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In 2019, I fell for two writer work scams back-to-back and lost about $4,000. I had just left my first copywriting job of two years because Boss Man bought a house but owed his writers four months’ pay. So, to avoid going broke, I quit and hopped on Freelancer.com to get gigs.
After a week of searching, I found two potential clients. The first was a guy named Roland Bond, which, in retrospect, sounds like a fake name and should have been a red flag. The other one had a random name that I can’t remember. Once we connected, both parties had me churn out tens of thousands of words worth of content over a couple of weeks. When paycheck time came around, both clients stopped replying to my messages.
The crazy part is my then-girlfriend (now wife) signed up with the second hirer without my knowledge and got scammed as well.
While all of this happened years ago, it still stings, especially when I think about how hard I worked and got nothing but life lessons for it.
But why am I talking about this now?
I haven’t had a writing gig in months. To find work, I set up camp on LinkedIn and soon discovered even LinkedIn is infested with writer work scams. Every day, I see copy/content writing gig scams posted on the social platform by reputable individuals and shady-looking accounts. Some post these writer scams as pranks, while others do it to get traffic, swindle writers, steal personal details, and other motives.
To help my fellow content/copywriter job hunters spot such scams, here are the writing gig scam red flags to watch for.
1. No Email
If you see a writing gig ad with no contact email provided, chances are it’s a freelancer scam. Serious hirers provide their email so you can send in your cover letter and/or resume. Scammy folks who post ads like this just want your attention and will typically not reply to your messages. And if they do, it’s typically to ask you for something and get you no closer to getting a gig.
So, unless you can confirm a reputable and trustworthy individual posted a job ad with no email, don’t bother pursuing it.
2. Gmail Email
Gmail is one of the most reputable email providers in the world. However, the one time you don’t want to see a Gmail email is in a job ad. Real businesses post job ads with branded or custom emails, not free emails. While this isn’t always true, in most cases, you are looking at a writer work scam if the provided email is @Gmail, @Yahoo, or a similar free email.
3. Want You to Do Something Shifty
If I’d known this red flag, I would never have fallen for the Freelancer.com content-writing gig scam. I would have known something was wrong when the hirers requested we move our conversation and dealings from the Freelancer platform to Skype.
You see, if we’d stayed on Freelancer.com, I could have reported the hirer for not paying me, which would protect me. Of course, in exchange for this protection, platforms like Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr, and the rest charge a fee. I greedily thought taking business off the platform would help me bypass the fees. Instead, I bypassed getting paid.
In summary, if a job poster wants you to do something shifty or underhanded to get a job, most likely they’ll do the same to you at some point.
4. Unprofessional or Dismissive Attitude
Looking for work can make you desperate, and desperation can make you swallow shit you’d normally slap someone for. However, if you don’t want to be a victim of freelancer scams or a writer work scam, you should draw a line at rudeness. If I’d known this red flag earlier, I would have quickly seen that Roland Bond was scum in a white shirt.
When you apply for a job, you’re offering your skills to help the hirer. You are a potentially valuable asset and should be treated as such. If a prospect treats you like dirt or like you owe them during the hiring stage, you should run because it’ll only go downhill from there.
5. Unrealistically High or Low Pay
You likely already know what hirers pay for the job you’re seeking. So, if most employers offer $30,000 to $60,000 for full-time content writers, why would another offer $15,000 or $100,000? Job posts with unrealistically high offers are usually trying to lure you in to steal your personal information. The low ballers, on the other hand, simply want to take advantage of you, even if they do eventually give you a job. So, don’t let your desperation blind you from missing this writer work scam red flag.
6. Vague Job Descriptions
When you publish a job ad, you want the most qualified applicants to apply. That won’t happen if you post a vague, meaningless job description. An applicant can’t tell if he/she is qualified for a if the ad doesn’t clearly describe the role.
On LinkedIn, you’ll find several vague job ads posted in feeds. Most of these LinkedIn posters do this deliberately because they have no intention of hiring. Such posters know job posts get traffic and use desperate job seekers to boost their profile and views. I consider such people to be bottom-feeding scum. Avoid such job posts unless you don’t mind wasting your time.
7. Pay to Work
We work to get paid, but when you have to pay to work, there’s a glitch in the matrix.
If a hirer asks you to pay them to give you work, you are without a doubt looking at a freelancer scam. Some of these scammers describe such payments as a fee to get training or access to premium jobs. Legitimate clients pay you for your work, not the other way around.
8. No Digital Footprint
It’s 2024. If a prospective employer or client doesn’t have a website or other digital proof of existence and legitimacy, you’re looking at a big fat writer work scam. A LinkedIn profile isn’t enough. The company or hirer should have a business website and profiles on Glassdoor, Indeed, and similar platforms. The website should have an active blog, newsletter, or at least have webpages that look professional and recently updated.
Also, running a quick Google search of the company or employer’s name should provide proof of their existence. If an online search doesn’t provide such information, that’s a red flag and your cue to bow out.
9. Ridiculous Turnarounds
You’ve found a job offer that looks good. You applied and aced the interviews, and it looks like your job search is about to end. Then, the hirer says they want you to start immediately and deliver three 1,500-word articles before the end of the business day.
I know you desperately want your job search to end, but if you sign up for this, you’ve sold yourself into slavery. Avoid writer job scams that want to use you, wreck you, and dump you. Trust me, you never fully recover from burnout, regardless of how much you rest.
10. Job Description Different from Actual Job
A job description tells you the duties you’ll perform if you get the role. That’s what you applied and signed up for. A scam is afoot if an employer adds more duties to the role after taking you on. Such a scam hurts more if the employer scoffs at the idea of paying you more for the extra work you never agreed to. A good example is content writers who sign up to provide web content but end up also providing email, social media, and ad content.
11. Poor Reviews or Reputation
Lastly, are current or past employees warning you to stay away from an employer? If so, you might want to listen. These employees already have experience working at the job. If they tell you it’s a scammy job, it probably is.
However, there are cases where disgruntled employees badmouth employers in the spirit of revenge. Listening to such feedback can make you miss out on a great job opportunity.
How can you tell if feedback is true or false? There’s no surefire way to know. But you can get an idea of what’s going on by reading through all the available employee feedback. If the feedback looks malicious and fake, then you likely have a disgruntled employee. This is even more likely if the feedback from other employees looks real and is overwhelmingly positive.
Your desperation to end your job search may tempt you to overlook these writer work scam red flags. Don’t fall for the temptation. Maintain a level head during your search and do your due diligence to avoid wasting your time and being played.
