Why so many scams?

[sarahhagwood]

While I appreciate that Fiverr catches them quickly, why do I get these multiple times per day?

And then, it throws me for a loop when I get a notice that my message is being reviewed and that the other person cannot see my message, but then they respond (having clearly seen the message that Fiverr said they couldn't see). 

Is this just something I need to get used to? I have been patiently waiting on a gig opportunity and acquainting myself with the Fiverr seller tips but in the meantime, the only activity I am seeing are these scam attempts. 😞 

[smashradio]

29 minutes ago, sarahhagwood said:

While I appreciate that Fiverr catches them quickly, why do I get these multiple times per day?

And then, it throws me for a loop when I get a notice that my message is being reviewed and that the other person cannot see my message, but then they respond (having clearly seen the message that Fiverr said they couldn't see). 

Is this just something I need to get used to? I have been patiently waiting on a gig opportunity and acquainting myself with the Fiverr seller tips but in the meantime, the only activity I am seeing are these scam attempts. 😞 

The automatic filtering works in mysterious ways. I would refrain from using the term "work outside of Fiverr" and instead use "I exclusively work right here on FIverr" or something like that, to avoid the filtering. 

Regarding scams: Fiverr is a massive platform with millions of users, focused on buying and selling services. Naturally, you're going to see a lot of scams, since it's a transactional website. It attracts scammers left and right because they know that sellers are alwasy eager to get more work, so it's easy to tempt them into doing something stupid. 

The good thing is that Fiverr catches these scoundrels fast. Whenever you see something you don't like, simply report it to Fiverr using the Report button in your inbox or on their profile. Fiverr can only catch the scammers they know about. 

And as always: if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. 

Here's some advice to identify and avoid getting scammed on Fiverr: 

Hope this helps! 🙂 

[sarahhagwood]

Thank you! I am in the process now of working on negotiating a custom offer. The offer was more than fair and I was excited at the prospect of my first order. However, the potential buyer is asking for a lot more than my gig offers so I created a milestone offer in order to ensure the project was being completed in steps and that I would not get swindled out of this huge project that he/she rejects and copies for "free".  The potential buyer then asked that I complete the order as one order with one payment instead of a milestone order. My thinking is what motivation would he/she have to even ask this unless it is nefarious? A milestone order for anything that is legitimate would only be more attractive to a buyer, correct? 

Needless to say, I am 1 week into this thing and have created 3 solid gigs but no orders yet. Now that I have my first potential order, I am concerned it is a more elaborate scam 😞 

[eskanderhossen]

The number of fake buyers has increased😢😢😢😢

[sarahhagwood]

The buyer accepted my milestone offer. I just submitted the first milestone. Time to see if I am swindled out of my first order. 😬

[anniejenkinson]

I would have avoided that buyer. He just sounds very 'wrong'. 'If you say so ma'am' is not a buyer from whom you'll get a good experience. Someone appointed to represent a major brand will not write to you the way he does; the approach would be professional, wouldn't ever seek to circumvent the platform, and nothing about this guy comes across as anyone who's worked for a major (or minor!) brand. The tone, language, style--everything's wrong.

He doesn't even use periods, capital letters, commas, proper sentences!

I wish I had seen this post earlier. Please take care, Sarah, and trust your instincts since I think you were right that he is going to try and take advantage and I can see this flaring up. 😞

As a buyer or a seller, I never work on milestones so that would not be a red flag for me (that he didn't want milestones) but his attitude and how he writes is unprofessional. He just doesn't seem right at all. 

Don't grasp at jobs just because you are new; the opportunities will come!

--

ADDED NOTE:

Sarah, I just looked at your profile. Please be aware that 'I will write a professional paper for you' could make you a target for people seeking academic work, although I can see that's not what you intend to sell!

Academic work is something many buyers seek and they can hoodwink you into 'writing a paper' which they'll try to pass off as non-academic, only to find (after commissioning) that it's their dissertation or an essay they want you to write. Doing so or even offering something that sounds like academic work can/will get you banned. **Note, Fiverr already applied a warning note to your gig ad, reminding buyers that buying academic work is contra Terms of Service.** 

Your gig wording does not help matters. It kind of cries out, 'are you lousy at doing your own academic research and can't be bothered writing a thesis? I have all the skills to do it' even if it's not the kind of work you're hoping for. Be careful! A ban can come with zero warning. I recommend you rewrite this gig immediately. Withdraw it and start again, ensuring you do not mention anything like academic work, 'paper', etc.

'I have experience writing various academic reports as well as plenty of research,'

'I understand how last-minute writing is necessary' (Sounds like a deadline for academic work, Sarah! Otherwise, what is 'last-minute' work? Why would someone need a 'paper' at the last minute if it's not for college?
 

Edited July 2, 2022 by anniejenkinson
Added advice.

[roxana_nesfintu]

On 7/2/2022 at 11:32 AM, anniejenkinson said:

I wish I had seen this post earlier. Please take care, Sarah, and trust your instincts since I think you were right that he is going to try and take advantage and I can see this flaring up. 😞

As a buyer or a seller, I never work on milestones so that would not be a red flag for me (that he didn't want milestones) but his attitude and how he writes is unprofessional. He just doesn't seem right at all. 
 

I think you are confusing things, the buyer of the screenshot is not the same buyer that accepted her milestone offer. Are 2 different buyers ... or maybe I got it wrong, but doesn't seem like! 

[melissaharlowvo]

On 6/24/2022 at 8:09 AM, smashradio said:

refrain from using the term "work outside of Fiverr" and instead use "I exclusively work right here on FIverr" or something like that, to avoid the filtering

Yes! @smashradio every once in a while I need to explain some of the terms to other buyers or scammers! If I say the wrong combination of words I do get a pop up warning me about it! It’s easy to innocently say the wrong thing to a buyer because YOU are trying to explain the rules! 
 

So pay close attention to every golden word and if you get a pop up reminding you of the terms of service, take a moment a re- phrase your message. 
 

Also, the buyer requests tend to have either new buyers who don’t know the terms yet or scammers ready to seduce you off the platform with promises of steady work or amazing opportunities. Just don’t fall for those rookie scams!! There are hundreds of legitimate requests there but be choosy and read between the lines a bit! Use your professional senses to firmly but compassionately decline those requests. 

[sarahhagwood]

Wow I appreciate all of this advice. I don't take offense easily. I'm trying to succeed here so it's all good. I am going to go back and revise my writing gig description to dissuade any idea that I'm offering academic work. 

Update on the milestone order:

I completed the first milestone and he accepted. He said that it far exceeded his expectations! 😍 I just submitted the second (and final) milestone, which was significantly larger than the first. I am hopeful that this buyer will accept my second milestone since he accepted my first one. Once accepted, I can officially say I've completed my first order! Yay!

As far as what I've learned so far, I am seeing that Fiverr is extremely dynamic and there is a lot of professional development to be had in order to be successful. I am hopeful though. Very grateful for the forum community!

[chris_ld]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:35 PM, sarahhagwood said:

why do I get these multiple times per day?

Same, I also got message 

[taukoromontyr]

At this point, it's outright disgusting Fiverr makes practically no attempt to do the bare minimum to prevent scammers from setting up shop on their platform. A very simple reverse image search on the images used on a gig catches 90% of fake sellers/scammers.

Heck, I'll even tell them how to do it.

1. When someone wants to post a gig it goes through a short review period so a real person (hire one QA person) can spend ten seconds reverse image searching the images on gigs to verify it is original work.

2. If found in violation and depending on the severity of the violation, just IP ban them if it appears obvious the user has no original works. That would result in most of the scammers moving on to other platforms instead of putting in the effort to get a new IP.

3. Over time the number of scammers would fall drastically as a result, as this method in tandem with normal reports would make scammers stop wanting to use the platform as scammers (like hackers) are looking for easy marks, not difficult ones.

4. Have a QA person pose as a normal buyer to test gigs from new accounts, to ensure they don't try and violate the ToS through up charging for services described. Thus weeding out dishonest sellers. The QA would not have to go through with a commission, just when the offer is made by the seller back out and decide if the user needs to be warned if they violated any ToS rules when discussing their services.

The only justification I can see for not doing any of the above is that Fiverr gets a few $ off the top of every sale. It does not require much effort to set this up.