4 Red Flags to Know a Scam Client as a Newbie Freelance Writer
Not every client is genuinely looking to employ writers on freelancing platforms/marketplaces. The truth is that some clients come to freelancing platforms to rip off freelancers by getting them to work for them without payment.
New freelance writers are the main target for such dubious clients because they know that new freelancers on a freelance marketplace are in a hurry to get gigs, experience, and reviews.
When I was starting as a new freelance writer, I got scammed by a couple of clients for doing some writing gigs without getting paid at the end, and I am here to share with you four red flags to know a scam client on any freelance platform as a new freelance writer.
A client is potentially a scammer if they request that you:
1. Write a sample article before offering you the job. This is potentially a red flag that such a client wants to get your service for free. The normal thing that legit clients or employers ask to see if you are a perfect fit for their project is your writing portfolio. This way they get to see your writing style and experience and then conclude to offer you the job or not.
Refuse to take a job that would first require that you write a sample article (especially a lengthy one) because you will be at potential risk of not getting the job, not to mention getting paid.
As a new freelance writer, you can use platforms such as Medium, Blogger, WordPress, or a personal blog of yours to create a writing portfolio for yourself. Just ensure that your work is published somewhere online and not on Google Docs or Microsoft Word.
2. Pay a job fee to get the job. Never fall into this trap. Such kinds of clients are scammers looking to get free money from freelancers that need gigs. Once you pay the requested job fee, you won’t hear from them again.
3. Start a job without depositing funds in their wallet on the freelance marketplace. On most freelance marketplaces, you get to see some information about employers to ensure transparency. One of the information that you can see is if the client has deposited funds for starting the job or not.
In case you are signed up on a freelance platform that doesn’t have this feature, you can check for the employer’s job completion ratings by fellow freelancers and the number of projects that he or she has previously completed as an employer on the freelance platform.
On some freelance platforms, you can request that the employer creates a milestone payment before you commence the project to ensure your job security.
4. Take the job discussion outside the freelance platform. Almost all freelance platforms/marketplaces frown against this and you shouldn’t embrace it either as a freelancer because such a decision poses you at risk of getting scammed by a client.
Stick with maintaining at least 90% if not all of your discussions with clients on the freelance platform to avoid being ripped off your time and money.
Based on my experience, there you have it; these are four red flags to know a scam client as a new freelance writer. You can share any other one you know by responding to this story. Let’s all learn together.
This is my #61/365 article in 2022, I’m on a challenge to put up 365 articles here this year.
