Elance And Freelancer: Scam Warning

This probably goes for all the bidding sites, but so far I’ve only noticed it on Elance and GetAFreelancer (or just “Freelancer”, as it is now known).

The scam begins with a posting that’s nicely paid: in this case it was a $3k budget with articles paid at $15 a pop.

Everyone bids.

A private message then appears for the bidders, reading something like this:

“I think we can work together. Our company uses the facilities at somesite.com, where the full job details are posted. If you’re not already a member, please use the following URL [somesite.com/referral] – membership is free by referral, so you won’t have to pay the usual setup costs. Don’t forget to upload a photo and educational background (there’s strict manual moderation and we wouldn’t want you to be removed).”

And guess what? Yup, there’s no company or job. It’s just someone who took a job on the bidding site to get “real referrals” to the membership site in question. Congratulations, you just earned a dishonest freelancer a few extra cents.

Thankfully,  I saw this one coming and didn’t register. The giveaway was “strict manual moderation” on a site claiming to have 5 million members. Now that’s a full-time job!

Remember the Hill Street Blues line: “Be careful out there.”

Update: The project in question has now been cancelled by the dubious owner. I’ll take that as confirmation that it was a fake. The site scamming for members (via a third-party, perhaps) was VK.com – be warned.