It’s a Scammy Kind of Day

My kid is home sick from school. She had a fever last night and is just FINE today, but we kept her home just in case.

To amuse herself, she took some stuff from our room, laid them out in her room, and told me I could buy them back from her.

“Wait. I have to pay you my money to get my things back?”

“Yeah, that’s how the store game works!”

Since I’m spending today being scammed by my progeny, I think it’s time to talk about freelance scams.

Last week, I was the guest on #FreelanceChat & we talked about scams that target freelancers.

I *love* learning about scams – it’s an interest that is an offshoot of my love of learning about cults, street magic, MLMs, and true crime. If you’d like my notes from that chat, click here to get those.

WHENEVER I talk about scams, someone loooves to say, “I would NEVER fall for a scam.”

During Freelance Chat, I talked about being the target for some scams but mentioned that I hadn’t fallen for any as a freelancer. What I failed to say is that I have fallen for scams in my personal life.

Once, about four years ago, I was scammed into paying $75 for some cleaning supplies that were a bait-and-switch product/MLM thing.

When it was happening, the best way I can describe how I felt was “bewildered.” One minute I was getting ready to go to the store before we left for a trip; the next minute, I was writing a check for $75 to a salesperson. It happened quickly - it felt like I had talked to the person for hours, but really, our interaction was about 10 minutes. Within 2 minutes, the scammer mentioned that they knew my neighbor (they did – the neighbor told me later they fell for the scam the year before).  

And you guys, I ALREADY HAD READ ABOUT THIS SCAM, AND I STILL FELL FOR IT.

So, what I’ve learned about scams is that when people say, “I would NEVER fall for a scam,” my answer is always “Yes, you absolutely could.”

Being intelligent, knowledgeable, and aware doesn’t make us any less likely to be the target of scams or any less vulnerable to fall for them.

So what can we do?

First, know the basic “types” of scams. You can find my notes detailing the type of scams here, but the general categories are Bait & Switch scams, Payment scams, Pay-to-Play scams, and Exploitation scams. These are the ones that tend to fill up the freelance world most of all (but also, know that for EVERY type of business out there – there is its dark mirror scam side as well).

For the most part, online scams tend to operate at volume, while “in-person” scams tend to focus more on 1:1 relationships and develop what seems like a typical interaction, even if it happens very quickly. The “at volume” is often messy cut & paste stuff - which why I tell my clients & friends that if they get an email about something that seems real but also feels off, to pull out the text that stands out the most and Google that Shit.  

Scams also then happen very fast. There is a reason that I felt “bewildered” during the cleaning supplies scam– scammers want you to move quickly and don’t want you to stop and think.

(So the client who wants to pay you a lot of money in advance and needs your bank details ASAP may want to bypass your typical process? Maybe a scam - or just a pain in the butt, but that’s for another day).

But what can we DO about them? Well, I’m a believer that sunlight is the best disinfectant. We may not be able to stop the scams out there, but if you come across one, or are the target of one, or even if you FALL for one, please talk about it. There can be a lot of shame associated with falling for a scam, but when we talk about them happening, we empower each other with information that will ultimately help us avoid them.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to purchase my hairbrush and my contact lens case back from a 6-year-old.