I'm working on a story for The N&O for this Sunday on local moms who are successful entrepreneurs. As part of the story, I interviewed Roy Cooper, N.C. Attorney General, about common scams and how not to fall prey to them.

Here's what he told me about work-at-home schemes, along with some other scams that people get suckered in to:

Companies that promise big paychecks in exchange for a registration fee, a deposit on materials or payment for instructional books or computer disks are usually scams. Common ones are those that promise money for medical billing, stuffing envelopes, making crafts or other products that are promised to give people tools to start a successful business. Another popular ripoff is the “secret shopper” scam where the company eventually gets access to a victim's bank account.

The promises that most of these companies make are too good to be true, Cooper said. And there's a pretty easy way to determine whether that ad in the newspaper, on TV or online is really a great deal (because just because they're in the paper or online doesn't mean they're for real). If the company wants money up front, it's probably not legitimate.

“Usually legitimate job interviews and legitimate businesses are not going to charge you money to interview with them or try to get a job with them,” he said. “Most of the work at home scams we see are just trying to get you to pay money for their information. Often times it will be a list of companies or a list of things you can do to work at home. Information like that you can get for free.”

Cooper said women and others who are at home during the day often fall victim to telemarketing scams where people will pretend to be your credit card company or health insurer or might offer you assistance in a foreclosure or with your debts.

I just got a call at home from a company telling me that my car warranty was about to expire. Cooper said this is a very common scam that has recently appeared. The company is trying to sell car warranties.

Not only were they lying to me, but they also breaking the law by calling me because I'm on the Do Not Call registry, he said.

Cooper said never give out your personal information over the phone. If you need a service from somebody, call them yourselves. And get on the Do Not Call registry. I've seen a pick up in calls from telemarketers lately, but I think most of them are from companies trying to take advantage of me. No legitimate companies have called my home since I signed up.

For more information about scams or to make a complaint if you're a victim, go to www.ncdoj.com or call the Consumer Protection Hotline at (877) 5-NO-SCAM.

Once you're the victim of one scam, be prepared to hear about more. Scammers might not be nice to us, but they're nice to each other. Cooper said they often share their mailing lists amongst themselves.