Getting freelance work especially as a fresher can be a daunting task. Everywhere you apply, people want job experience and do not want to take the time and effort to train a fresher.
Even though things are changing now and companies are opening roles for freshers it is still very difficult to get freelance work. Moreover, to sustain as a freelancer you need to get more and more clients. Depending upon the number of projects you will get paid. Hence, freelancers are always on the look for more and more gigs.
Seeing this need in the market many people have started taking the advantage of it and looting money from freelancers in the name of giving them projects and work.
How is that happening?
There are several ways in which people are tricking and looting freelancers. Some of them which I have personally seen and experienced are as follows-
1. Making a website and asking for money to get work
Many people have started fake website that offers jobs such as data entry, affiliate marketing, coding, and so on. They put up fake reviews of how people have worked with them and have earned a large sum of money in less time.
This is the first red flag that you should identify while assessing if the website is genuine or not. You can never earn easy money in today's world. You must work hard and put in a lot of effort to do so.
These websites ask for money from you before they give you work. Some might call it a training fee, or membership fee. Do not trust these sites. This is a method of stealing money from you.
2. Paying freelancers in account wallets which they can encash later
To make it look genuine these websites say that they will pay you in your in-account wallet. After collecting X amount you can transfer it to your bank account. Beware of such sites. They might provide you with mundane work such as password entry, captcha work, etc. but in the end, they will give you fake money in your wallet.
If you connect your bank account with such websites you are at risk of fraud. So, never link your bank account or e-wallets to any website.
3. No interview or selection test
As you know most of the clients ask for resumes, take personal interviews, or have some form of test before they hire you. If websites claim to give you a job without any of them then it's fake. Many websites say that no qualification is required, you can sit at home and start working now! This is a red flag. These sites will never pay you.
4. Asks you for your identity cards such as passport etc.
If a website or client asks for your identity cards such as passport, bank details, etc. without giving you an offer letter or assurance then it is fake. They might steal your data to hack into your accounts.
5. Big talk no show
If a prospective client calls you and shows you the dream of working on a big project with him/her, promises to pay you well, and explains various perks but the end gives you no offer letter then beware.
A year back when I was running a home-based bakery, I got a call from an army official. He said he needed an 8-pound cake for a retirement party of an army official. He described what he wanted in detail.
After a few days of negotiation, he called and said he immediately needed some money to send across a few items which he wanted for a gift hamper. His bank was not working hence he wanted me to do the transfer.
After a detailed description, I trusted him and transferred that money. Neither was the money returned nor the army official who needed that cake.
It was a carefully thought-out plan that tricked me into trusting him and sending him money despite having no assurance from his side for that order.
People are getting creative in the wrong direction and are finding new ways of scamming people. In the digital era, it is very easy to hack into people's details.
Genuine sites which freelancers can bank on
Some of the most popular and trustworthy sites that freelancers can approach for jobs are LinkedIn, Internshala, Naukri.com, and TimesJobs. You can also search on Google and visit company websites and directly approach them for gigs.
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