Stories of Scams in Dealing with Buyers

[tnewborn]

Hello!

I am a Freelance Writer and Editor. I have been a seller on Fiverr.com for almost a year. Overall I have worked with great clients and they have all been satisfied with the finished product. But recently I was contacted by a buyer who invited me to be his go-to person for people who needed assistance in writing PHD level dissertations. He was getting ready to establish his web site and wanted me to share in the profits by being his editor. By using me as a referral source, I thought this was a great idea to generate more business for me. I believed it to be a great business venture where both parties could benefit. Yet, when he first referred me to a doctoral candidate from Nigeria who needed assistance on a proposal, that’s when things became a little suspicious.

The potential client only wanted me to contact her over the phone on a foreign number. I informed her that I could not incur the enormous cost of a long distance correspondence. I have not heard from either parties since. I have heard of many scams being initiated by mostly people in certain African countries who through one form or another target your banking information. One scammer in particular reached out to me directly through email under the guise of being a legit company located in Nigeria seeking a payroll specialist. They claim they need your banking info in order to generate payroll checks for their employees when really you have given them direct access to your funds. I fell for no such scam and immediately deleted their email, and blocked their contact info.

For some reason, when I was approached by this buyer who refused to communicate with me outside of email, I became suspicious. Honestly, I believe that most who do not operate in the light, who are not flexible, who avoid transparency are up to no good. Immediately I sever all acquaintance.

Has anyone had a similar experience when they expected that a buyer could have been too good to be true?

Thanks!

[amitkaria]

i had one buyer who told me that he wud give me lot of Voice Over Projects if i did one of his Voice Over for FREE… I said i cant do the entire VO for Free then he said okay then call me on my number and give me your bank details as i dont have a Credit card i cant pay … i became suspicious and didnt contact him …

[tnewborn]

Wow! I read about sellers being the fraudsters but it never occured to me that buyers could be as well. They become super frustrated when you don’t give them what they want or very uncommunicative. I see it like this, if someone needs assistance, they are willing to meet you on your terms in some respects. Those who are not seem suspicious to me. Thanks for the reply and best of luck to you!