Business
Freelancers: Beware Of Getting Scammed Online
Getting yourself at the door of the freelance industry isn’t an easy task to accomplish. You must have solid proof of expertise, so that you can make an impressive profile. Another thing, you must also know where the legitimate online sites who are offering jobs or tap the right people to guide you on how to get started and become a member of their outsourcing community. These are just some of the real facts you have to deal with plus the instances that some would grab this chance for their own advantage and that is to conduct their cyber crime activities of misleading people about getting jobs if you will pay their membership fees, only to find out that their website is a bogus one.
For you to become fully aware on how to avoid being scammed as a freelancer below are some vital tips that you can ponder about and make you wiser:
1. Never pay upfront payments
Avoid websites who are requesting fees in advance before you even get a job proposal. Think twice before paying any upfront cash to any freelancing websites promising instant work. Take note there are a lot of legitimate websites who would only get commission once you get started earning like the well-known and trusted outsourcing freelance community “Odesk”. If an outsourcing agency has legal proofs of its existence and has been proven to be providing freelance work and ask some minimal fees, then, it’s up to you to give it a try. Weigh all the possibilities where you can benefit greatly and give it a try. Ask around and get referrals from people you know personally or other freelance workers you meet.
2. Verify the website’s information
To know if the website you are dealing is real or not, why not go over the online registered listings of these websites, use Google maps or maybe do your own background check by conducting surveys, reading online testimonials of satisfied members who have been successful doing freelance work through their site.
3. Don’t give your personal details easily
If a website is asking your personal and bank details too soon through emails, don’t respond to them or ignore their letters for this might be a scam. Entrust your personal information only to sites which are legal or related to online Payments like Paypal.
4. Seek advice
Getting yourself in this type of job opportunity as a freelancer working online doesn’t happen overnight. You have to prove your worth to all your potential employers. If a website offers something that is too good to be true like earning big bucks just doing data entry work, then, pause for a while and give it a rational analysis if the offer could really exist. Seek the advice of your friends, relative or colleagues who have been working as well as freelancers.
Recommendation:
Never be blinded with false promises that are too unrealistic. Assess yourself what is really your worth as a potential freelancer and entrust your online career to a legal website or perhaps post your credentials to certified online employment agencies. They might ask you to pay some minimal fees, but for sure they will do their best in finding you a sure job. Rest assured that these outsourcing firms will lead you to the right direction of being hired and getting paid eventually. Keep a watchful eye as you do any freelance work online.
Tagged business, Employment, freelancer, freelancing, Online Business, online marketing, Work
KennyKAugust 1, 2012 at 6:47 pm
Excellent article, a must read for anyone new to looking for work online as a freelancer. When I was doing that 6-10 years ago, I had some negative experience with joining sites that promised jobs but never delivered. It’s good to do some online research before you join a site, and even more so before you decide to give them access to your contact and payment details and other personal information.
If you look around and compare you might be able to narrow your list down. Get some advice on forums in your industry, for example if you’re into website and graphic design, there are many sites where designers hang out and discuss topics including freelance work, setting up your own website/company and so on.
LinxAugust 1, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Brilliant advice! I tell everyone who will listen that they should never pay anything upfront as the real sites have sustainable business models that do not need you to pay an membership.
Also, reading reviews and just doing a search on that company’s name as a keyword…really gives one a clearer picture. That is my two cents.
This is a complete, great article…and will help many starting out, so thank you for that. Also, one should just not be greedy and pace yourself.
Magic PixelAugust 1, 2012 at 11:13 pm
This is what you learn either the hard way or this way. Scamming people on line, or in the online freelancing industry, is probably a billion dollar industry. Before working online we must always research a bit and unlike those days these are times when enough articles are there to read and get to know the general culture before making the dive.
Magic Pixel recently posted..Niko Kranjcar photos
ironface72August 2, 2012 at 5:55 am
Nice advice people need to sit and listen and read this article there are too many freelance scam sites appearing all the time.
I see people in other sites who obviously get paid to promote these kinds of sites saying how much they earn which is obviously a lie. People are asking lots of questions and getting interested and its not till a week later, when they find out they all been scammed.
Good article 10/10
OverAchieverAugust 2, 2012 at 1:16 pm
This should save a few people from being taken in by these low-life scammers. I would add to always research any new freelancing site to see what others are saying. Even if the rest of the details are good, do you want to end up with site that is non-supportive or non-responsive?
Also, for those who don’t use a service as an intermediary, make sure you get your payment upfront or at least half of it. Too often I’ve seen unsuspecting writers get shafted when their client takes delivery and then no longer can be found.
layzorAugust 2, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Some pretty nice advice there for newbies like me. I normally get as much reviews or feedback about a specific company before I commit to anything.
jwdrumhavenAugust 3, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Really informative post. There are so many things you need to be aware of when freelancing online. There are tons of scams just waiting to be sprung on unsuspecting people who are just looking to get some work. As you mentioned, checking out the website first is so important. I’ve never heard of Odesk.. I will have to check them out myself.
jwdrumhaven recently posted..Starting a Home Based Business.
KennyKAugust 4, 2012 at 2:08 am
Odesk is quite good. Very well organized, secure, and plenty of opportunities there. Take a look around, takes some time to learn how to work with the system and setup, but it’s very popular and growing.
TashWordAugust 5, 2012 at 11:35 pm
I don’t trust any site that wants me to pay money before I can see any value for it – it’s like buying a car without seeing if the doors open or the engine starts…
of course,those sites are not the only freelancing option anyway…
TashWord recently posted..How to get your customers to speak up
dan213August 6, 2012 at 1:52 am
This is a great article. I tend to work off sites like Freelancer and Odesk which I’ve yet to encounter any problems. I also do work off a website of my own so clients come to me. There are many scams these days and people trying to get something for themselves and leave us, as freelancers, hanging in the end.
NequanAugust 7, 2012 at 2:21 am
Freelancing is a very tough and risky business to get into. There are a lot of trusted and established websites to go to but there is always risks involved when trying to find the right person for the job. And for those of us looking for work, there is way too much competition out there. Sites like Odesk make it a little easier by having tests to make workers qualify for different jobs but it is flooded with talent.
Nequan recently posted..Best Free Autoresponder
ohiotom76August 7, 2012 at 8:18 am
I won a contest with Prizes.org about a month ago, and still have not yet received my payment. They say payment confirmation can take anywhere from 2 – 60 days, but I really don’t understand why it would take this long to pay someone. But certainly something to keep in mind if you are anticipating funds from a project.
NequanAugust 8, 2012 at 12:57 am
Hey ohiotom76,
I also use Prizes.org. I don’t use it very often because there’s so much competition there. I didn’t realize you have to wait so long to get paid. I never looked it up. Thanks for letting me know. I was thinking it would be a good way to get some fast cash but I guess I was wrong.
Nequan recently posted..How I Make My Money Back From Paid Traffic
MoniqueSeibelAugust 7, 2012 at 11:19 am
Helpful article. It is all very true, you have to research and do a little investigating on a website, in order to assess the legitimacy. Otherwise, you might just be setting yourself up for a huge waste of time and effort.
MoniqueSeibel recently posted..Make Money Online – Weekly Earnings 05/08/12
karlajjAugust 8, 2012 at 9:36 am
This is great advice to someone just starting out. I agree that oDesk is an awesome place to find work, and if you do hourly work oDesk guarantees payment. I live by the motto never pay to earn!
BloomaticAugust 10, 2012 at 1:11 am
I think in this sense, we must sharpen our confidence. On the Internet, there is one golden rule: be wary. Yes, maybe it sounds a bit extreme, but the only way to survive. We must take all necessary precautions to not be so many victims of scams. Moreover, fraudsters are smarter every day strategies to achieve their goals. For this reason we must be vigilant and act with more awareness. “Never be blinded with false Promises that are too unrealistic.” In this sentence is the key to your article. Thanks for the tips.
arajooAugust 11, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Absolutely helpful! Especially for new workers who might want to feel secure now that they want to work as a freelancer online. I feel like more and more scammers are roaming around old sites like craigslist so I mostly recommend that we should avoid looking for jobs in that ad site.
arajoo recently posted..Review: ELF Studio Line Pink Passion Blush
ohiotom76August 14, 2012 at 4:02 am
Thanks for sharing this article. I’m just getting started on ODesk, and have been reading through some of the job descriptions. I think one of the challenges I’m noticing so far, is some of the job postings are actually much bigger projects than perhaps the job poster realized – any suggestions on how to approach these or set expectations with the client?
gerkmeisterAugust 16, 2012 at 3:07 pm
I’ve been making a little extra money on Microworkers, doing jobs like Facebook liking, Google plusing, retweeting and repinning, that only take a couple minutes each. They pay you once your earnings reach $9. If you have a skill or are a good writer you can sell your services on sites like Fiverr. You definitely need to watch out for the scams, there are a lot of them out there.
toughtrasherAugust 21, 2012 at 7:17 am
Brilliant tips here, although I see these as more of a reminder than something “new”. People hiring freelancers and people being hired as freelancers should always take caution in every online move they make.
Always do your research on the person you’re working a deal with and try to build some sort of trust with each other.
I personally only work with some reputable guys at oDesk, whether I’m being hired or hiring someone to do work for me.
Great refreshing list!
SybariticAugust 22, 2012 at 2:12 pm
This article is very helpful. I think with the growing number of freelance sites there is a growing number of scams, which is horrible for the people that get scammed. I would never pay an upfront fee for usage, that’s exactly how the scammers get their money.
anonamossAugust 27, 2012 at 6:29 am
Simple yet great advice. It’s so important to do a thorough research these days. Scam companies have even resorted to signing up for forums and websites to give testimonies on how great their site is. When you do research on a company it is important to visit different websites so that you are certain the company is legit.
It’s so unfortunate how many free-lance websites turn out to be frauds, but our best bet is to stick together. If you have been scammed by a company always find other people who have the same complaints. Post your complaint too. Most times when there are only a few scam complaints, the company owners will write a post stating that a competing company is messing with them.
cheaSeptember 9, 2012 at 10:20 am
I guess I’ll try Odesk. My job right now requires me to be near my computer most of the day so I have quite a lot of extra time on my hands. I’ll definitely keep these tips in mind hen searching for online freelancing positions.
PaladinSeptember 27, 2012 at 9:43 am
Nice advice people need to sit and listen and read this article there are too many freelance scam sites appearing all the time.
I see people in other sites who obviously get paid to promote these kinds of sites saying how much they earn which is obviously a lie. People are asking lots of questions and getting interested and its not till a week later, when they find out they all been scammed.
Paladin recently posted..Quizno’s Flavor Quest
vida_llevaresNovember 21, 2012 at 6:14 am
Do you agree that you’re not yet a full-pledged freelancer if you have not yet experienced being scammed?