Sadly - many ads for work-at-home jobs are scams - but there are a few legitimate companies. Troubleshooter Howard Ain shows some companies offering real opportunities.

It's a question I've been asked a lot lately? Are there any honest work at home companies? Lisa Baker is the mother of three, including a 4 month old. She hasn't worked in 4 months and says she's looking to work part time from her Fairfield Township home.

LISA BAKER: "It's been nice for me to be able to be at home but its also a burden because in society today you have to have to have 2 incomes in order to be able to have any kind of a life."

But, Baker says, when she goes to the internet and looks for available jobs, she's concerned about what she's found.

BAKER: "I really don't understand why there would be a need for the one position I actually contacted you about because from what I understand they kind of want you to be a middleman for purchases and things of that nature."

I explained those jobs are scams because they'll send you fraudulent checks and want you to send them your good money.

BAKER: "It's sad that there's people out there and that's the way they make their money is to scam people."

For legitimate companies try alpine access which handles calls for retailers. It's work-at-home agents can earn about 15 dollars an hour. There's also Liveops where you can become an independent agent and contract to receive calls from people requesting products or service from the company's clients. Then there's the Working Solutions company, which is looking for home-based customer service agents.

All these firms have a lot of information on their websites and you need to apply over the internet. Incidentally, Cincinnati-based Convergys tells me it has no work-at-home openings locally at this time, but you should check its website.