Every new freelancer needs to know how to avoid getting scammed when looking for work on online platforms.
Starting a career as a freelancer can be a positive life-changing move. But sometimes when you start out as a freelancer you take on jobs that might not be the best choice. On some occasions, that job that seemed too good to be true probably was.
Many freelancers have been in that position and unfortunately, a lot of them have fallen for scams. For that reason, freelancers in any industry need to be prepared. It’s important to know how to recognize red flags when taking on new jobs through online platforms and social media. Not being ready to defend your profession is a considerable freelancing mistake.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the most common scams that affect freelancers in all industries, from graphic and web deisgners to writers, seo specialists and content marketers. These scams happen through freelance platforms, emails, and social media. Knowing these red flags is a great way to get started with risk management for your freelance business.
Let’s take a look.
Scams On Freelance Platforms
The majority of new freelancers don’t really know where to find good work. With a little research, they discover sites like Freelancer, Upwork and Fiverr. These platforms can be great for finding work at first. In fact, many freelancers become quite successful using them. Unfortunately, these sites are full of scams targeted at freelancers. So much so, that the Freelancer blog itself published an article about it.
Freelancer platforms like Freelancer, Upwork and Fiverr are based on a system of freelancer and client portfolios, job boards and pitch contests. Employers and freelancers create profiles through which they find each other.
Many new freelancers fall for scams on these platforms. From small one job scams to scams that can span for months, causing new freelancers lots of heartache and mortification.
Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr are the three platforms most famous for freelancer scams because they are the largest in the industry. Thankfully with a little investigative work any freelancer can make sure that the job they are being offered is legit and worth pursuing. It’s all about being able to read the red flags.
The video below about avoiding work at home scams by recognizing red flags is a great resource for any freelancer, not just work at home, also digital nomads etc.
Red Flags To Look Out For On Freelance Platforms
Recognizing red flags as a new freelancer is the key to not getting scammed. When being offered jobs as a new freelancer it’s easy to get excited. It’s easy to forget to check things like empty profiles, bad reviews and other suspicious things.
Below are the most common red flags to look out for.
When It Sounds To Good To Be True
The biggest red flag when looking for freelance work is when a job sounds to good to be true. If for example, the employer offers very
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This article was written by Orana Velarde and originally published on Elegant Themes Blog.