Earn more than $1,000 a week by simply stuffing envelopes. Work at home while lounging on the couch in pajamas, watching TV and gorging on pizza and beer.

It sounds like most college students' idea of a dream job.

But, if a job listing in the classifieds appears suspicious, it probably is, officials warn.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher advises that most work-at-home companies are not legitimate.

Most of these companies require a down payment of some kind. Others require employees to purchase the products needed to complete the job. Recently, con artists have been using more sophisticated solicitation letters that are made in print shops or on home computers, according to Fisher.

Be wary if a potential employer asks for payments of any kind, Fisher said.

Those who feel that they have been victimized by a work-at-home scam should contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection immediately at (800) 441-2555.

"We [the Bureau of Consumer Protection] will then contact the business that there is a complaint about," said Barry Creany, senior deputy attorney general. "Then we will certainly look to get a full refund."

Additionally, the attorney general's office may pursue legal action against the company if there has been repeated complaints that have been verified, Creany said.

However, not all work-at-home jobs are scams, Creany noted.

"There are some perfectly legitimate businesses that operate in the same way," Creany said. "My advice to those who are thinking about responding to an ad would be to do some research on the company to make sure [job] offers are bona fide."

A few clicks of a computer mouse can help determine if a work-at-home company is legitimate by utilizing the "Check out a Company" link on the Better Business Bureau Web site (search.bbb.org).

Some students may be tempted to try work-at-home jobs because of financial problems and because of the promising nature of the job advertisements, Michael Bachner (junior-advertising/public relations) said.

"They [students] wouldn't have to leave their apartment to make money," Bachner said. "Everyone wants to make as much as possible doing as little as possible."

People are enticed by promises of fast cash and easy work, which can sometimes lead them to fall victim to the scams, Bachner said.

There is usually a catch to every job that seems too good to be true, Tom Jones (senior-management science and information systems) said.

"If they're really offering that much money though, they wouldn't have to try so hard to find people," Jones said.

There are several types of work-at-home schemes. However, envelope stuffing, product assembly and medical billing record jobs are the most common ploys, Fisher said.

Work-at-home jobs may sound attractive to students with little time to work.

However, these scams require the employee to purchase the paper, envelopes, postage and other supplies that are needed to complete the job, Fisher said. Additionally, most envelopes are stuffed with promotional material that aims to trick others to join in on the scheme.

"One job I got through those was taking surveys, and I only lasted a week. They themselves try to sell you too much," Maurel Merette (senior-history) said.

Product assembly jobs require "employees" to send a payment for instructions to assemble the products. The company reserves the right to reject products that fail to meet company standards. The company always rejects the products, Fisher said.

Figures on how many people are affected by the work-at-home fraud are not available, said a spokesperson for the Williamsport office of the Better Business Bureau.