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It's Free, it's quick, it's easy. I had pulled this article off the site some time back because I thought that it was actually helping the scammers out there. Every now and then, I hear from people that have lost some of their hard earned money to a scammer. My aim is to describe the tactics employed so that you can more easily identify real from fake opportunities.

There are too many variants to list but I think you will get a sense of what makes up a scam and how to avoid getting duped. If you are ever asked to shell out some cash in order to get a job or make some money, then run for the hills because this is a scam.

Investing in yourself to become more marketable is one thing, payment in exchange for a job is an entirely different story. Remember, as an employee, you are providing a service so you should not be out of pocket.

You should be the one getting paid, not the other way around. You will probably never hear from them again, no matter how many times you ask for a refund. When I first started outsourcing with sites like oDesk and Elance , I encountered people who had a fear that I will not pay. I took offence to be honest. It turns out that these freelancers, had a legitimate fear.

Digging around and talking to a few people, it quickly became apparent that there are some evil people who try to get work done for free. So what do you do if you are working with a client with no prior history. Well, there are a few things. The second thing that you can do is ask for a deposit.

If you are developing software, you can deliver the compiled application and only release the source code once full payment is made, or if you are a graphic designer, you can deliver a low res image initially and then full PSD upon receipt of payment. Another thing you can do is agree milestone payments. Divide the project into several smaller modules, that can be delivered and paid for individually. Once paid, you start working towards the next milestone.

Any reputable client will be happy with this. There are various ways to try and mitigate the risk of not being paid. The last thing you want is an irate client. Be very weary about excessively long and drawn out interviews. A lot of the good freelancing websites out there have rules against this practice but not every one follows them. This can be hard to avoid especially if you are really eager to get that job.

If it happens, try and communicate your thoughts with the client. I try and keep it very generic and not too excessive. This allows me to properly evaluate the freelancer using an intensive, real world task, which usually lasts a few days; and they are not out of pocket. So walk away or report it. This pays all their bills and then some.

Some legitimate agency style websites albeit small ones , sometimes employ this practice. You only get access to the pro clients if you pay an extra fee. Remember, this is only providing access to the job adverts. There is no guarantee of getting that job. So it really is not worth the risk or the money. Not so much a SCAM, but it is deceptive and not really worth it.

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This is a difficult one to avoid. The only thing that you can do is to ensure your communications are all done via email so you can defend it in court if it goes that far , and do your research about the website.

The higher the ranking 1 being the highest , the more popular the website, the less chance you will be out of pocket. This is one of the more believable and convincing scams out there. I almost fell for this one! There are a ton of people showing you videos of how they trade online Especially Binary Options.

If you play around long enough with a Demo account, you will at some point make some dummy money. These are to be avoided at all costs. The general rule is that if you want to trade then do it with money you are willing to lose, because more often than not, you WILL LOSE. Binary Options videos and tutorials can be very very convincing.

It is a gross misrepresentation of any potential gain. You read emotionally appealing stories of a mom who spends just a few hours a day online and making tens of thousands of dollars. The cheques they show you are fake. The work is not real. What they are selling you is information on how the scam works.

It is illegal and you can go to jail. Legitimate agencies and companies will generally have some sort of contractual agreement between them the client and you the freelancer. Facilitating agencies will have generic terms and conditions that make all jobs legally and contractually binding between clients and freelancers. If you are offered a job without a contract or a defined set of terms and conditions, or deliverables, with explicit statements of earnings, then be very weary.

It is probably a scam. The other scam indicator is the lack of an interview.

I have never every employed anyone for any job no matter how simple without an interview. It starts out with an attractive looking job advert. There is no voice based interview, it is all done via instant message. I understand that English is not everyones first language and not everyone is a good communicator, but I am automatically more weary when someone opts out of a voice interview and would rather instant message instead.

After you accept the position, they will either get you to pay some fee, or may be one of those disappearing clients. In this scenario, the tables are turned. If you do employ this tactic. Please stop, it is actually losing you clients.

You have freelancers who will apply to job adverts with really really attractive low cost proposals. They then want to engage with you via an instant message service. They are happy to have a really long chat with you regarding the job, the description, the deliverables All of these already stated in the initial job description by the way.

This for me is deceptive, they had all the details initially but decided to put in a fake offer just to get my attention. I just ignore most low offers. And in most cases, you get what you pay for!

In other cases it is an annoying lure. If you see a great job offer or promise of income asking you to pay a little first, without any contact information like address, email, telephone etc, then again…Scam alert! If anyone ever asks you for your bank details, Social Security or any other personal number, just walk away. The only time you really need to hand over your bank details is to an HR department or an official company so that they can pay you.

You would never need to provide your banking details in order to get a job or make money online. Most of these scams are email based. If you need to receive payment, use an official, reliable method that protects your personal details e. The way this scam works is that some people who really have nothing better to do sit in an internet cafe, sending out thousands of generic emails to a list of recipients that they either stole or bought somewhere.

The email content varies and can sometimes be quite convincing and official looking. Believe it or not, some people are in fact expecting packages, and will pay or provide the requested details. You can even call customs yourself — find their official number first using their official website in your country.

All you need to do is to confirm your Social Security or other national ID number and address in order to claim the prize. You should not need to do this. And of course, that product will miraculously make you loads of money. It takes you through the process of creating that single page website and how to sell the same ebook or resource. It is a SCAM. Unfortunately, a few legitimate websites do this too. You are better off that way.

This is another interesting one. No experience jobs seem to be a common way to entice someone that is just entering the market. I must also say that there are a few legitimate No Experience jobs out there by reputable companies. They will train you at their own cost and give you an opportunity. You are helping someone out? So be very weary! They can use this information to make payments, setup direct debits etc. Sorry to get in touch like this. Everything was taken, my passport, wallet the works.

Please can you wire me some money via XXXX XXXXX XXXX so that I can get to the embassy to sort it out. This came from my friends actual email address. It had been hacked into, probably because of a leaked or poor password.

One of the easiest ways to identify a scam email or job advert is to simply read it. Certain parts of the world are known to have a larger number of full time scammers. Some of these countries are not natively English speaking, which probably means that the scammers are not native English speakers either. Poor grammar is the result. Look at the sentence construction, spelling errors etc. If you pick out more than one, there is a strong possibility that it is a SCAM! This not only applies to English scams.

It applies to all languages. You may be targeted in your own native tongue. Companies and other official establishments have quite a drawn out process before making anything public — like an email, Facebook post, tweet etc. So generally and I do say generally , the quality of the correspondence will be of a much higher. Also, look at where the email or job advert is coming from.

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Look at the sender information. Is it a generic gmail or yahoo account? A lot of the time, these are the sort of accounts that scammers use. Not always from a custom domain such as gadgitech.

Whenever I employ someone, I make it a point to do it via an email address from my official company domain gadgitech. There are some legitimate companies using free email addresses. So do your research. Yet again, one of these too good to be true scams. Generally, there is no product or service. You simply pay the person who invited you into the scheme.

That person gets a cut and so does the person who referred them and so on. At the end of the day, the only person who really makes any money is the person that started the scheme. For one, it will really annoy me.

And secondly, it is now illegal in a lot of countries. At first, I thought WOW. This was my honest to god true reaction. Two minutes later, my sensible side kicked in. So I researched the guy a bit. They sent it from an official domain brokering company, official logos. Everything looked great and spot on. BUT, more research revealed that they were in fact a website evaluation service.

Jobs are sometimes advertised with the only method of applying being to call the provided number. In almost every case, that call in number is a premium phone number.

It varies from country to country. But that is the general scam. The scammer will try and keep you on the line for as long as possible. The longer you are on the line, the more money they take from you. There is no real job. Some unscrupulous clients will try and gain your trust and then screw you over later. It works something like this:. The take away here is to not trust anyone! Ensure you have legitimate contracts throughout.

Try and protect yourself as best you can. Use legitimate freelance websites and use your common sense. For larger projects, use the milestone technique I suggested in Scam 3. Like trading, you will find investment opportunities that promise high yield with minimal investment.

Investments will go up and down and the higher the potential profit, the higher the risk of you losing everything. The only loser is you, so invest wisely and use reputable methods like via your bank or other regulated financial authority. In most countries they are legally obliged to give you a proper risk assessment for any investment.

Some clients do hire people to manage their social profiles and this is a legitimate job. But there are others out there that will ask you for a small sign up fee to start commenting on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google plus etc. So in the end, they win twice. You pay them the small startup fee and they get comments. Some legitimate people have shown off their Google Adsense profits and some of the initial ones were real. Unfortunately, almost everyone after that is showcasing fake cheques and account balances.

They then promise to teach you how to set up your Adsense account and website to do the same. But yet again, this is taking money out of your pocket uneccessarily. Adsense is Free to use and you can create a free or paid for website on your own. There are plenty of really good free tutorials out there on how to do it.

It will only take a matter of minutes to setup once approved by Google.

These scammers use fake names or try and masquerade as legitimate entrepreneurs. Sounds too good to be true?.. This by no means is a definitive list of every type of scam that is going on. But it gives you a feel for what people are doing. Every day there is something new! Scammers are very creative. I just wish they would use that creativity in other areas.

Hopefully, this post helps you more easily recognise the characteristics of a scam, making all the variants more easily identifiable.

Most of these scams are generally easy to avoid but I can see those that are in a desperate situation can be easily taken advantage of. Here is a quick checklist to help you determine if it is a scam or not.

Unfortunately, the are a few legitimate businesses and companies out there that also employ these tactics. They are few and far between and hopefully they will change, but be very very careful. More often than not, your go with your gut. There is no such thing as easy money.

Work hard for what you have and cherish it. If there is one good deed you want to do today. Thanks for stopping by. If you like what you have read, please feel free to subscribe to the Work Online Blog newsletter. I will send you a few updates from time to time and as a thank you, I will email you a Free Quick Start Guide that will help you get started working or running your business online.

It was a few years ago, but I found a lot of scammers on Freelancer when it was still called Get a Freelancer. Elance was better, but the pay was still poor. Not bad for a start-up freelancer, but bidding sites can be a trap. Finding clients directly is better. I see you pulled the article awhile back but I think having this published is a great help! There are so many ways to be scammed on Freelancer sites.

I have come across many myself. Fortunately, I have never fell victim to any of them. I can tell instantly when I read the message with so many grammatical errors, video chat requests, and requests for bank account information. There are many people who are new to the sites and do not know what to look for when it comes to scammers. This article is a great resource! Thanks for adding it back to your site!

You are more than welcome. I figured that even if I help just a few avoid being scammed, then it would be worth keeping it on the site. This is a good place to get started with your website. Bluehost offers One Click Wordpress installations allows you to get up and running fast.

Create a website in less than 10 min. Elance and oDesk have merged recently. Elance is a fantastic resource for getting stuff done as well as finding work and making money online. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs being posted on a continual basis. Equally, there are thousands of freelancers available to execute any project that you may have. So if you are a business or a contractor, get started now. Every so often we all come across some good intention taking a turn for the worst.

But a lot of the time it is simply due to incompetence, lack of talent, lack of foresight and the overall lack of care to [ Are you applying to dozens of jobs and not getting noticed. I think I know why. I've put together a few simple tips to help you avoid falling into this situation. I can tell you that I use these techniques every time I put in a tender for a project and can tell you that it gets me noticed more often than not. So give it a try, it's free and you have nothing to lose.

Start Here About Blog Walkthroughs Lists Tools I Use. The Work Online Blog - Free Quick Start Guide Do it the Right Way Click To See Income Reports Earnings: You will learn about: When to take the leap How to identify your niche, find customers and jobs How to create an online presence Tools and resources that will streamline your online career All this is absolutely FREE when you subscribe. I will send this guide to you via Email.

It's secure and I hate spam. Thank you, your sign-up request was successful! Please check your e-mail inbox. You are already subscribed. You can get your ebook at https: Please provide a valid email address. Please try again later. Facebook Twitter Google Email 3. This scam works in a few different ways: No self respecting employer will ask you to pay anything upfront or at all to get a job. A job opening is listed on a website or sent to you via email. There are hundreds of legitimate job boards that are free to use for applicants.

An agent lists a job opening on behalf of a real company and then asks for a fee to guarantee that you get the job. Some may call this bribery. I call it a scam. The companies are real, but the job advert is generally for a fake position. Someone advertises a piece of software that will magically increase your chances of finding a job.

This is usually accompanied by a convincing website with customer testimonials, cool statistics and graphics. Nothing more than that! You can do this on your own. An intermediary pretending to be agency , will ask you to pay for the job application form….

The general rule you can apply here is never to pay anything to get a job. Disappearing clients When I first started outsourcing with sites like oDesk and Elance , I encountered people who had a fear that I will not pay. This works as follows: Interviews that get the job done Be very weary about excessively long and drawn out interviews. Non paying clients or websites This is a difficult one to avoid.

Online Trading This is one of the more believable and convincing scams out there. Work at home mom scams You read emotionally appealing stories of a mom who spends just a few hours a day online and making tens of thousands of dollars. No Contract Quick Hire Jobs Legitimate agencies and companies will generally have some sort of contractual agreement between them the client and you the freelancer.

Bank details, Social Security, National ID, Passport number If anyone ever asks you for your bank details, Social Security or any other personal number, just walk away. No Experience Necessary Jobs This is another interesting one.

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I received the following email the other day: Poorly written job advert or email. Get Rich Quick There is no such thing! Unless you are lucky enough to win the lottery. Work only a few hours a day.

Stock Exchange secrets, tips and tricks. This can sometimes border on insider trading and is ILLEGAL. Free or Fake email Also, look at where the email or job advert is coming from. Pyramid Schemes Yet again, one of these too good to be true scams.

The way this scam works is: You get this too good to be true introduction email and offer. You make contact and say you are interested and tell them your price. A few hundred bucks. You are out of pocket a few hundred bucks!

You never hear from them or the wealthy Chinese businessman ever again. They live happily ever after and try to dupe the next person into doing the same. Premium phone numbers Jobs are sometimes advertised with the only method of applying being to call the provided number. Small task now, big task later Some unscrupulous clients will try and gain your trust and then screw you over later.

It works something like this: The client employs you to do a small quick job that pays just a few dollars. The same client then employs you for a few different projects, all paying just a few dollars. You start to trust the client. That client then proposes a nice large project. You work your hardest and provide the best quality work and deliver it to your client.

They simply disappear of the face of the planet. Get Rich Quick Investments High Yield Like trading, you will find investment opportunities that promise high yield with minimal investment. THERE IS NO SUCH THING Investments will go up and down and the higher the potential profit, the higher the risk of you losing everything. Social Commenter Some clients do hire people to manage their social profiles and this is a legitimate job. Google Profits Some legitimate people have shown off their Google Adsense profits and some of the initial ones were real.

Take Away Most of these scams are generally easy to avoid but I can see those that are in a desperate situation can be easily taken advantage of. Does it sound too good to be true? Do I have to pay anything to get started Admin Fee, training course, software, startup kit? Do I have to provide my personal financial details or passport, Id, etc in order to start?

Does this work or scheme guarantee overnight success? Was I contacted using an instant messaging service? I was not able to find the company details by simply searching Google Do I have to send money somewhere?

Are there numerous grammar or spelling errors or is the wording is not fluent? Does the website have a low Alexa ranking? Be safe working online. April 19th, by Dee. Free eBook when you Subscribe Thanks for stopping by.

Join over members in the Work Online Community. Thanks for popping by. Facebook Twitter Google Email Comments: Next Post UpWork - How oDesk FAILED! Previous Post 4 application techniques to get more freelance jobs Are you applying to dozens of jobs and not getting noticed. Popular 25 Money making scams that make me sick 5 Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Writer Before You Even Have Clients Get paid as a writer.

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