Last year I wrote two posts detailing my experience with a scammer on Craigslist. I have now experienced a scammer on Odesk and I think it’s important to share my story so that you can identify and avoid this situation.
As noted in last month’s Link Love and Side Hustle update , I am actively side hustling. I have a very specific strategy that includes using several different platforms to find work. One of those is Odesk. I have to say that I never read up on possible scams that occur on Odesk because it never occurred to me that scammers would be on a platform like that-but they are. I should also note that I believe that there are many legitimate opportunities on Odesk.
So, here is my story.
Last week I got an email saying basically the following: “Congratulations, we would like to interview you for the position that you applied for. Please create a yahoo messenger account so that you can connect with our recruiter right now.”
Red flag #1-Why couldn’t we set an appointment?
Red flag #2-Why couldn’t we SKYPE?
So, I think that it’s some kind of technical thing and that they want to see how quickly I can do set up the account.
I manage to do it super quickly while thinking-who uses Yahoo? But, whatever. Then a picture of a kindly looking elderly gentleman pops up.
My interview commences! Again, it seems a little strange that we could set a time and that we are using messenger but each to its own. So, I research the name of the company that this individual provides me-it seems legit. So, I soldier on answering more questions.
Finally the interview ends and Mr. Kindly Gray-Haired man tells me to wait while they tabulate the results of my interview. Guess what!? I did well and based on my results they could hire me for a completely different division than the one I was interviewed for. Huh?
And, they need the name of my bank! What? The-F…? You get it. I say “I don’t feel comfortable giving you my bank’s name. Why can’t we use PayPal?”
“We don’t have PayPal.” What a minute. Who hires virtual employees without PayPal? It finally dawns on me that this is a scam.
The scammer back pedals a little bit and says that they don’t need the bank information.
Don’t hate the playa, just hate the game. So, I say “Please withdraw my name.” The scammer literally types the following, “Huh, really?” Yes really.
They ask “Are you sure?” Yes, I’m sure you scammer!
Odesk Scammer-Don’t Hate the Player, Hate The Game
Then, the next day I got a similar notification asking me to create a Yahoo messenger account and interview. I then got another interview for a company that I did research that also (in my opinion) was a multi-layered scam.
If you are in the process of looking for work please watch out for the following:
- “Employers” who want to interview RIGHT NOW! If they are real people, they will understand that you need to schedule appointments.
- Asking questions about your banking information. I should note that I never use my first name in initial contacts with potential employers. There are millions of Michelle Jacksons so this is a good way to protect my information.
- Your research the business and can’t tell who owns it.
- You research the business model and note that in order for participants to participate-they must pay up in a way that you never would.
- The money or other incentives offered are too good to be true for the task that is being done.
Trust your instincts. If something seems off then it probably is and you should run, not walk away from that situation. I think that these things happen in threes (hopefully) so I think I should be good for the rest of the year. Please carefully vet the opportunities that you’re looking at.
Have you experienced a scam similar to this? What was it? What did you do? How do you avoid these situations now?
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Thanks for sharing, Michelle. Good thing you are so scam savvy!
Deb, I am officially getting sick of the scammers. But, every time it happens I’ve made it my mission to make sure that people get information on the scam. The sad thing was that it happened twice in one week (the same scam).
Glad you that you wrote about this Michelle as it happens more often than people think. An in-law of mine was subject to a potential scam on Odesk. She had applied for an admin job and went through an interview process and was hired. The company claimed that in order to purchase the job tools (laptop/software) they would send her a cheque – which smelled of fishyness. They actually sent her the cheque and my in-law went to the bank and asked them to verify the cheque instead of just cashing it. They told her that the cheque was not good. She reported the ad to ODesk who in turn terminated the company for violating their policies.
This is the second and third time I’ve dealt with scammmers and I’m totally over it! I think the key is-anytime they mention the following: money, checks, or doing something super fast it’s a huge read flag. I wrote two posts last year about Mr. Phillips who tried to pull this scam. That time I did receive the checks but then told them that I would: cut/rip/and burn the checks before depositing them. The scammer backed off! That was on Craigslist. I did report this to Odesk as well.
Ugh! Glad you were thinking clearly!
I’m lucky because I’ve been dealing with severe exhaustion so I haven’t been as clear thinking as I would like. Luckily, anytime money comes up my shady radar comes up!
Thanks for sharing, as I think a lot of people can benefit from this information. I totally agree that you should trust your instincts in any situation, and the bank thing? Totally!!! I recently tried to look into mystery shopping, and I got a fedex package with two huge checks saying I needed to deposit the money, take out so much for myself, then do this western union thing. I’m like, “I never confirmed I’d be doing any mystery shopping.” So one quick google search and I found out it was a scam. It amazes me to think we are one degree separation away from very seedy people of the world. And I hate to see people falling for any scams.
WHAT!! I can’t believe the “mystery shopping” thing worked like that. I’m glad that you checked online. I just take from this the importance of double checking everything. I also had an administrative project that I was looking into and the money offer I found way too much for the work and length of time. Then, I check the super slick website and couldn’t figure out who was affiliated with the organization. I also think it’s a bit of a pyramid scheme-so, I didn’t bother answering back. I’m with you, anything that I can do to help people avoid these situations I will do!
How obnoxious! Thank you for sharing!
It was really annoying! But, now I know what to look for.
Yes, I think they are a scammer Michelle! Some client told me that they want to hire me, but when I asked about the payment method, they refused to use PayPal since they don’t have any account in there. And I said no way, that’s impossible, they want to hire a virtual worker, but they don’t have a PayPal??
The weird thing is that it happened twice in a row! So, annoying. What if I were a person who was a little stressed out that day and didn’t catch it? This is exactly why I write these posts every time it happens!
Wow that’s crazy. I expect there to be shady people on Odesk (and those other freelance sites) who want to underpay, or take your work without paying. But I wouldn’t expect outright scams and money laundering to go on.
Thanks for the warning.
I am still trying to figure out the bidding process on oDesk because I refuse to work for a dollar. But, apparently there are people who will. Bidding is a completely foreign concept to me, so it’s hard to wrap my mind around it.
I’m glad you recognized this situation for what it was…a scam! Unfortunately, I’ve read of too many stories of people who are less fortunate.
If you really want to know the different types of scams out there when it comes to online work, just search websites like BlackHatWorld.com. It completely blows my mind the schemes people come up with in order to make money online.
I think the lesson is to trust your gut! Thank you so much for that website! I am amazed that there are so many people trying to take advantage of other people. I am happy to remember that there are a lot of fabulous people out there who want to let us know about the bad apples.
This is pretty common on Elance too! I get requests all the time for immediate Skype interviews. I ignore them all. If they want to interview me first, then it isn’t legit.
I should have realized that being asked to interview within 12 seconds of getting the email is ridiculous. Now, I know the game.