Scams Aimed at Freelancers or Contract Workers

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from someone saying she needed a writer to create a conference presentation for her on a health and wellness topic. She provided the timeline and the length of what she was looking for and asked if I'd be interested in taking on this project. I was a bit skeptical as to the authenticity of the request, which came from a gmail e-mail. I mean first, no one is running conference right now as the world is going through a pandemic. Second, if she's giving a presentation on a topic, why isn't she an expert and needs someone else to research the material and write it? 

Since I didn't want to say no outright, and was curious what kind of game she was playing (as I was pretty sure it wasn't legit), I asked for more information. The response was almost instant, thanking me for being interested, providing an outline of a ten tips type of article that is all over the Internet for any number of health and wellness subjects, including the one being suggested, and then there was the phrase "I need 2000 words and will pay .90 per word. Payable by check." Say what? 

By the second e-mail, I was sure the writer was a non-native speaker of English and most people know that checks drawn on foreign banks aren't cashable. And the rate?! Way too high to be offered from an unknown source. To put this in perspective, many 800 word articles at the top newspapers in the U.S. (NYT, Washington Post, etc.) fetch $250-350, which if you like math, know isn't even .50/word. 

I mean there are plenty of companies and organizations and magazines that pay $1/word or more, but that is not the norm. And would especially not be the norm from an unknown entity. And the majority of payers pay through electronic means, ACH, Venmo, PayPal, direct deposit. 

I responded, "I'm not interested. Thank you."

The same day I got that e-mail, a thread appeared in an online group of women writers to which I belong and which has more than 80,000 members worldwide. Many people in the group received the same e-mail and the name on the e-mail signature was one of two consistently. One of the group members who had decided to take "the deal" a month before filled the rest of us in. She had done the assignment and received a check for the work but the check was for more than the agreed upon amount. The person asked for her to return the difference. She did only to find out the original check that she had deposited bounced. 

This whole scam is very similar to those that have proliferated on Upwork and other gig economy based sites, especially since the pandemic started and more people have flocked to those sites in an attempt to get work. NBC News reported that people have lots thousands of dollars to scams. They reported, " As of May 21, the Federal Trade Commission said it had received more than 52,000 reports of coronavirus-related fraud costing people almost $40 million." 

​Scammers aren't just sending bouncing checks. They are using things like Cash App, Venmo and Zelle, too. And they are going after people who are accountants and bookkeepers, in addition to people who work in writing/journalism, editing, art and architecture, as virtual assistants, and many other fields.

So if you're approached by a stranger or if you see a work from home position, do your due diligence. Google the name of the person and the company, check out their online ratings at the gig economy sites, schedule video meetings, and talk to your colleagues. And remember the old adage, if it seems to good to be true, it often is.     

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