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I’m new to Fiverr, just 7 days in, and I work in transcription and translation. Today, I received a message on the platform from a buyer asking if I was available for a task. If I agreed, they directed me to an email to continue the conversation. I did so, and they explained that the task was to translate 150 pages into Spanish, with payment via direct bank transfer or PayPal. 

They sent me to a website supposedly specializing in connecting freelancers with companies, but there was no way to register. The address was of a corporate office rental or coworking space, and the phone number was +100000. Several red flags popped up, so I did some research. 

It turns out the company has multiple reports of scamming freelancers, particularly new Fiverr users. The scam works as follows: you are asked to complete the task with payment upon delivery. After delivering the work, a few days pass with no payment. When you contact the buyer, they claim there was an issue but that they’ve already transferred the payment, sending a fake digital receipt as proof. 

A few days later, a supposed "accounting manager" contacts you saying there was a problem with the transfer, and you need to pay $85 to receive your payment. In short, you do extensive work for several days for free, and at the end, you're asked to pay to receive your own payment. It's a complete scam. 

I’m sharing the buyer’s profile, email, and the fake company for everyone to stay alert. 

P.S.: After doing some digging, I asked them to conduct both the task and payment through Fiverr. The buyer responded that they don’t work that way because they've had issues with the platform before and prefer to contact freelancers directly. That confirmed it for me, and I blocked them both on Fiverr and via email. 

Scam Alert

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