I have a question about a possible scam I have seen on Craigslist. If you could advise me I would appreciate it very much!
A guy wants me to write an article daily. He’ll take full rights and he sells articles to other sites. And, he says he’ll pay me in a week. I requested a retainer but he declined. He hasn’t asked to see any of my work. And, he says he’ll pay me $800 a week. That’s like over $0.10 a word, which is a lot as far as I know. He hasn’t asked to see any kind of freelance contract, or anything.
Is this a scam? My gut says scam. Please advise. Thank you, thank you.
-Cautious Writer
Dear Cautious,
You are wise to be wary. If this is an ongoing job, he should NOT balk at your request for a down-payment – say, half what he’d owe for the first article.
If you are willing to take a risk, write one article for him only. Then, wait until you are paid in full before writing the next.
What indicates to me that it’s probably a scam is because 1. he didn’t request writing samples from you, and 2. he didn’t provide a contract. Never, ever, ever write without a contract, even if you do plan to write just one article for him as a test.
Unfortunately, if he’s located overseas (he can fake his IP address, and claim he’s in the U.S.), it will be virtually impossible to collect if he’s scamming you.
Remember, if it smells like a scam, it very likely is.
Angela
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