One more time, it was an email that was close, but still nowhere near legitimate. It was a scam, upon closer inspection. And believe me, closer inspection wasn’t all that necessary. Upon first glance, it was obvious. Make that about six emails this month that were scams. So I figured it was time you and…
Tag: scams
The Pseudo-Expert, Freelance Style
Some days, it’s just easier to not “people.” A friend related an exchange she’d had with a freelancer. It was one of those freelancers who sets up shop and is now the Insta-Expert Flavor of the Month. Now he’s offering to answer your questions on the big, wide world of freelancing. Forgive me if I’m…
New Scam Targeting Freelance Writers
What I’m listening to: 6th Avenue Heartache by The Wallflowers I want to bottle yesterday and drink from that thermos every day. I had allotted myself a week to finish four articles — I finished the third one yesterday. So now I have three days in which to finish the last one. That right there is…
If You Say You’re Not a Scammer, Does That Make it True?
What’s on the iPod: Hospital by Counting Crows Yesterday was a sprint for which I felt seriously out of shape. I knew I’d be busy when I returned from California, but I didn’t realize just how busy. By noon I’d finished a blog post, sat in on a team conference call, reviewed one set of…
‘Tis the Season
Ah, Christmas and the New Year – a time for reflection, reminiscing, and getting screwed along the way. Huh? As the new year approaches, I’ve been inundated with “You’ve been accepted!” notices from associations and organizations I’ve never heard of. In one case, I know it all too well. I suggest you hand-select your own…
The Scam That Pretends to be You
A break in our usual writerly discussions today – I saw a disturbing segment on The Today Show about a scam has the potential to catch us all. Scammers send you an innocent-looking email, you click on a link, and they have instant access to your email and Facebook passwords as you type them. From…
Using Scammers as Bait
My guest blog is over at Devon Ellington’s Ink in My Coffee today. Go on over and check it out. Here’s a new one – I received a message on my phone last week, a bit convoluted, but basically the caller was asking about an organization I was part of (?) and mentioned he wanted…
Just How Much Do We Owe the Industry?
You’ve heard me fussing and lecturing. You’ve read Screw You! and Kathy’s outing of each pathetic job offer she comes across. You’ve read blog post after blog post deriding you, begging you, insulting you for taking any job that doesn’t pay you a fair rate for your skills. You think it’s because we don’t want…
Can You Hear Me Now?
I don’t know whether to be confused or ticked off, though I’m leaning toward the latter. I received a number of hang-up calls to my cell phone again yesterday, and one very odd call to my home phone, which came right after a “private” call hang-up. Normally, I might think the message that was left…
Return of the Sham Job Offers
Ah, fall. Gorgeous scenery, crispness in the air, the march of the morons… I’m talking about the sudden onslaught of gawd-awful job postings that seem to crop up as the holidays near. Not that crappy offers have a particular season, but they tend to be in ample supply right now. One I read yesterday had…