Protect Yourself from Scammers Who Prey on Freelancers

Once you learn to spot the red flags, you will save yourself time and money by deleting their emails right away

I am getting scammed

At first, I didn’t realize it.

I noticed some red flags that helped me to realize what was happening before I got too involved with the scammer beyond a couple of emails.

It started with an email asking me if I could take on a freelance assignment. I have a website, a Google business listing and am listed on some freelancer sites, so I get inquiries through those places. And, last year, I was working on my own SEO project to target certain local areas for web design and was scoring pretty well in the search results before the lock downs and business shut downs at which point I refocused on writing more.

The potential client inquiry

The request was pretty standard.

The individual asked if I could help with some web design.

Perfect. I enjoy building sites and this would be a nice assignment.

I will start with the initial email requesting my services:

Mon, Jun 1, 4:54 PM (18 hours ago) to me

Hi, i am , i would like to know if you can handle website development for a clothing store?

Get back to me so i can send you the details.

Thanks!

Cool!

I am excited. It is always fun to get a new potential client inquiring about my services. And, maybe I’ll have a client who will send me a lot of business. All it takes a handful of good clients to build up some pretty decent business.

My initial response

Here is what I wrote back. I needed to get some more information since the inquiry was pretty vague. At this point, I don’t know exactly what they want, but if I can’t do it, I can always hire someone to help me or purchase software to handle whatever is needed. This is my way of finding out the scope of the work.

Notice that I responded fairly quickly. I am lucky that I caught the email at the right time because I was able to get back right away. That is sometime the key to getting business since receiving an email around the close of business might mean it could have been sent to competitors. Maybe I can beat them by responding quickly.

Chris Jun 1, 2020, 5:03 PM (18 hours ago) to

What kind of clothing store are you looking for web development? I can handle it for you.

Chris

Potential client reply with red flags

I received a reply a little later in the evening. Not super late at night, but after business hours. That isn’t unusual, but a lot of people I have dealt with work during regular business hours and do recreational activities in the evening.

But, I work off and on all the time, so that wasn’t a red flag, except to think that I might have to set boundaries at some point that we aren’t going to be working on this 24-hours a day, unless the compensation takes that into consideration.

Mon, Jun 1, 9:23 PM (13 hours ago) to me

Hello Chris,

Thanks for getting in touch. I would like you to review the details and get back to me with any question you may have.

Here is the project details, well i have a small clothing business for both male and female which i run here in New Jersey, now am trying to expand the business and i want you to build an informational website for it for advertisement, drive traffic to my physical location, and to increase my sales rate..

so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if it’s possible https://www./ the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate .The estimate should include hosting and i want the site to have not more than 5 pages ,since it is informational. I have a private project consultant, he has the text content, images and the logos for the site.

Note:

1. I want only English language 2. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as 3. You will be updating the site for me. 4. I will be providing the images, logos and content for the site. 5. I want the site up and running before the end of next month. 6. My budget is $2000 to $3500

Thanks,

Red flag №1

The potential client has a small clothing business he or she runs in New Jersey. This is a red flag because my advertising efforts targeted local businesses in my area. New Jersey is pretty far outside of my geographic area. However, I am listed on some freelance sites, so maybe they saw me there and something attracted them to my work.

Red flag №2

Non-standard capitalization. People have their own styles, but everyone I have dealt with usually has their computer or cell phone set to capitalize the initial word in sentences. Plus, it is unusual from my observations of the thousands of business letters and emails I have received throughout my career. I handled certain incoming letters as an intern, as a debt collector, and for my business. Lack of capitalization stands out at being unusual.

None of the red flags are fatal at this point, so I’m still excited.

Red Flag №3

The potential client points me to a website run by a similar business. This isn’t unusual because customers get used to a certain format and style. Businesses know that and like to “pay homage” by studying a place that might have paid a lot of money to consultants and focus groups to develop branding, color schemes, and other factors designed to attract sales. The red flag here was that the site wasn’t in New York, New Jersey or even the United States. It was an overseas website.

That is fine, but it was another red flag. Usually businesses try to target their nearby competition. The specifications wanted one of the goals to be driving more local traffic to their physical location in New Jersey. Why wouldn’t they list some local competition — not to copy, but so I could study what the local market does.

This was a big red flag because it “felt off.” At this point, my instincts were kicking in and I was thinking less about making some money to going into a wary mode since people try to take advantage of creatives.

Red Flag №4

I only want English language, the potential client requests. This strikes me as a weird request. I usually default to English unless the client requests something special because of the circumstances of their business. I also do not advertise any special language abilities. If a client is concerned about translation, usually they request that as an option or seek out someone who advertises as being fluent in whatever the language is. I have never had anyone say to only use English for a US local business since it is assumed everyone speaks English, unless they have a specialty clientele.

Red Flag №5

The potential client doesn’t have the domain name, but tells me what he or she wants to obtain. I don’t think anyone would do this because it would be easy for someone to snap up a particular domain name at anytime. Why wait to purchase the domain name? It doesn’t make sense. The potential client could lose that domain name to a speculator while he or she is negotiating with web designers. His or her competitor could be buying the domain right now. A prudent business person wouldn’t hold off on locking in a business name or domain name, if it is an important trademark.

This was a pretty big red flag for letting me know they aren’t sophisticated or are not serious.

Red Flag №6

The client has a nice budget. If it seems too easy, then there are probably going to be problems. This is a gut feeling, but I usually don’t get a nice budget offer right away. It might be a factor of having worked in collections and bankruptcy law, then on my own. Around here, you have to negotiate the hell out of everyone to get a decent budget. Especially if someone has money. It has been my experience someone with money will make you work harder to negotiate than someone who doesn’t have money. It made my “spider sense” tingle that something was off about this.

Six red flags, so far. I’m losing hope that this is legitimate.

How do I conclude this is a scam?

I ran the potential client’s name through a Google search. A site popped up high in the results warning of a scam that could result in freelancers losing money or possibility getting into trouble.

The language of my email is similar to inquiries that other people have received. I do note that other people were offered higher amounts for their work, so there is some customization here and there, but for the most part my email was cut and paste.

Alex Wright, a web designer, posts about a similar scam inquiry he received:

Recently, we’ve received a number of different requests for website redesign proposals that had some odd and striking similarities, enough to trigger alarm bells that something wasn’t right. What started as a simple text message turned into a call with the Secret Service (yeah, really). — Alex Wright.

Third-Party Payment Scam

The client says they have a consultant who has the artwork and other items necessary for the website, such as logos. The client replies in an email that he or she doesn’t have any way to pay the consultant, but happens to have a credit card. They ask if the designer can process it for the amount I require, plus an additional amount to forward to the consultant.

The credit card could be stolen. You take your cut, then send the excess to the consultant (who is probably the scammer or a co-conspirator). Or, you are laundering dirty money.

When the card gets charged back, you are left victimized because you sent money to the consultant where ever he or she may be. Probably outside of the country where it is hard to track them down.

Here is the email confirming this could be a scam

6:11 AM (5 hours ago) to me

Good morning Chris,

Great to read from you again. Thanks for your response and the clarification of the building process. I am in agreement with the cost as it is well within my budget. I will figure out the domain purchase as suggested and get back to you.

I am ready to begin the project as soon as possible. I also do not have specific colors in mind. I just want the website to look exactly like the sample site I sent you. There will be just one page (new arrivals) that will be displaying apparels not more than 60. The rest of the pages will be: Home About us Privacy policy Contact.

Quick question, do you accept credit card payments? Because i can’t do cash transactions at the moment as i am presently with my wife at the sloan kettering center in New York. She is recuperating from cancer. I might also be slow in replies as we build the website due to the situation. I hope this is not an issue?

Finally, I found you on a local search engine.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Regards,

I haven’t gotten to the point where I will be asked to process a payment for several thousand dollars, then forward a portion of that to a third-party, but that email is probably coming sooner or later.

I am going to block the emails and not engage any further since it is just a waste of time at this point.

If it is a legitimate inquiry, I apologize. But, I was able to find almost the same language on the internet from other creatives who have received similar email inquiries.

If it is too good to be true, beware

Most people don’t have a lot of extra money these days. I never knew anyone in my rust belt Midwestern area who could fire off several thousands of dollars at one time. I know there are people like that out there, but I never dealt with them. Most small businesses require payment plans or other financial accommodations.

Plus, if someone had enough money to pay me and a consultant, why wouldn’t they just pay the consultant directly. This is obviously the scam, but a lot of people get caught on the easy money portion.

Chris Hedges, BA, JD, is an editor at ILLUMINATION, The Bad Influence, and Red Curtain Erotica. I also own Publisher’s Spotlight and Unicorn x29 Writing Tips.