In the past, we’ve discussed how work from home opportunities get a bum rap because of scam artists who advertise online. We’ve done our best to highlight the difference between legitimate work at home jobs for moms and work at home ad scams. What we want to do today, however, is share with you how you can help stop the amount of bad ads appearing on the web and, perhaps, even prevent other work at home moms from being taken in by these conniving schemes.

Here are a few tips for blowing the whistle on work at home scams:

1. Flag scams. If you search for jobs on CraigsList and encounter an ad that violates CraigsList’s Terms of Use, do not hesitate to click the “Flag” link located in a box near the top right of the ad. Ditto for our job leads and other sites where work at home jobs for moms are advertised.

2. Familiarize yourself with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Internet security warnings and, as you find them, report fraudulent work from home opportunities directly to them for further investigation.

3. If you’ve been victimized by a fraudulent ad, it’s possible that other moms either have been or are at risk of being victimized as they continue to hunt for work at home jobs for moms. Because of this, as soon as you realize that you’ve been bamboozled, report crooked individuals and companies to the Internet Crime Complaint Center in order to prevent others from taking the same fall.

4. Spread the word. If you frequent work at home forums, blogs and social networks, be sure to warn others about ads, schemes or companies that you know to be fraudulent. Word travels fast on the web, but crooks count on your silence to keep them in business. Even if you’ve never been taken advantage of, but you have spotted or know how to spot a work at home job scam, you’d be doing the entire community of telecommuters a favor by naming names. Of course, if you keep silent, you’re doing the scammers a favor, instead. Whose side are you on?

If anyone has any additional tips to offer, please do so in the comments section below. Together, I truly believe we can make a difference!