12 Ways to Protect Yourself against Writing Scams
May 7, 2008 by Deb Ng
Filed under Writing Tips
One of the most frequently asked questions at Freelance Writing Gigs is, "How do I avoid writing scams?" The answer is fairly simple and yet difficult to answer at the same time.
Writing jobs are all over the Internet. From technical manuals to fashion magazines to ezine articles, words splatter the virtual world from one end to another, and someone has to write them. That’s you.
But as much as there is plenty of writing work out there, there are just as many writing scams waiting to trap people – and scammers are savvy.
They prey on newcomers to web writing. They gloss their words. They hide information. They apply plenty of crafty tricks to hook an unsuspecting victim.
Then they disappear with the goods, leaving you empty handed.
Use Common Sense
One of the best ways to avoid a scam is to use some common sense. You have brains; make them work for you, not against you. Scan ads for loopholes that seem suspicious. If there is information missing, ask questions. Be a skeptical reader and think about the wording the buyer uses.
Approach with Caution
The second-best way to avoid a scam is to approach every potential job opportunity with some caution. You may be eager to land work or earn some money, but leaping onto a potential gig without thinking critically often lands you in hot water. Try to feel out the employer or the buyer by asking smart questions.
The Proverbial Carrot
"There’s a lot more work where this came from…" Mmmhm. Experienced writers have heard this one before, and while it sometimes may be true, it often isn’t. Dangling promises is a tactic often used to lower writer rates or get discounts. The buyer gets cheap work and the writer ends up looking for a new client when the promises fall short.
The Rush Job
The Internet moves fast. Damned fast. Some buyers use that to their advantage. They seem incredibly rushed to get their site live, their content up and their articles completed. They push, pressure and create a sense of urgency, asking you to feel bad for them and help them out. Help them out, by all means – but "show me the money" is a must for rush jobs. Get it upfront or walk away.
Comparing Rates
Ahhh, competition. Yes, it’s true; someone else is charging less than you or offering more than you are. So what? If you’re not confident about the rates you’ve set, you will always be taken advantage of when a buyer points out he received a cheaper quote elsewhere. Believe in yourself and be ready to tell people politely that you understand you have competition, but you set your rates according to the value that you offer.
Show Me the Money
No one works for free. Period. No one works to lose money. Take a good look at the pay rate being offered and be realistic about the ROI. Too high? Big promises of riches? Fast, easy money? Something’s wrong with that situation, so you’d best pass by the lottery ticket to misery. Is the pay rate too low? Find something better. Membership fees? Weigh the pros and cons and see what value you get from your money before plunking down the cash.
Win a Prize!
Contests can be fun to enter and may earn a few dollars – but if you enter, be prepared to lose. Or win! All you have to do is buy a copy of X to see your work in the spotlight. You do, so do all your friends and family, and you’ve just made the buyer plenty of money. Some contests also charge for entry submissions, rake in the cash, and nothing ever happens.
Be Proactive
Defense is the best offense. Some of the most common scams used by buyers involve asking for a free sample or refusing to pay a deposit. Your proactive defense nips these two scams in the bud. Set up a portfolio page with various types of samples and point buyers in that direction. They can easily see the quality of your work and your skill level. Establish payment terms for all clients and stick to them, no matter what.
Don’t Prove Them Wrong
Smart buyers who have been around sometimes apply a bit of bullying to bend writers to their will. They’ll tell you that they’re giving you a chance or they’ll mention that you don’t have enough experience. That may be true, but that doesn’t mean that you need to take a job to prove your worth. Stand firm, don’t rise to a challenge and stick up for yourself.
Trust Your Gut Instinct
If it doesn’t feel right, then it isn’t right. Writers often get manipulated into agreements by strong people who convince them, even if the writers don’t feel confident about the situation. Learn to listen to that sixth sense; it’s telling you something and it’s usually right. Experienced writers almost always listen to their gut instinct and are burned less often.
Stop the Presses
The minute that something isn’t going well, the minute the client isn’t upholding his or her end of the bargain, stop the presses. Never keep working if the other party reneges – even temporarily – on the terms of agreement. Excuses that credit cards haven’t been verified, people in authority haven’t approved yet, or a lack of communication are all reasons to put the pen down. Send an email to notify the client that you’ll wait until the issues are sorted out before continuing.
Copyright is Yours
Remember that copyright is yours (unless you’ve plagiarized or scraped content) from the moment the piece is created. This means that unless you agree to sell your rights, what you write is yours. If you do end up not being paid for work, you can sell it to someone else and try to recoup some loss.
In the end, the chances of a writer falling victim to a scam are high, especially for inexperienced writers. It’s likely that you will get taken for a ride at some point in your career, so be prepared and be preventative. If you do get caught in a scam, consider it a rite of passage. Learn from the experience so you can move on to better things.
James,
Having recently transitioned from writing for printed publications, this read is right on time. It confirms most of the things that I had in mind about scams and how I can protect my interests. It’s also helpful to become part of a community like Freelance Writing Jobs because other members wills sound the alarm if they encounter scam links.
James,
So true! I got caught up in one of those and “please help me out” and “this work is really not as hard as it looks” and “the client will pay when they approve” kinds of deals. Well, there was some serious mistruth and non-communication back and forth, they left me high and dry.
And the pay rate was stupid, so I shouldn’t have even taken it. Red flags would scream at me now if I saw an ad for a gig like that again. I was a rookie in the freelance free market, but I have better sensibility about me now.
Maybe if I’d read a great post like this back then, I might not have gone for it
Thanks, James!
“Put the pen down.”
Amen to that! You sure have a sleeve full of great phrases, James. This is very valuable advice for the newbie and it’s also a good reminder for those of us who’ve been around for a bit but find ourselves being taken for a ride by clients.
Great post!
Great advice, James! This is the best article about avoiding scams I’ve seen geared to web writers. I think it’s very important to continue saying “it’s okay to turn down work.” As a new writer, I had a very hard time turning down anything and ended up being taken advantage of a couple of times because of it. There will be other jobs, and sometimes you have to let a bad one go.
Thanks for this information, James.
“Remember that copyright is yours (unless you’ve plagiarized or scraped content) from the moment the piece is created. This means that unless you agree to sell your rights, what you write is yours. If you do end up not being paid for work, you can sell it to someone else and try to recoup some loss.”
James, this was one of the most salient points in your excellent submission. In fact, months ago, someone from this community suggested to incorporate language to this effect on contracts and proposals.
Thank you, and all the best.
I’ve been caught up in one big scam. The guy went to the point where he created what appeared to be a valid email account, yet it turns out he’d cloned it somehow. Took my money and ran with the articles I did for him. Unfortunately, they were so unique that I could never find another buyer. I hit the boards and started sharing his name and emails. I also filed a complaint with Paypal who shut down his Paypal account. In the end, I was out the time and money, but I have the satisfaction in knowing that Paypal had shut him down.
As for working for a lower rate… One of my low rate jobs has turned into an almost full-time gig doing bi-monthly newsletters and press releases for a well known author/motivational speaker. Sometimes taking the jobs that others feel is too low pays off in the long run. In his case, he didn’t want to offer a high rate of pay to someone he barely knew and who lived on the opposite side of the country. I’ve now proven myself and gained a nice pay raise because of it.
Glad that this is striking some chords with people. Even the experienced writers still get looped into bad situations, so all beginners, don’t feel naive. It takes a really strong sixth sense and confidence to be able to say no.
And each of you can do it
Excellent tips. I’ve been up against this quite a bit recently. It’s funny how when I start asking questions (like “what is the name of your ['well-respected'] organization?”) I stop getting emails back. It’s a shame we always have to have our guards up, but that’s just the way it is.
FYI, Jenna Glatzer’s The Street Smart Writer: Self-Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World is now available for free download; more info at Jenna’s blog here.
This is really helpful, James. Sometimes I doubt myself and think I am being too “hard” on potential clients. I needed this confirmation to stay on track! Thanks.
Cheers for the info! No doubt it will subconsciously pop up at some stage when I’m applying for a dodgy job.
I just got sucked into this as well. Grr! Sent an article “on spec” without knowing the website (I know, duh) and now there’s no contact at all even though I’ve sent e-mails inquiring. I just wrote again and said (nicely) that since I haven’t heard back, I assume they’re not interested and I’m withdrawing the piece. If it’s already up on the web, that probably won’t do much, but at least I feel like I’ve “officially” taken charge.
Grr.
Great advice James. When I was just starting out, I was scammed by someone – send us samples and we’ll pay for them, etc. Now I’ve learned to trust my gut instinct.
James, this post was nice, but it seemed a little basic. I know it was geared to newbies, but you didn’t address how to deal with a bad client other than to walk away, and if they already have your pieces that, by itself, is not always the best course of action.
I know a writer who had this happen to her, with a series of rather long technical pieces, and she was genius (and my own personal hero) to Google the titles of her pieces. The “editor” who had hired her was using them as his own, on a fairly well paying site. She contacted the sites admin, showed them proof that the pieces were not his, got the pieces pulled, and that site is actually taking legal actions against him.
If a piece gets swiped from you, do a search, and find out where its being posted. Its unlikely that your piece was stolen just so they could have it in their in-box. The search will take you maybe 5 min, and at least you’ll:
1. Have protected your intellectual property.
2. Make sure that the SOB who cheated you isn’t profiting on your work.
3. Help other people to see your content burglar for what he is.
Don’t just walk away, fight back.
@ Kate – The post wasn’t meant to provide how-tos if something goes wrong. Most beginners (yes, this article was oriented at them) need to know how to avoid something before it goes wrong.
Also, most web content writers are not going to invest the time in fighting back. They don’t care as much about protecting their name or honor because most are ghostwriters and don’t have any glory attached to the work.
Also, searching for your own work does not take five minutes, considering how easily it is to spin a few sentences. I’ve spent a few hours tracking down a piece of mine.
Many prefer the option of avoiding all the scams they can. If they do get scammed, they learn and move on. Vengeance, sometimes, isn’t worth the upset.
But that’s my two cents.
I have been scammed before and it really is not a fun thing to have happen. I emailed her many times and finally told her that the articles that she didn’t pay me for are mine and I will use them for what I want.
One other thing that happened to me was on a bid site. The person that hired me was very happy with the samples that I had and ready to work. Then when I finished it and handed it to her, she said she hated it and never paid me for it.
It can happen anywhere, so be careful and keep your eyes open. I know I am now.
Many good points. I write about fraud for some financial pubs, and from check fraud (have interview Frank Abagnale — “Catch Me if YOu Can” — a couple of times) to “Nigerian bank scams,” the recent IRS phisihng scam, to scams targeting unsuspecting writers, investors, etc., there are a few common threads:
“If it looks like a scam, sounds like a scam, then its a scam.”
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
However, fraudsters are quite sophisticated, so they can draw in people who wouldn’t fall for simple fraud.
I can go back to one of the biggest scams I ever got sucked up in. I was a travel agent at the time and was in charge for ordering office supplies too. One day this nice older man came in and showed me his business card and handed me a photo id from the shop where we had purchased the Xerox machine. He said he was here for the yearly inspection.
This was not uncommon because we had a contract for a yearly inspection. The owner was in her office and said she thought it seemed the year had come up quickly, but neither of us thought much more about it because he had business cards in his pocket and had shown me his ID.
At the end, the guy told me that we were low on starter fluid ($187 a bottle). We definitely had none in stock. So I ordered what he suggested after going back to the boss’s office for a signature on the work order paper and telling her what he said. Again, neither of us suspected a thing.
He even called us a few days later from the copier shop number to make sure everything was running fine. Caller ID showed it was the copier shop’s number.
Two months passed and another person from the Xerox office showed up. This time we questioned him being here. Turns out the first guy was a fraud. While starter fluid did exist, it was provided free of charge and only used by technicians when they serviced machines. I’ll tell you my heart has never sank so low. Even though the manager had approved everything, I was the one that took the brunt of the blame from the owner’s husband.
Whoever he was got away with a nice chunk of change. We’d paid with a company check and police tried to track him down without any success because he’d cashed the checks at our bank using the ID he’d shown us. Turns out the ID had a real address, but he didn’t live there. The company we had the Xerox machine from thinks it may have been one of their former employees who walked off with a number of customer records and disappeared.
If a scam artist is desperate enough, they’ll do whatever it takes to get your money. I’ve reached a point in my life where I trust NO one. I tend to be suspicious of everyone in today’s world.
that’s a fabulous set of tips. It can be hard to know what to look for when you’re new to the game or desperate to get a sale.
Thanks very much
@James Good advice, thank you for reminding all of us to “beware” of possible scams.
Great post. I can’t help but wonder how many writers have to fall for some of these. The way I figure is the more effort someone puts into getting a writer (i.e. writes more than 2 vague sentences on Craigslist) the more likely the work is legit. After all, scammers work on volume and if you have to craft detailed information that cuts down your volume.
The more work later is the one that got me early on. I figured the first assignment was my chance to prove myself and that was fair. Then, I got a real writing project and the “sample” article paid more than the never-saw-anything “future work” from the scam post. Lesson learned.
Thanks James, useful advice