Spotting the Freelance Scammer

I should subtitle this one, “How to spot an obvious scam despite your desire for legitimate work.”

Antonio Michael is back. Don’t remember him? Refresh your memory here. He’s the person who needed a writer because he claimed to have a speech impediment that didn’t allow him to talk with you on the phone about the gig. Just accept it verbatim, okay? And while you’re at it, forward your bank account info so good ol’ Antonio/Anthonio (for he’s confused on the proper spelling of his own name) to forward your payment in advance.

Yea, that Antonio Michael.

A friend of mine belongs to a writer forum that was discussing recently this very person. Gee, is he legitimate? Let’s look at the clues:

Antonio Michael is still his name. (It seems he’s landed on the “Antonio” spelling.)

He’s still billing himself as an “independent academic consultant.”

He must be the recipient of a miracle, for he no longer claims to have that crippling speech impediment.

He hosts “seminars and workshops” that are “absolutely free” to participants. He gets his funding, he claims, from sponsorships from large corporations.

Seems upon follow up, one writer received a response from …. no, not Antonio Michael. John Braveman. A one-sentence assignment was included.

Antonio/Anthonio/John Braveman omitted the name of his organization, where the piece would be published, any project details beyond that one sentence, and how he received the writer’s contact info.

His LinkedIn page was a dummy account from a different country. No info beyond the name. The third name, not any iteration of the first one/two.

Oh, and he made a request: The writer’s bank info. Seems he wanted to pay him right away.

Did your skin just crawl? Good. That means your instincts are working properly.

Anyone who’s been freelancing longer than a week can spot this overpayment scheme. Antonio would deposit more than intended into the writer’s account, then ask for the writer to just wire back the overpayment right away. That “right away” part is so the writer doesn’t realize that the deposited funds aren’t really there. It takes banks a week or so to catch on to wire transfers that have no money behind them.

And good luck finding Antonio to sort this out. Or John Braveman for that matter. They’re gone because they were never there. It’s all a front to separate you from your money.

What’s disturbing about this fraud scheme goes beyond Antonio/Anthonio/John/whoever-the-hell. It’s the reaction of some writers when they receive this kind of solicitation. The writer who brought this up was smart to do so, but there were too many signs that the writer almost fell for it. Because we get a lot of our work via email, if we’re not paying attention, we could be victims when we thought we were hired.

[bctt tweet=”Is that person a #freelancewriting client or a scam artist?” username=”LoriWidmer”]

I received “Anthonio’s” email a few months ago. And I’m happy to report that I saw it for what it was — pure spam. Here’s how you know:

The email address

It didn’t sound legit, so I typed the URL into the browser. 404. Nope. The email is not attached to any website. Not always a red flag, but definitely worth some healthy skepticism.

The name change

Maybe our hapless emailer was having an identity crisis. You should be able to spell your own name. And your name shouldn’t change (while still coming from the same email account) midway through communication.

The sketchy details

We’ve all worked with clients who have no idea what they’re doing or where they’re going. But they have a project in mind. This guy’s project was “I do seminars” and then “Oh, well, do this article for me then” kind of response when pressed for details. And nothing more. And no info on the company. Or the person asking. Granted, there was no sob story, but one can only claim a rare speech disorder so often before others start adding two and two.

The ask

“Just tell me how you’d like to be paid – we prefer to pay you through bank draft or check.”

I bet you do. A wire transfer sounds more legitimate, but honey, they can scam you any way you can receive funds.

The reliance on desperation

This is the worst part of this kind of scam. Some writers are desperate. Most writers would rather cut off their own limbs than turn down work. We condition ourselves from the start to be excited when an opportunity shows up. But that doesn’t mean we have to suspend critical thinking.

One writer discussing this particular scam thought it a bit odd but wasn’t sure if the offer was real or not. Seriously? A guy whose name changes, no real details on who he is or what his organization is called, the need for your bank info before you get any info from him …. Scam.

Don’t be that kind of desperate. No gig is worth skipping over the details to secure. Not one legitimate client would fuss if you asked for more information. If you’re still in doubt, ask for the contact info of some of their clients. And then scour the internet to make sure you’re not about to be taken.

When in doubt, turn it down. Stop communicating. The bridge you burn isn’t worth keeping anyway, I’d bet. Trust your gut.

Writers, have you received a dubious offer out of the blue? How did you handle it?
What do you do when you’re sure it’s a scam? How do you determine that it is?