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Scammers are not addressed just to you via email or lucrative advertisements, but also in Upwork (already oDesk), Freelance.com and other free market place. If you would like to find out more about content writing scams and how you can spot and avoid them, read this article by Freelance Writing Jobs.
If you’re not careful, it is easy to fall into the freelance or Upwork scam. Scammers do their work by you and then disappear without paying your efforts. In addition to legitimate project, the online job portals are several types of scams.
Some recruits often ask freelance jobs and not understood that the description of the project. Do not do it once. Read the task first. Understand that what potential customer wants. Their legitimate buyers would always clear requirements in the task description. The required services units, budgets, work hours, and payment structure is mentioned.
If a job that invites you to apply for a job just say “a lot of work from home opportunity! Get up to $200 per hour to surf the Internet! Once you get the job, you need to buy a small manual that guide you in your tasks… and something like that, the more likely a scam. How can you earn $200 by browsing the internet? Do not be fooled by abnormally high levels or tasks.
1. Unique sample scam:
Possibly the obvious and (if you know) the most common scam the freelance websites requires you to work a unique sample. It works as follows:
Employer: We need you to write unique 500 words articles. Budget: $ 3,000. Please send your works as a unique sample. Note that this is the application of a requirement is not part of the work.
Scam: You write thing unique and sends it to the employer. They reject your article. You gave them a free product – and so no other people who applies.
Signs of scams: The big budget is to draw your attention and divert your attention from the fact that they do not pay for your sample.
What to do: Report on the site. Almost all of the big freelance sites of special requirements explicitly prohibit free samples, because they know that this is a simple way to get content.
2. Low salary scam:
Employer: We need a content writer for the current site during the year. To begin send a series of 20 unique articles of 500 words, and we evaluate the quality, timeliness, and content. Budget: 10$. This job can perform this work in a permanent position with better pay once the quality is checked.
Signs of scams: The shockingly low budget consists of a vague proposal that you can get more in the future.
What should we do: Avoid work at your normal rate or bid. There is actually no reason why we should do the job for some money for the interview process. If they paid more for better work, the actual rate they will provide and require fewer articles to build your skill.
3. Membership fee scam:
Employer: We have hundreds of desperate customers for their work. We have huge no. of companies that completed questionnaires must. We are working for each set of capabilities of our website focuses on. Register now for only $ 10, and we will stream your inbox with details of the work!
Signs of scams: you will pay for something and not sure what you will get.
What should we do: If you are not sure 100% that the company really offers an exclusive market for some reason (and I honestly cannot imagine), you should never pay according to the work.
4. Beginners, students, WAHM and SAHM Scam:
Employer: This is best for students who need a little more money, WAHMs (work at home moms) SAHM (housewives) or new authors without regeneration or work history.
Signs of scams: a specific market for employees. There is actually no reason that one of the persons mentioned should produce lower quality work.
What should we do: Ignore the work or the offer to its usual pace. The fact that you are new, does not mean that your work is not as valuable. There is one exception to this: a huge company with a solid reputation take unpaid or low-paid trainee or intern. For this case, you should take right choice which best for you.
5. Revenue shares scam:
Employer: IT blog needs a rewrite. It will be a new version of the existing content to make it unique and AdSense account. Budget: 50% stake of website revenue.
Signs of scams: Small PR or a new website. Only the revenue stake offered.
What should we do: some website owners sincerely believe that your website turns a decent page rank and gives a good income for the labor supply by you. Others know they can scam you to do a lot of preliminary work that almost there.
6. Personal Information Scam:
Employer: We need to do some work. Budget: $3500. We will pay 30% in advance by online transfer, the rest by the end.
Signs of scams: They are working on the website of the system, and will ask you to provide personal information.
What should we do: If you think this is a reasonable offer, ask them to be paid, which protects you through the website or an online banking system (PayPal, etc.). If they decline, ask them a check.
7. Direct contact fraud:
Employer: regular job description. If you have chosen for the work, they will you ask for your e-mail address or other contact information, so that they can make business and “avoided cost” or something like this.
Signs of scams: Any requests to, work off-site is doubtful
What should we do: Take the direct contact, if you want, but calls for the payment by the normal site system. If they get curious about this and explained that this is to protect the reputation of your site and theirs.
8. No contract scam:
Employer: Work is in agreement and payment details, but said the contract “is not necessary”. The start of work.
Signs of scams: A contract is not something denied a legitimate employer.
What should we do: If you are in a large project, be sure that you have the basic documents. No fair employer reject an agreement or contract even if it is, compensation to predict just a list of tasks that need to be met, the date and important details that need to be considered.
9. Non-payment escrow scam:
Employer: Everything looks good. They are helpful and friendly, the work is well and everything went according to plan till payment day. Then they have an issue.
Signs of scams: Unfortunately, there is no way to recognize them. You can try to protect against them. One sign is that the work in question is usually a fairly large and complicated matter (20-page research paper) to be delivered quickly.
What should we do: Protect against them as much as you can. While you pay for a system through an internal Web site, the funds will be fought and employer sites, and not yours.
10. The Captcha entry scam:
Employer: we need to validate the captcha. We will provide the verification link, you solve these problems.
Signs of scams: Budget: $1 per 1000. In fact, no other requires, Captcha solutions in addition to the company itself.
What should we do: If you have any concerns to write about solutions that can be used, the virtual destruction and perhaps one day account to spread access to their bank, go ahead and do the job.
