Finding legitimate work from home can sometimes be tough, but certainly something that can be done.

With today’s uncertain economic times, no one feels overly secure at their 9-to-5 jobs. That’s why so many people are looking to add extra income by working from home. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell the legitimate work from home jobs from the “opportunities” advertised by scam artists.

How can you spot the difference? There are several telltale signs that you can look for when trying to determine if a work-from-home offer is legitimate or shady.

Look first for outrageous claims. There are no work-from-home jobs that will let you earn $10,000 a month. If you see an ad claiming this, don’t bother to respond; scammers often try to tempt gullible people by making unbelievable claims. The saying “if it’s too good to be true, it usually is” definitely holds true for work-from-home job offers.

If a work-from-home ad is intentionally vague, pass it up, too. Many scammers don’t want you to know that you’ll have to spend 12 hours a day stuffing envelopes to make minimum wage. So they’ll advertise their job as “a great opportunity” or one that has “unlimited income potential.” What they won’t do is tell you anything about what the job entails. For that, you’ll have to send away for some sort of kit. This is a classic work-from-home con job.

Refrain from answering any work-from-home job ad that requires you to send a small amount of money for a starter’s kit. Usually, these “starter’s kits” are simply lists of work-from-home job opportunities that you can find yourself for free. Often, the kits will merely list possible ways to make money from home. Again, you don’t have to shell out any of your own money to come up with potential jobs you can work from home.

The basic rule is that you should be a bit cynical whenever you spot a work-from-home job ad. It’s best to assume that whoever placed the ad is trying to rip you off somehow. You can then look for reasons to prove this assumption wrong.

This may sound depressing, but it’s the best way to protect yourself from falling for a work-from-home scam.

There are legitimate ways to earn money while working from home. But you won’t often find these legitimate work from home jobs on craigslist.org or on sheets of cardboard nailed to utility poles. The best way to find legitimate work from home jobs is to network with business owners in your area. Do they need freelance work? Often, they’ll need someone to type up reports, balance the books or coordinate meetings. And these are legitimate jobs that you can work from home, if you’re willing to do it on a freelance basis.

In today’s sluggish economy, a growing number of people are seeking work from home jobs. And why not? By working from home, either in addition to or as replacement for, a full-time office or day job, you can earn extra dollars. Today, most of us need all the extra dollars we can get.

Problem is, many of the work-from-home offers you see advertised on the Internet, on sites like craigslist or on homemade roadside signs are scams. Many others pay far less than they boast.

How can you identify legitimate work from home job opportunities and avoid the scammers or those jobs that offer insultingly low wages? It takes some research, a bit of a common sense and a willingness to walk away when something seems suspicious.

Here’s one rule, though: Don’t apply for any work from home job “opportunity” you see advertised on a piece of cardboard tacked to a street pole. Avoid any jobs you see marketed on signs taped to stoplight poles, too.

Legitimate companies don’t advertise for workers this way. Think about it: In today’s sour economy, there are many people looking for whatever work they can find. Why would a company need to advertise in such a shoddy manner to find good workers?

Only scammers or low-payers seek workers through homemade street-corner signs. They know that they’ll get more than a few gullible people to call every time they tape one of those signs to a lamppost.

Be careful, too, when replying to work-from-home opportunities you see advertised on the Internet. Unfortunately, many of these are scams, too. To weed out the scammers, make sure you find out exactly how much money you’ll be making for the services you perform. If a company won’t say, is vague about how much income you’ll make or can only give a wide range of possible take-home pay figures, hang up the phone; the odds are you’re dealing with a scammer.

If a company requires you to send away for a free information packet before providing you details on the work you’ll be doing, you are, once again, dealing with a scammer. And be absolutely certain to never send money to a company for work opportunities. You should never send money to a company that’s supposed to be hiring you to do a job.

It can be disheartening trying to find that perfect work-from-home job opportunity. The truth is, most of these opportunities are offered by legitimate companies, such as accounting firms that need freelance number-crunchers or newspapers who need freelance reporters. It’s very rare to find a legitimate work-from-home job online.