I’m still angry about both of them, and some of that anger is aimed at myself for missing signs I’d have caught in anybody else’s story. What these people steal goes beyond money or work. They take the easy trust a freelancer extends to anyone who shows up with a project, and every legitimate client who comes along afterward pays for that loss by facing a more suspicious writer.
How Does the Overpayment Scam Work?
A so-called client “accidentally” sends more than the agreed amount and asks you to wire back the difference. The original payment bounces a week later, and your money is gone.
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The client agrees to your rate. The payment arrives, but it’s too much. “Accounting error,” they explain. “Just send back the difference so we can get started.” You refund the overage. A week later, the original payment bounces. You’re out the money you sent back plus whatever your bank charges for the fraudulent deposit. The scammer always explains away the overpayment with a plausible story. A rush fee was included by mistake. The accountant used the wrong invoice. The payment was meant to cover materials too. The emotional urgency is real, the money isn’t. Variations include checks, money orders, wire transfers from “business partners,” and payments routed through third parties who “handle the financial side.” Any time the money doesn’t come directly from the person hiring you through a standard payment platform, stop and verify.
I have no sympathy for the people running this con.
They pick targets who work alone, with nobody down the hall to say that looks wrong, and they count on a freelancer who just landed a client not wanting to sound paranoid. Ask the questions anyway. A real client expects them, and the only person who gets upset about a verification call is the one who can’t survive it.
What is the content harvesting scam?
This one targets writers. A client posts a legitimate-looking project on a professional platform with a heavy budget. When you respond, instead of discussing the project, they request a paid writing sample of 2,000-3,000 words at far below your rate. The sample fee feels reasonable in isolation.
But the scammer is sending the same request to hundreds of writers at the same time. If even 10% respond, they collect enough professional-quality content to assemble an entire book at exploitation rates. The “project” never materializes because the samples were the product all along. The sign is the refusal to discuss the work before requesting samples. Legitimate clients with meaningful projects want to talk about their vision, understand your process, and build rapport before investing in test content. A client who skips straight to “send me 3,000 words” is harvesting you. I put that in the same category as shoplifting: finished professional work, taken at a fraction of its value from hundreds of writers who each think they’re competing for one real job.
How does the fake business scam target freelancers?
The scammer works behind a legitimate-looking entity, a business website, a professional email address, a LinkedIn profile with connections and endorsements.
Nobody adds a middleman to make paying you simpler.
Everything checks out on the surface because the business is real. The person using it to solicit freelancers is the fraud. In my experience, the giveaway is the gap between the entity and the individual. A real estate investment firm hiring a ghostwriter for a philosophy book. A “gallery director” whose gallery was created three days before they contacted you. A “business partner” handling payments for someone who could easily pay directly. When the person’s credentials don’t connect to the project they’re proposing, that disconnect is the red flag.
Two parties get hurt when this works: the writer who did the work and never got paid, and the real business whose name got borrowed for the con. The scammer walks away clean from both. That’s why I research the individual every time, no matter how good the company letterhead looks.
Why Are Freelancers Perfect Scam Targets?
These scams work because they exploit specific psychological vulnerabilities that come with the territory.
Calling the victims gullible lets the scammers off the hook, and I won’t do it.
Validation hunger. After years of people asking for free work, exposure, or “picking your brain,” when someone offers real money and compliments your expertise, your critical thinking takes a back seat to the relief of being valued.
Urgency pressure. Tight deadlines make you feel important and needed. They also shut down analytical thinking. When someone needs it “by next week,” you don’t have time to investigate.
Income anxiety. When the pipeline is thin, a good-looking project feels like rescue. That emotional high makes you overlook red flags because you want it to be real.
Professional trust. Freelancers learn to be accommodating. We adapt to client preferences, work around their schedules, and give people the benefit of the doubt. Scammers exploit that flexibility as a vulnerability.
What Are the Red Flags of a Freelancer Scam?
They won’t get on the phone. Legitimate clients with real projects want to discuss their vision. Refusal to have a conversation before money changes hands is the single most reliable indicator of fraud.
A third party handles payment. “My client,” “the business partner,” “the accountant.” When someone other than the person hiring you is managing the money, the payment structure exists to obscure the source. Nobody adds a middleman to make paying you simpler.
Everything is urgent. Real projects have real timelines with reasonable deadlines. Manufactured urgency exists to prevent you from thinking clearly, seeking advice, or doing due diligence.
The payment doesn’t match the budget. If someone claims a $30K budget but offers you $250 for a test sample, the numbers don’t add up. Run the numbers on every offer.
Generic praise, no specifics. “Your work is exactly what we need!” but they can’t name a single piece they’ve seen or explain what drew them to you. Real clients reference specific work because that’s what attracted them in the first place.
They want off-platform immediately. Moving to email, text, or WhatsApp removes the platform’s fraud protections and reporting mechanisms. Legitimate clients don’t mind staying on the platform where you connected.
Inconsistent contact information. Different addresses on different communications. Phone numbers that don’t connect to the business. Email domains that don’t match the company name. These inconsistencies exist because somebody assembled the identity from parts.
How to Protect Yourself
Insist on a live conversation before any work begins. This single rule would have saved me from both scams I encountered. A phone call or video chat reveals more in five minutes than a week of emails. I tell every prospect on the first call that a book is a months-long relationship between two adults, with straight communication both ways. A scammer has no interest in that kind of conversation, which makes it the cheapest fraud filter I have.
Research the person, not just the company. Business entities can be legitimate while the people using them are not. Search the person’s name, verify their connection to the project, and look for a professional history that matches what they’re proposing.
Use standard payment platforms only. PayPal Business, Stripe, direct bank transfers, or platform escrow. Never accept checks, money orders, or third-party payments from someone you haven’t verified.
Apply the 24-hour rule. When an exciting opportunity arrives, sleep on it. Scammers rely on emotional momentum. Real opportunities are still real tomorrow.
Get a contract signed before any work starts. Scammers avoid paperwork because it creates evidence trails. Legitimate clients understand that contracts protect both parties.
Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, investigate instead of rationalizing.
Losing a real client because you asked one question too many almost never happens, and when it does you’ll survive it.
Losing weeks of work to someone who never meant to pay stays with you. These people are thieves, and they count on a freelancer’s good manners to get away with it. Don’t let politeness do their work for them.
My take
Get on a live call before you do any work. That one rule would have stopped both scams that hit me, because a scammer wants no part of an honest conversation between two adults. Run the numbers on every offer. A big budget and a tiny paid sample don’t belong together. Stay on the platform, sign a contract, and sleep on anything urgent. Good manners are what these thieves count on, so drop them.
