How to Avoid Scam on Freelancer.com
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One of the reasons why most people don't believe in earning money online is because of scammers. It's true that there are a lot of scam sites on the internet. There are some who sell you a program and promise to multiply your money. Others sell eBooks with guides on how to earn money but actually they're just full of rubbish. Others make you click ads and do petty jobs but not pay you anyway. Their scheme is simple- to take advantage of people.
Because of scammers the reputation of outsourcing sites like Freelancer, Elance, and oDesk get stained. Some just give up on working because they are consecutively cheated by their employers. No one can blame them.
Here are some helpful tips which you can do to avoid scammers on Freelancer (some may be applicable to other outsourcing sites).
- Check the employer's profile. Upon opening a project, see to it that the employer has at least 1 review. Of course maybe the project you opened was made by a first-time employer so he/she doesn't have a review yet. But just to make sure, work with those who already have reviews. Leave the filtering to the ones who dare. Check also if the employer is "Payment Verified". It is indicated if the '$' sign is blue and not gray (see picture above). For further investigation, read the text feedback of other freelancers to see what they got to say to the employer.
- Serious employers make their project descriptions clear and understandable. They specify who they want, what they require, how much will they pay, etc. It is doubtful if a project description is just a sentence or two specially when they don't have a review yet. You also have to check their offer. Don't be too excited when you see that they are willing to pay an amount so much higher than the average rate. That may be a scam specially when the employer still has no reviews.
- There is a big chance that the project is not a scam when the employer paid to post it. If the project has "Featured", "Private", "Sealed Bids", or "Fulltime" tag in it, it means the employer has cash and is most probably trustworthy. See the picture below for more info.
- Last but not the least, milestones. For me this is the final test to see if an employer is trustworthy. If the employer won't approve paying in milestone, ask why. Explain that it is the most secure way of payment compared to Paypal or any other online payment processor. Some really won't create one because sometimes they keep their money on Paypal. You should just trust those who say this if they have sufficient reputation (e.g. reviews, feedback). If it already sounds doubtful then just leave it and find a decent employer.
Conclusion
I have been scammed a lot of times already. One time I made 10 articles of 500 words each and the rate was $3 each. I finished them all within 24 hours and submitted it. The employer never replied. There was no milestone either. And the employer doesn't have any reviews until now but he has a lot of closed projects. I wonder who he's scamming now.
Use your instincts. Even though it's only written conversation and what the employer want to say can be rehearsed, try to feel his/her intentions. Never be afraid to make a mistake and be swindled. Mistakes are good for learning.
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a scam-free day!
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Very useful hub. I appreciate the information. I have a profile on freelancer.com & a few other sites, but have not yet taken on any jobs. I'm so hesitant because of the possibility of scams; as indicated by your hub. Such a shame that you did all of that work, and someone took advantage of it! That's awful! =/
So sorry that happened to you!
@nicregi, I always do that too whenever I work with new employers.
@VeronicaFarkas, Thank you for reading! Don't be afraid to take jobs on Freelancer, use my tips :) And when you find a good employer stick with him/her.
@frugalfamily, I still have maybe three or four 'scammed' stories. It took me a lot of times before I learned how to avoid them.
@ jasonlicerioWow. its nice and i treasure it. i learned from it.. thnx a bunch.. i also got scammed.
@christine0215, I'm so sorry about that, but at least you learned from it :) Are you a writer too? Why not check my other hub on winning a bid on Freelancer?
@ jasonlicerio.. im not a writer, im just looking for a part time job actually. So i prefer like data encoding. ^^ just an ordinary person.
@christine0215, oh, anyway, good luck on your career! I hope you earn more money :D
Freelancer.com is a bluddy scam ... They only concerned about their money.... Not about poor freelancers .. So the best thing is to move away from such platforms and admit in to the trusted platforms like ODESK...
I respect your opinion but in my personal experience Freelancer.com is really nice :)
Yeah yeah... right. But you seem to forget the fact thet Frelancer.com loves to use scam tricks. Example: they suspend users' accounts anytime the time transfer (into paypal or moneybookers) comes. Of course the money transfer is frozen as well. I suppose they charge interest on that money, right? I am sorry to say you may be scammed at the very moment you decide to trust Freelancer.com
It didn't happen to me yet. But let us see.
Hi all
I am am one of the victim of Freelancer.com. First time user from UK i wish i could find this blog before paying money to them.
I did deposit 480 USD (They charged me 492 USD) to my account.
I was trying to create milestones for project,
4 pieces of 120 USD
I did not realised that it is on GBP then i did cancel it. All money came back to my GBP account. I converted them to my USD account.
When i deposited i had
£ 5 and $ 480 in my account.
When i converted i see that i have
$441.52 and £5.00 i have so i lost 38.48 USD in seconds???
USD and GBP exchange rates doesnt change like that in a second? I know the market. I know that guys would like to get profit but that is cheating. There is no that much high profit in Money Exchange Market? And it is impossible.
Then i emailed them and Costumer Service was terrible. They just said they can not fix it and to give my money back they offered more than 2 weeks???
This is scam. I cannot accept it. They can not charge users that much exchange rate this is insane. This is a big scam.
I don't know what to do to be honest. I claimed to get it back on Paypal but it is going to take ages. And they will keep my money god knows for how long.
Shame to do business like that.
Thanks for listening :(
I haven't experienced that yet. I haven't even deposited money on Freelancer. I just work.
What a horrible experience. Sorry for you man.
The largest scam to avoid is Freelancer.com itself. When you pay via PayPal they keep their site attached to your account and take out money at will. If you award additional money above the original contract there is an additional fee, but no way to figure out in advance how much it will be.
You can't create a milestone until you deposit more money - but when you deposit the amount you need to pay a freelancer they take some random amount out of it. So then to pay your freelancer you have to deposit more money - but they have a $30 minimum and won't accept just their fee amount.
The site is really confusing - but their money games make it a scam and there are many people who say they opened an account, put money in, and then Freelancer closed their account and kept their money. Search for Freelancer.com scam to see them.
If you use PayPal to put money in Freelancer you have to manually disconnect them or they can take money out of your PayPal account any time they feel like it. Here's how:
Log into PayPal, click on Profile, then click My Money, then update on "My preapproved payments" to cancel.
You have to do that EVERY SINGLE TIME you put money into Freelancer. STAY AWAY. Try elance. I haven't yet but it has a better reputation and hopefully it couldn't be worse.
Thanks for that info GrowMap. How about if you are a Freelancer and not an employer? Have you encountered such things too?
Please read everyone…THIS IS NOT SCAM !!!
I’m building up my own freelance website…it should be ready by 2 weeks at the most….it’s going to have much less fees to freelancers and absolutely no fees to employers….fees are 6 % for regular free membership and only 3 % for distinguished membership (distinguished membership is 100 dollars for 6 months or 150 dollars per year !!!!!). Then comes the ULTIMATE membership which is 200 dollars for 6 months or 300 yearly and with this membership, you pay 0 fees and post unlimited and get a special seal next to your photo !….Free members only bid 50 times a month while distinguished and ultimate members bid unlimited ! There is much much more than this !
This website will also have an area for regular people to consult with experts via live chat so if you are expert at something, even beside computer stuff, such as eduational subjects, home furniture…etc, you can sign up and make money starting at 50 cents a minute when you chat with people needing your advice !
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS WEBSITE IS THAT THE LAST WEEK OF EVERY MONTH IS ABSOLUTELY FREE OF ANY FEES FOR ANY ONE AT ALL…we understand that people pay their rent, bills, and other stuff by the end of the month and therefore we would like you make you more happy and make you able to earn more money by not charging you any fees at the end of the month !!!
First five freelancers to send me email at: Elsha3er_2009 (at) yahoo will get a ultimate membership free of cost for the first year and will not pay any fees at all for the first year, not even 3 %.
Other freelancers, send me email as soon as possible even if you are not one of the first five…I have great surprises for you !!!!!!!
I also need a lot of employers who need jobs done with no fees for you at all. Freelancer.com charges 3 % fees to employers but I will not charge you any fees.
There are a lot of contests and chances to make money beside working…..Confirm by sending email to elsha3er_2009(a)yahoo.com
Website URL: http://www.all-help.com but it is not up yet, it is still being developed by the developer.
Nice. Hope it is finished soon.
Hi! Thanks for your insightful post...
What is your opinion on employers who wants to "test" your writing skills before approving you for a project by asking you to write several articles for free?
Thanks and more power!
Nah, I think about that as kind of a scam. I'd prefer that we just send a link to them of our article published on the internet (with a proof that it is ours).
We don't know maybe the article and keywords the employer is requesting is the one he/she needs. Then he/she would get it free.
I try to avoid bidding on posts like that but there's just so many of them! ;)
a lot of thanks for that info GrowMap.I am really impressed by this website.there are many instructive information about freelancing.
@thesavvychic, keep avoiding them!
Hi Jason,
This is very useful information.
I have started looking for work on 'freelancer'recently and did not know how to go about it. The moment I received an email asking me to work, I started working and wasted 9 hours only to realise that it was not the right procedure. It was only after contacting Customer Support - freelancer.com - that I was able to understand everything. They were very cooperative and guided me properly. Even though I have not yet got an opportunity to work , I hope I am able to find some genuine employers via freelancer.
Regards,
Beatrice Mendes
Hehe, I believe it's impossible to avoid scam on scamming site. Just type in google "freelancer.com scam". It's all true. They can suspend your account with all money in any moment and borrow it.
@Beatrice,
Hey! Thanks for that info. I hope you have a nice and flourishing freelancing career. Just follow some of my tips and avoid those who don't really pay.
I have registered in Freelance.com under 1 month free of charge trial for 50 bids but I had to connect my paypal account. The site told me that this is safe 100% and PayPal sign was next to the registration button saying that the freelance.com is authorized by PayPal.
Now, I am starting to worry on the fact that I connected these sites.
Today, I was asked to fill in captacha for 0.9 cents per 1000 captachas! HAHAHA, I wonder who is gonna do it on this earth, even though they are short of money etc., just the internet, electricity, laptop operation and your time is more valuable.
0.9c per 1000 captcha??? What kind of a job is that? lol. Anyway, good luck on your career!
Whenever i am trying to Deposit Funds in Freelancer Through Paypal this error is occur (Deposit Error! Sorry, deposit failed. Sorry, deposit failed. The transaction could not be completed due to a PayPal error. Please verify your payment source in your PayPal account and try again. )
I don't know anything about that. I never deposited money on Freelancer, I just work and work :D
Hi everyone. My name is Emir from Freelancer.com. I came across this blog post and all of the comments posted here. We appreciate the feedback.
I’d like to thank Jason for posting tips on how to better use Freelancer.com. Freelancer.com is fully committed to bring you the best customer experience. We have dedicated teams scanning and removing dubious accounts.Also, we we would to add our our own tips (http://www.freelancer.com/news/articles.html) to succeed at being a freelancer and employer.
I'd like to take some time to address the concerns posted here.
We'd like to assure everone that Freelancer.com is not a scam. We have more than 3.4 million users and have paid out more than $120 million dollars to freelancers all over the world. We've won numerous international accolades and awards and been featured in prestigious news networks, trade publications and more.
Freelancer always strives to be as transparent as possible with our fees structure. You will find descriptions of our fees in our FAQs (http://www.freelancer.com/faq/view.php), and How-to and Articles section (http://www.freelancer.com/news/articles.html). You may also find our Our Terms of Service in the footer of our site (http://www.freelancer.com/page.php?p=info/terms).
With the vast amount of transactions and millions of users going through the site, we put in place account verification procedures to verify the user's identity. This is done to create a safe environment for freelancers and employers.
@Arief, Thilinarama, GrowMap, Turantekin and Abdul wahab:
If you have any account concerns, we would be more than glad to help you out. Please send an email to customer-support@freelancer.com together with a detailed explanation on your account concerns. Please include your name in the e-mail so we can identify it. I'll inform our Customer Support Managers to be on the look out for your e-mails and once we receive it, we'll resolve your account issues.
Be assured that we’ve taken into account your feedback on Freelancer.com and we will definitely improve on what we do.
Thank you very much and I hope we have addressed your concerns.
I believe freelancer is a good site. We are also, not associated with freelancer.com, building a completely free freelancing website that allows you to find and post freelancing jobs. The main aim of the site is to allow only genuine employers and freelancers get access to one another. Freelancers and employers will have the options of settling the payments outside the site in which case it will be completely free or use the site to manage payments and delivery. The site is www.freelancer-portal.com. It should be ready in 4-5 weeks but any suggestion can be submitted to info@freelancer-portal.com or if you will like to be notified when the service is ready. Thanks
@Emir: At last, a person from Freelancer. Thanks for the tips and for addressing the concerns of the freelancers who commented on this hub. I really don't know what to tell them because I haven't got any issues with Freelancer yet. Thank you so much.
@Ak: Good! Another freelancing site, another door of opportunities :)
I'd like to comment about my terrible experience at Freelancer.com
I posted a project, then awarded it to a freelancer company. This company asked for milestone payments, which I proceeded. Now, this freelancer never accepted the project and the project expired and the system opened it up for bidding again, so that's OK up to here...right? Wait...
Now comes the good part, I find out that the milestone or money was not deposited back to my account, in other words I did not have it anymore. This money was being retained or withheld by Freelancer.com.
I contacted the staff to question what to do, they tell me "contact that company and ask them to cancel the milestone payment"...so I did.
After several failing attempts to contact this ghost company (they just never answered my messages) I contacted Freelancer.com once again and explained my situation...now guys keep on reading...
They told me: "There's nothing we can do about it, they have to cancel the milestone for us to free up the money"
I asked: "Who has the money now" - they say: "Freelancer.com does"
then I told them again that the ghost company will not answer (I have reasons to believe this, after so many attempts)..well they keep saying "go dispute the milestones"
Let me tell you:
(A dispute takes a long time and a lot of writing to get resolved)
I told them I didn't want to escalate to a dispute,and one more time they tell me "there's nothing we can do about it, sir"
I asked them: "what happens to my money if ...
a) they go out of business
b) the owner dies
c) they just ignore me
Their answer was: "THE MONEY STAYS IN FREELANCER.COM"
Well guys, I don't know about you, but I call this "Stealing" or "Scamming"
What do you think?
This actually applies to all of the freelancing sites in general. It's important to know who you are dealing with. I've gotten screwed and also have seen employers leave when they had the contract stating that I needed to complete the project.
@jazzer707: I hope a person from Freelancer checks on this hub again to address your concern
@mikeydcarroll67: I don't like it when they do that. That is why I just apply to those who have ratings already.
I have got 7000 USD in my account and they suspended my account the day they gave me for withdraw, I was working on freelancer since good couple months, I have got 5.8 with 5 stars 100% completion rate.
They are Scam and I have legitimate reason to prove it. I have complete detail how they act how they do and what the shit is their policy.
Moreover during suspension they not forgetting to charging me for monthly subscriptions,
They asking me shit questions since 2 months for now, First they asked me to upload or send ID , I sent them my Driving licence, then after some time they asked me for passport, I sent them again and also uploaded to ticket system.
I sent them reply with attachments as they require (Format, size of picture everything I followed. ) Also uploaded at their stupid ticket system.
And i always got email from them that I didnt provided my passport yet. Then i opened new ticket. And I came tot know very funny thing that I guess they put my email in junk. Because they acknowledge and sorry for delay this and that bla bla bla.. shit reasons, and again next day i received email that still i didnt provided passport. isnt it lovely ?
How I felt after sending my most official document 22 times , you cant imagine.
I then sent them very harsh email with the reference of email I received earlier with acknowledgement of my documents (passport). Next day I received email with again shit reason that one of my passport edge is not clear. As far as i know that Driving licence is a complete ID. moreover edge never takes matters if passport number and other information is visible and clear. Well I again sent them very clear copy.
So They dont know what they doing , They dont have any address any phone number to contact, Am In London, UK and I never seen a website without address. They dont even have certificate to take personal detail.
I have got 8 on going projects worth 500 – 4000 USD , with more than 6000 USD milestones, my client asked them and warned them about what they doing , and next day they suspended his account as well. isnt it funny .. a very nice customer service.
So I know one thing that its a big scam, and if its not I will screw them now, and I will snatch 10000 numbers of their clients to other website now. I have got marketing skills, great development experience. And I know how to do it. They wanna play I will play now.
Warning : to those who wish to join them, better goto odesk (they verify identity in 2 hours max), elance, guru.com. these are legitimate websites. And don’t try freelancer.com, Chief Ex of freelancer.com is belong to criminal activities in his past life. his face is not even like a true businessman.
If you want to contact me for complete detail most welcome, my email is voipdevelpr@gmail.com.
Thanks & Bye.
I have also a victim of freelancer.com and this is the user is http://www.freelancer.com/u/samitXI.html as it is my first time posting question, then he is helpful on the first place then I ask many questions and he answered back , He told me he will do my project if I paid the price. As a new user I followed his advice because he has a good review and then when I transfur the fund he message me that he cannot do it. What the F on him! and I contact the support and they said they cannot do anything about it. Its really a shame that what this expert doing is reflecting on their site. So i recommend to avoid this site.
Thanks
nicregi Level 4 Commenter 6 months ago
Another good article. I would say always ask for pay per article. That is the best. For starting new client, maybe 2-3 articles is fine per payout. I always nego for pay per day and that never fails me. Also, sometime we got to play smart. Even if I know I could write 10 articles a day, I would say 5 and at least for the first few days, I am able to see if he/she pays as what promised :)