Unlike in the past where freelancers and business owners went out searching for deals via the search engines and social media, deals are now searching for freelancers and business people. In many occasions the deals that comes looking for them are too sweet for them to ignore.
On the other hand the deals that you find via the search feature on social media platforms like YouTube, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram looks very appealing and easy to start earning from.
What stands between you and the deals is the judgement you make. Also the financial position you are at the time of finding the deals plays a major role. Are the bills at hand overwhelming you?
For instance if you are compelled to search for these deals at a time when you are broke and have no money, the probability of you falling into them is high.
So what are the red flags you should watch out for when deals comes looking for you or the deal you find on your search adventure is so sweet?
On this blogpost, I will share with you 3 red flags to watch out for when looking at deals on online.
The Project Manager Is Claiming to Be The Director of A Popular Company
This trick is very popular on Telegram groups and Facebook. The conversation starts when a person offering a job that requires the skills that you have posts on the group. You start the conversation and they tell you he/she is the project manager at a Freelancing platform you know e.g. Upwork, Toptal, Appen e.t.c.
And for them to award you the contract, you will need to sign a contract they send you in PDF or .JPEG:-). Contract presented to you in .jpeg is a biggest red flag I have seen so far.
A closer look at the contract letterhead shows the name of a popular company you have been wanting to work for. That’s another red flag. Freelancing platforms don’t hire people that way. They use their secure platform with escrow payment to do that.
If you find a sweet deal with characteristics like these posted on Freelance group on social media, take you time to analyze before committing.
You can only accept a deal if the person offering it is subcontracting the work to you. For such, the terms are clear and straight forward. You can tell this from the deal amount and how they intend to pay you.
The Job is Easy and pays 3 Times The Market Rate
Before I expound on this, I have a disclaimer. You can be paid any amount to complete an assignment. Its up to the client to decide. But think about this.
A prospect posts a job on a freelancers group on social media. He/she is looking for help to post jobs on the popular freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer e.t.c. They offer $1000-2000 weekly to do this job. For one to qualify, they need to have an account of 2-3 months old.
Imagine this offer is posted on a Telegram group that has more than 1000 freelancers.
How many freelancer do you think will DM the person who posted this? Several right. This is a good deal if you think about it.
If you are a member of the freelance group, you will find the same person posting the same thing everyday.
When you express interest, they send you a contract document that requires you to fill all your personal data and sign. In the contract, you agree that you will be paid after the job is done and approved.
Question is, how sure are you that you will be paid despite their assurance? How sure are you that the same job has not been given to other freelancers same as yourself?
Incase you are not paid, what will you do? Will the contract help? Do the client have a website? Did the client agree to do a video call with you?
Do they use escrow payment? All this questions unanswered are red flags. Run before they varnish with the completed work.
Ask these questions before spending your time to do the job. Otherwise, you may waste your time and end up not getting paid despite giving out all your personal data.
They Want Logins To Your Cryptocurrency Account
Nearly every freelancer or business person who works remotely have a cryptocurrency account even if they don’t use it. On occasions as an account holder, you look for deals that pays in cryptocurrency. The popular cryptocurrency platforms here in Kenya is Binance and Paxful.
If you join groups with users in either of these cryptocurrency platforms, you will see users post juicy deals. I decided to try one of them with my Paxful account and ended up getting my account suspended.
So on a Telegram group a guy posted that he wanted someone with an account with good reviews to help him transfer $3,000 USDT. At the end, the holder will get a commission for the help. So he wanted logins so that he can load the money from his Visa card.
I have never seen something like this on Paxful where one loads money using a card but out of curiosity, I went ahead with this deal despite the red flag.
With 2FA activated, I gave him my login details. The guy logged in from Accra Ghana. That means he was a Ghanian.
I was to wait for 6 hours for his funds to reflect and we could finish the deal. 3 hours later, I receive an e-mail from Paxful that my account has been restricted for attempting to defraud users through trade.
On contacting the guy, he never replied to my calls or messages. That was when I knew he was a scammer who wanted to use my account to defraud others.
Conclusion
Don’t let your financial situation dictate the decisions you make. You will end losing more instantly than what you were to gain from the deal. Be patient and honor your instincts when you spot a red flag. As you look at deals online, always know that your personal data, your money and your reputation is at stake. Handle yourself with care.
You have the power to protect yourself online by shunning away fraudulent deals even if its presented to you by your relative.
And that is it from me.
What are those red flags that you watch out for when looking for deals online on social media or when the deals are presented to you by prospects on social media?
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
And if you need help to produce video content, let me know about your deal by reaching out to me here:-).
Until next time, bye bye and take care.
Follow me on twitter @cheptiony.