"Freelancing World"-The Series Part 2 "Freelancing Scams - The Warnings!
"Freelancing World"-The Series Part 2
Are you thinking of becoming a freelancer? Then wait, and read this article so that you can avoid the scammers. The freelancing world looks like a dream job to many people and that is why many people try to become a freelancer. After all, you can be your own boss, and provide your services from the comfort of your home.
There are many services that you can easily learn and provide as a freelancer. One of the most popular ones is content writing. I have discussed how you can become a freelance content writer in part 1 of this series.
You can find part 1 on my blog site. Or here;
"Freelancing world" The Series Part 1 "A complete guide to content writing"
Overall, it won’t be wrong to say that freelancing is a tough but ideal job. However, there are many scammers in this industry. Don’t worry though! In this article, I am going to tell you about some ways that are most commonly used by scammers in the freelance business. I am also going to share my own experience of the time I got scammed when I first started out.
The first and most important thing is that you should NEVER pay to get any sort of freelance projects. This is the most common type of scam that happens in this industry. This is how I got scammed too.
The main reason why I am writing this article is that I don't want any newbie freelancers to go through the same thing that I went through. I wish that there was some information about this side of the freelancing world when I first started out.
My Freelancing Scam Experience
So, when I first got into freelancing, I was 16 years old. In search of getting my first freelance project, I made an account on freelancer.com. I made a profile and then I started bidding on the projects that I was interested in. The same day that I made my account, I got an offer for a typing job.
The so-called “company” said that they would like to work with me and to make sure that I will provide them the project on the due date, I have to pay them a “security deposit”. Then the scammer said after I pay this security deposit, they will give me the project and the security deposit will also be refunded with my payment.
Now, onto the best part. This is seriously making me laugh now as I am writing this, but oh well! Moving forward, they even had a CONTRACT. Like seriously! So, I thought that 25$ that would be refunded is a price for a 150$ project because I thought that this is how this platform worked. Man, was I wrong!
Well, then after paying the “security deposit” and signing the “contract”. They gave me the project. After working so hard on that project, I submitted it on the due date. Then I waited and waited, and then nothing! Well, that is how I got scammed.
So, whenever you get any “offer” like this, just ignore it. It is always best to work on advance payment or at least 50% advance payment.
The Copyrights Scammer
Many scammers will get a project done by you and then present it on their name. These types of scammers are called copyright scammers.
For example, let’s say you got a project to write an article. You send this person the article, then these types of scammers will publish the article on their name, without giving you any credit or your payment. This is known as copyright scamming.
The “Training fees/security deposit” Scammer (How me and my friend caught a scammer)
Another type of scammer that my friend caught was in social media marketing. She applied for a freelance job as a social media marketer. There was this job available online on a job search website. I won’t name that site, because the site itself is not a scam. So, this person sends my friend a message asking her to send her CV on WhatsApp. So, she did.
After that, the person said that she has to post some things on an Instagram page several times a day, and that's it! That’s the job. My friend discussed it with me and I immediately sensed that it was a scam. However, we wanted to confirm it. After that, the person asked for Rs 3000 and said that it was for training.
Like, come on man! He asked to pay this sum of money through "easy paisa" so that he can train her for the job. Like, who does that? Now, I was sure that it was a scam. Still, I told my friend to say that he can deduct the money from her first paycheck.
Then, this person says that some external agents will train her, and therefore, she has to pay for this “training”. By this point, I was 100% sure that it was a scammer, so I told my friend to message him and say that all this is not at all related to social media marketing, and one never has to pay for a job. It just doesn't make sense!
Now, this person calmly replies with;
“ Yes, all this is related to freelance social media marketing, my dear!”, My friend was so shocked to see what a determined white liar this person was. Well, after that, I told my friend to send him one last message saying that we know you are a scammer and bye! Then, we blocked his number, that’s it! This is called a training fee scam.
So, you see, my friend got saved from getting scammed because I knew about this stuff from my own experience. Now, you see my point, that never ever pay to get any freelance project or pay any sort of security deposit or fees to get a “JOB”.
These are just a few of the most common tricks these scammers use. Just be vigilant and use logic. I hope this blog helped you in understanding a little bit more about the freelance world. Best wishes for your freelance career!
Written by
Eisha Mirza
