How to Identify and Avoid Con Employers on Freelance Sites
13:04
Dr. Joe Classics
All freelance sites are infested with scammers and cons, whether employers or contractors. It is easy to fall in their trap, and before you realize it, you have lost 1000 bucks! It is not the responsibility of the freelance site to protect you against con employers. You need to protect yourself and evade scams on these sites. In this post, I will point out how you can identify cons and avoid them.
Tip # 1 Do NOT Pay to Get Hired
Any employer who asks for payment in the name of start-up kits, fees or for whatever reason they give is not legit. It is you to be paid and not you paying the employer. Cease communicating to such individuals even if they are promising a million dollars for your expertise. The truth is that once you send them some money, you will never hear from them again.
Tip # 2 Always Check the Employers Feedback
You can see the history of employers on freelance sites whenever you apply or bid on their projects. Ensure you check out their overall rating which is given by previous contractors who worked for him/her. Take your time to read the comments left by each of the previous contractors the employer dealt with. Any negative comments or suspicious signals should be enough reason to avoid the employer.
You can also do a background check on the employer to find out as much information about him as you can. Use their email address, name or any other contact information to get information from the internet about them. You never know, you might stumble upon something fishy about the employer.
Tip # 3 Think Twice about New Employers
This one should be common sense and instinct. A new employer on a freelance site offering you a job and promising a lot of money – this should be a red light and you need to Run! One way of identifying new employers is by checking their profiles on the freelance site. You can see when they joined the site. Check if they have a verified payment method added to the freelance site. If not, ask yourself, “How is he going to pay you?”
If you think the employer is legitimate, try to ask for upfront payment before you deliver your work. Such employers do not award projects. Instead, they want you to work before they award you the project. Some will come up with some excuses. Do NOT listen to them. Also, do not get out of a freelancing site with a new employer. Always do so with clients with whom you have established a good working relationship, and if they are long-term clients.
Tip # 4 Look Out For Too Many Interviewees
This goes out for writers. If the project details do not state anywhere that many contractors are to be hired and the employer is interviewing over 10 people, be rest assured it might be a scam. One significant sign of such employers is giving out test runs or sample tasks to too many contractors. Cons do this to have their work done. If the employer states that all bidders will be assigned unpaid test assignments before getting hired, do not apply. Bear in mind that any serious employer will ask you to do a paid sample to evaluate your skills.
Tip # 5 Do Hourly Projects with New Employers
Many freelance sites such as oDesk and Elance guarantee payment on hourly projects. You can do these until you are satisfied the client is legitimate, and then move to fixed contracts, or outside the freelance site if you wish to. You could also ask for payment just before delivering work. Ensure that the client pays promptly and has agreed receipt of your work. If any client complains about it and is not asking for revision, use your work quickly before he uses it.
