55,000 ancient Roman coins that were found recently in Somerset, Britain. Gerry Penny/Getty Images

Have you been looking for a side hustle that will make you extra money? If so, you aren’t alone. Approximately one in four people work a side hustle.

Some people who have part-time jobs on the side do so to gain extra spending money for luxury items. However, as you would expect, many also use the money to pay regular household expenses, or to get out of debt.

But out of all of these people taking jobs on the side there are some who get scammed out of their money by empty promises. Unfortunately, these people are usually the very ones who need it the most just to make ends meet.

To prevent that scenario from happening to unsuspecting, hard-working people, below is a list of bad side hustles you should run from.

Work from Home Jobs

Let me start by saying that not every work from home job is a scam. Nevertheless, you must be wary of promises to make thousands right away from this type of work.

There are lots of these jobs to choose from, such as becoming a medical biller or a rebate processor. The problem is that they require “training” that never happens or “supplies” that never arrive, all for a fee, of course.

That’s where the scammers make their money. They lure vulnerable, desperate people, who have real need of additional income, into parting with their money. Those who get duped never see their money again.

Sometimes, the work from home job isn't good as we expected. Shutterstock

Jobs Requiring Large Upfront Investments

Any job that requires a large investment of money up front may be one of the many bad side hustles you should run from. Legitimate side hustles shouldn’t make you spend several hundred dollars or even a couple of thousand before you even start.

Arts and Crafts You Make Yourself

Let me just say no. If you decide you want to make beaded necklaces to sell as a hobby, go right ahead and do that.

However, if you seriously need the cash, this is another of the bad side hustles you should run from. Why? There are several reasons.

First, the time investment vs what you will get paid is not proportionate. In other words, it may take you so much time that you don’t really get paid well for what you are doing.

Second, you’d be surprised how quickly you can rack up hundreds or even thousands in supplies. In addition, if you are planning to make craft items for another company, your “kit” that you paid a few hundred for may never arrive.

Making craft items might not bring the revenue that worthy the time you spend on them. Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

Any Side Hustle With a Secretive Recruiter

If you have ever had someone target you from a multi-level marketing scheme you know they can sometimes be very secretive. Any time someone promises to make you a lot of money but won’t come right out and tell you the name of the business or what it does, run.

You don’t need a job badly enough to get sucked into this type of scheme.

As with any secondary job or side hustle, not all multi-level marketing jobs are scams. But the problem is that even the legitimate ones are hard to make money from.

If you need to make some money on the side, there are unfortunately some bad side hustles you should run from. There are also some good ones. Be wary, check out those you question, and trust your instincts.

By Kayla Sloan

The Epoch Times Copyright © 2022 The views and opinions expressed are only those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.