Beware of the cheats.
After the death of my job during Covid19, I decided to wet my feet into the stream of online content writing. Since there were no office jobs available during those two grueling years and I had to pay the bills, the idea of making money online was pretty amazing. With a primary in English literature and experience working as a copywriter for more than a decade,l thought getting my foot into freelance journalism would be a breeze, but boy was I wrong.
A few acquaintances in the family had success stories of making big on freelance portals. I researched finding the right platforms for my kind of expertise, watched youtube videos of freelance gurus, spoke with friends and family who were successfully managing their livelihood working in this field, and eventually plunged nose dive into the world of freelance content writing.
After signing up with Upwork, Fiverr, and a couple of other freelance websites, I quietly sat waiting for my first gig as a fisherman with a fishing line waiting to bait the first fish. The first month passed by without a single proposal. I started panicking, and all the success stories told by my friends vanished in a poof….
An invite to bid for a content writer's job came as a pleasant surprise, and the recruiter, Mr. X, asked me to contact him on Telegram. The job description was right up my alley, and the amount was perfect. The recruiter mentioned that he was working for a famous publishing company and wanted someone to convert 200 jpeg files into pdf within four days. The task seemed impossible, as typing at that speed needed a lot of precision and speed, but I didn't want to say no to the first job offer.
Fixed-price — Entry-level — Est. Budget: $15,000 — Posted 29 minutes ago
Our company is in need of workers based on the pandemic we need them to work from home
Content WritingResearcherArticle WritingCreative WritingBlog Content
I received a job letter from the publishing company within a day with all the instructions, writing rules, pay structure, and contract forms. This gave me the confidence to go ahead with the opportunity, as everything seemed genuine. I signed the contract, agreeing to receive 4000 dollars after completing the project.
Boy, oh boy! I started typing away like a machine on caffeine. For four days, I organized without fail, skipping meals, skipping sleep, and just focused on finishing the project. On day four, I was a sleep-deprived, starved-stricken typist with throbbing fingers and a hopeful heart for a prosperous bank account.
Enclosed below is a sample of the contract I received.
This Employee Contract (this “Agreement”) is made as of this Sunday day of March 13th, 2022, (the “Effective Date”) by and between Crystal Publishing House and Asma Shahwar located at…... Crystal P.H and New Remote Employee may each be referred to in this Agreement as a “Party” and collectively as the “Parties.” •Services. Remote Employee shall provide the following services to Crystal P.H (the “Services”): __________________________________________________________________________________ In addition, Remote Employee shall perform such other duties and tasks, or changes to the Services, as may be agreed upon by the Parties. •Compensation. In consideration for Remote Employee performance of the Services, Crystal P.H shall pay Remote Employee: Crystal P.H shall pay $4,375.00 into the Remote Employee’s Dashboard. Remote Employee will be paid: After Remote Employee sends Crystal P.H the finished work on the company’s Domain address. The finished work would be reviewed by the Company’s Management, Remote Employee will have be paid by the company to their individual Local Bank accounts or USDT/BTC/ETH Wallet. Milestones are not available for translation jobs as the company can’t run the risk of any employee abandoning a project halfway after receiving payments for milestones covered.
Upon completing the task, I contacted Mr.X on Telegram, to which he replied to send the completed file to the company, to which I promptly complied. I sent 200 pdf files folder to the nonexistent company waiting for approval and confirmation email. Anxiously waiting for a week, I got an email from the company that the project was approved, and they wanted my bank details for the money transfer.
While constantly in contact with Mr.X, I discussed the bank details, mode of money transfer, and further projects he wanted me to work on. Everything he said and did was so convincing that I had no doubt not to trust him. In my mind's eye, I saw myself having a steady income until I could resume my pre-pandemic job.
My dreams were shattered with an email from the so-called company stating that they would transfer the agreed-upon amount if I gave them 300 dollars in advance as a money transfer fee. The alarming bell chiming softly in the background was clanging loud and clear.
IT WAS A SCAM!
I was disheartened, disgruntled, and tired, typing away madly to meet the deadlines. Anyway, after I confronted the agent, he denied any foul play. He dared not only to deny the allegation, but he blatantly tried to negotiate the amount he wanted me to pay, bringing the price to 50 dollars.
The parting arguments were not very pretty, me saying, 'you were not successful in scamming 300 dollars from me'. He departed, saying, 'I was successful enough to waste a week's worth of your time.
Lesson learned, be extra cautious when dealing with clients outside the job portal. secondly, ascertain the amount offered by the client. Check if the payment system is verified. Check the job history of your client to be sure if the assigned project is genuine. Think twice if the offer is too good to be true!
