Who wouldn't want to make up to $5,000 a week from home stuffing envelopes? You wouldn't, since you're more likely to lose money by signing on for such a scam.

As the economy takes a turn for the much worse, those make-money-from-home schemes start to sound awfully appealing.

Targeted to senior citizens, stay-at-home moms and low-income earners, these scams have been going on for years but have been jump-started with the help of the internets. It's as easy as buying a few well-placed banner ads on existing, otherwise legitimate websites. Indeed, just Google "Work from home" and see how many ads pop up, promising that you can make "$240 by tonight!"

Forbes Magazine gives a great rundown on the kinds of scams taking people for a ride these days. Work from home-related complaints ranked among the Federal Trade Commission's top 20 fraud complaint categories between 1997 and 2005 (the latest figures available), according to Forbes. In those nine years, some 37,333 complaints were filed to the FTC.

Have you been cheated, scammed, or otherwise disappointed by a company? WalletPop wants your real life stories about consumer scams and complaints.

Email us with your story.... Did you receive horrible customer service? Did you pay for a product or service that you didn't receive? Did a company refuse to honor a warranty? Were you scammed out of money?

What we want to hear the facts of your firsthand experience. If we're interested in your story, we may email you to clarify some of the facts or to request your documentation. Don't be offended if we ask you for more information... we just want to make sure that we get the story right. And while we won't necessarily be able to fully investigate your claims or get your money back, we'll at least be able to hold companies accountable for their behavior. And hopefully, they'll even respond with some action to right their wrongs

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

How many homeowners do you know who have been ripped off by a builder, carpenter, or other contractor? I bet just about all of them will say they fell victim to a contractor at one point: either not receiving any services for their money, or getting a shoddy work product.

Over the last year, I experienced contractor drama of my own. A friend referred me to a very talented carpenter. I had seen some of his work and was very impressed. Except the carpenter had some business problems. He had several court judgments outstanding and had a history of finishing projects late. But my friend assured me the carpenter had turned over a new leaf and the hard times were a thing of the past.

I met with the contractor and he was eager to draw up plans for my project. I approved the plans, and he asked for half of the total cost as a downpayment so he could purchase materials and begin the project. That was almost a year ago, and he never purchased materials and never started the project.