Can’t be a freelancer in Egypt

[safaa_611]

Hello there everyone, i would be really glad if a fiverr support agent take a look at this and take action asap. I just created my Fiverr seller account and did verification, but now it’s asking for a $5 fee, I don’t have any problem paying this fee but unfortunately in Egypt it’s not allowed to pay in USD (international payments) otherwise your card will get declined. I tried paying with PayPal and card but still gets declined. That’s not a problem with the bank or the card, but it’s illegal in Egypt and you can’t do it. Unfortunately the support team is not helpfull. 

[rawque_gulia]

16 hours ago, safaa_611 said:

Hello there everyone, i would be really glad if a fiverr support agent take a look at this and take action asap. I just created my Fiverr seller account and did verification, but now it’s asking for a $5 fee, I don’t have any problem paying this fee but unfortunately in Egypt it’s not allowed to pay in USD (international payments) otherwise your card will get declined. I tried paying with PayPal and card but still gets declined. That’s not a problem with the bank or the card, but it’s illegal in Egypt and you can’t do it. Unfortunately the support team is not helpfull. 

Fiverr never asks for any money in the name of verification. Did someone text you in your inbox regarding the verification -- or did you receive any email (and is it from the official address)? It might be a scam, so please be careful.

Never share or enter your credit card or payment details, as Fiverr never asks for them. At most, Fiverr may request personal ID documents to verify that you're the authentic person running the account -- but it never verifies you based on 'payments'.

Update: Sorry for the outdated statement. Please refer to the chats below for accurate information.

Edited August 18 by rawque_gulia

[michmikaia]

57 minutes ago, rawque_gulia said:

Fiverr never asks for any money in the name of verification. Did someone text you in your inbox regarding the verification -- or did you receive any email (and is it from the official address)? It might be a scam, so please be careful.

Never share or enter your credit card or payment details, as Fiverr never asks for them. At most, Fiverr may request personal ID documents to verify that you're the authentic person running the account -- but it never verifies you based on 'payments'.

In fact there is. 

@safaa_611, please check the thread below 👇. 

 

Edited August 18 by michmikaia

[priyank_mod]

1 hour ago, rawque_gulia said:

Fiverr never asks for any money in the name of verification.

Fiverr has now introduced a verification process for new sellers and a few people have reported being asked to pay $3 for it or $5 in OP's case. However, this amount is not specified on the help page. 

https://help.fiverr.com/hc/en-us/articles/22582440968849-Account-verification

[rawque_gulia]

Ahh! There was no official announcement from Fiverr, so things got missed. Thanks @priyank_mod, @michmikaia and @optisolve for correcting me.

I am not sure how this situation will end -- maybe positively or maybe negatively -- but let's see! Now that everyone knows that "Fiverr charges money for verification", I personally think more new sellers will fall for scams. They might believe the messages coming to their inbox are legitimate and think they need to pay for verification (since now Fiverr really charges).

What annoyed me the most is that Fiverr didn’t make a loud announcement about this, leaving everyone in the dark about the "correct way" for verification. Of course, you and I know, but other new sellers might not know. They may think scam emails or inbox messages are the 'official way' of verification and won’t hesitate to enter their credit card information (because their fellow newbie sellers will tell them that it's true that Fiverr charges money in the name of verification).

But let's see!

[michmikaia]

5 minutes ago, rawque_gulia said:

I am not sure how this situation will end -- maybe positively or maybe negatively -- but let's see! Now that everyone knows that "Fiverr charges money for verification", I personally think more new sellers will fall for scams. They might believe the messages coming to their inbox are legitimate and think they need to pay for verification (since now Fiverr really charges).

Well, the verification process will occur when new seller create a gig. So, that might be the difference between the scam messages and the real Fiverr verification pop up.

[rawque_gulia]

Just now, michmikaia said:

Well, the verification process will occur when new seller create a gig. So, that might be the difference between the scam messages and the real Fiverr verification pop up.

Now, after the first verification (while creating gigs), new sellers will believe that "Fiverr charges for verification".

A scammer could easily send an email after 10 days, claiming there's an issue with the previous verification and that the seller needs to verify again (promising a refund this time) -- otherwise the gigs will be deleted after x hours. It wouldn't be difficult for the scammer to clone the UI of the original verification page.

Now, the seller is almost guaranteed to fall for the scam, thinking, "Fiverr does charge for verification". If it can charge "one time" -- it can also charge "two times".

[filipdevaere]

3 minutes ago, michmikaia said:

Well, the verification process will occur when new seller create a gig.

Gig? I thought it was for creating an account. 

[rawque_gulia]

Just now, filipdevaere said:

Gig? I thought it was for creating an account. 

Nah! Another real problem! 😂😂

The scammers (posing as buyers) won’t be charged any money (or go through any verification). It’s only when the seller starts selling! Bullsh*t way to implement a system.

[michmikaia]

6 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

Gig? I thought it was for creating an account. 

That's the screenshot from the topic we thought it was a scam. The pop up for verification appears before publishing the gig.

7 minutes ago, rawque_gulia said:

A scammer could easily send an email after 10 days, claiming there's an issue with the previous verification and that the seller needs to verify again (promising a refund this time) -- otherwise the gigs will be deleted after x hours. It wouldn't be difficult for the scammer to clone the UI of the original verification page.

Now, the seller is almost guaranteed to fall for the scam, thinking, "Fiverr does charge for verification". If it can charge "one time" -- it can also charge "two times".

You made a point here. And as you said let's see.

Anyway, newcomers are still vulnerable and fall into scammer's trap easily.

Edited August 18 by michmikaia

[katakatica]

23 minutes ago, rawque_gulia said:

Ahh! There was no official announcement from Fiverr, so things got missed. Thanks @priyank_mod, @michmikaia and @optisolve for correcting me.

I am not sure how this situation will end -- maybe positively or maybe negatively -- but let's see! Now that everyone knows that "Fiverr charges money for verification", I personally think more new sellers will fall for scams. They might believe the messages coming to their inbox are legitimate and think they need to pay for verification (since now Fiverr really charges).

What annoyed me the most is that Fiverr didn’t make a loud announcement about this, leaving everyone in the dark about the "correct way" for verification. Of course, you and I know, but other new sellers might not know. They may think scam emails or inbox messages are the 'official way' of verification and won’t hesitate to enter their credit card information (because their fellow newbie sellers will tell them that it's true that Fiverr charges money in the name of verification).

But let's see!

What bothers me (and I'm willing to voice this as many times as needed) is that not even all staff seems aware AND that they don't seem to think it's an issue. I understand that it's the law now to verify who is who and I wouldn't care about the fee BUT as you've said, with all the recent spam it's just really poor timing. The most recent information in pinned points is (I'm pretty sure) still that Fiverr won't ask for x things, but now they changed that. 

I'm all for a barrier of entry but this is very messy. 

[rawque_gulia]

Just now, michmikaia said:

Anyway, newcomers are still vulnerable and fall into scammer's trap easily.

Fiverr is only making things "difficult" for sellers -- not for buyers (who are coming as scammers) in any way.

Imagine if sellers come to the Forum asking whether a screenshot of the verification page is legit or not. Do you think we'll be able to distinguish between the "original verification page" and a "fake verification page"? I mean, yes, we might in some instances -- but not always (especially if the screenshot is cropped and if the scammer was smart in cloning it exactly like the original).

It's impossible for us to "guide" those sellers on whether they're taking the correct steps or not. Wow, Fiverr, just wow!