Are You Being Scammed? Here Are 5 Ways to Tell.

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As a freelance writer and editor, I frequent the Upwork forums. (Call it morbid curiosity.)

One thing I’ve noticed when I venture over to the hiring side of things is that that many clients are wary of bogus writers. Either the client has already been burned by a dud of a writer, scammed by one, or they worry it might happen to them eventually. And in many cases, they’re not too far off the mark.

Nobody wants to lose out on money and time hedging their bets on a writer who turns out to be a dud. How do you avoid getting scammed? Here’s what you need to know.

Look For a History

Yes, any history, but the more reviews, the better. A portfolio alone won’t tell you that a writer can write. Occasionally, what it tells you is that the “writer” has rudimentary Googling and copy/paste skills.

So find reviews. Check Facebook, Indeed, Upwork or other platforms. Which brings me to…

Legitimate writers don’t hide. They want to make their presence, and their skills, known. Social media does that, so if your writer is lurking behind a faux username or can’t be found at all, keep looking.

Look for a PROFESIONAL Website

Anyone’s eight-year-old niece or nephew can manage to put up at least a skeleton WordPress site. Just having a website isn’t enough. A pro-quality site will have:

• A clean, pro-quality landing page
• PLENTY of examples of previous work
• Intuitive searchability
• A way to contact the writer/freelancer
• Quality images

These are the bare-bones basics. If the writer’s site doesn’t have these elements, you may be looking at a hastily thrown-together page that could disappear as quickly as you found it, taking your money along for the ride.

Ask For a Paid Sample Before Hiring

Unfortunately, you can’t, or shouldn’t, ask for free work, even if that means 250 words or fewer.

Asking for free work is a bad look. Even worse from your end, it means you’re probably getting writers who don’t know the ropes yet or who are scammers. You may be getting lifted work instead of the writer’s own words.

Use Copyscape

Make sure to check your writer’s work against Grammarly, Copyscape or a similar plagiarism detector. You’d be surprised how many “writers” and “editors” lift others’ copy…and they’re not even AI!

Keep Communication Open

If you’re listing jobs on a platform such as Upwork or Fiverr, you’ll need to communicate within their TOS parameters. (For example, you may not contact your prospective worker outside of Upwork’s platform until you have hired.)

Either way, you want an independent contractor who answers your questions within a reasonable timeframe and who is open to communicating with you about the job ahead of time.

The Bottom Line: Transparency is Key

Just like any other job you would hire an independent contractor or other professional for — plumbers, roofers and childcare workers come to mind — the more transparent the contractor, the better. Your intended hire should be happy to discuss their background, experience, and skillset.

And the more you’re able to “find” the freelancer on various platforms, the more secure you can be that the writer is not a fly-by-night scammer, or brand-new to the industry and wet behind the ears.

Protect your money, time and reputation by finding a writer who passes all of the mini-tests above. You’ll be happy you did.