- Side hustles are becoming more and popular among workers, but with many of them, there's a high risk of getting scammed.
- Many scams require up-front fees, or find ways to get you to work for free as a part of the interview process, but there's no job to actually get.
- Here are eight jobs that would be great side hustles, if only they weren't complete scams.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Not only are we living in the age of the gig economy, we're now officially living in the era of the side hustle. More than ever, folks with moxie are taking on after-hours challenges to supplement their day job.
But not all side hustles are created equal. Some are lucrative and exciting, and can pay for your next vacation or catapult you into a new career. Others are simply scams, designed to separate you from your money.
"There are lots of valid opportunities out there. The concept of a side hustle is empowering and can change people's lives. But if it's promoted as an easy gig and sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Craig Markovitz, an assistant entrepreneurship professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, told Business Insider.
We've rounded up eight of the worst side hustles that will probably never earn you a dime. Because they're scams. Steer clear.