Working from home has become an increasingly attractive option for people during the recession, but a top industry standards survey is warning people to be aware of working from home scams.

Which? Money Quarterly investigated 13 newspaper and online adverts offering opportunities to make money from home, and found that only a couple of them actually offered proper job opportunities.

Moreover, most of them required an upfront fee for information on training that the researchers never actually received. Not one of the ads found in a national newspaper offered a recognisable job or regular salary.

Which? Money Quarterly editor-in-chief James Daley said some of them were clear ploys that preyed on people's needs to make money during financial difficulties.

"When times are tough it's tempting to look for ways to make extra money on the side, and working from home seems an easy way without needing any particular qualifications, skills or expertise," he said.

"Our research shows that you need to be very careful when looking at working from home ads in newspapers and online. Hundreds of thousands of people could be wasting money looking for work in these difficult times. If a job offer sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."

One of the most brazen ads offered an opportunity to set up a magazine from home and asked for almost £7,000 to start up, with follow up fees of £146.88 every month.