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Fake Sellers -Be Aware


flawlessbamy

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Not too long ago, I posted a buyer request on a personal matter to get legal advices. I indicated that my legal issue was specifically in the United States, however, I got more than 20 messages from non US based sellers. I could tell, from the conversations I had, that their English grammar was not even okay to communicate with.
I found the help I was looking for, but was very difficult selecting the right one because I was afraid of purchasing a gig then not getting the right result. Here is my tip, as a buyer and a seller.

  1. Read the Gig Description : Make sure you read the sellers’ descriptions fully and understand what they offer. And be familiar with the gigs most sellers offer - most of the sellers have similar offers - if you get familiar, you buy the best bargain.

  2. Contact the Seller : Don’t purchase it yet. Most buyers make the gig description as straightforward as possible but still, everyone’s need is different. - Contact the seller and ask questions. - from here you can tell which ones are pretty Real - if they are knowledgeable in what they do, or pretty much just money hungry.

  3. Check their Profile : All sellers have their profile set up with pictures and short introductory of themselves. And most importantly, Fiverr automatically detects where the seller is loging in from - So they can’t trick you and say - I live in America when they live in Kazakhstan. - I had one buyer contacted me saying that. - Busted!

  4. Until you fully know who you are going to give the job to - Do not give out your personal or business documents. - Know Fiverr is growing and there are going to be a lot of scammers that Fiverr can’t catch in time. So be very careful of who you are talking to. - even my Gmail account got hacked once by a Nagerian located computer.

Hope these tips help saving your money and personal information. Happy Fiverring guys!

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Thank you for posting this. There are some other keys to discovering a “fake seller.” Here are some I found:

  1. In their “gigs” you will see others with the same exact photos, and even video. (this occurred in a graphic design area I was searching in).

  2. Communication, emailing them, or their response to your post does not quite address what you are looking for.
    -> Example of a Post Request: “I am looking for a designer who can do a double sided, horizontal, 4"x6” postcard. I will include the photo and will need additional stock photos, graphics, and special fonts. Please respond with your estimated costs."
    -> Responses, and none included pricing: “See my gigs.” (Yes, that is all they wrote.) “I do this for you. Ratings good.” “I can do postcards.”
    -> Best and clear response: “Hello. I have reviewed your request. It looks like you are looking for postcard design with added creativity and style. I have two options of “basic fees” with added stock photos. Please see my gigs and contact me directly so we can discuss further and so I can get a clear picture of your needs. Thank you.”

So yes, clear and concise communication is key.

  1. Gigs are not connected to gig. There are a few exceptions here where the gig cannot be connected to the gig but using the above example, such as a graphic designer, you should be able to see the work connected with the gig.

  2. 100% perfect rating with 100 plus reviews. Let’s face it. No one is perfect. We all have bad days and with this finicky society, I find it hard to believe that anyone has a PERFECT score. Yet, Fiverr has tons of sellers with this. Here is an example of my recent experience with someone that had 1200 plus top 5 star ratings:
    -> I received their work. I was satisfied with it. The seller sent a note a long with it. Well their note was sort of confusing and I did not quite understand what they were saying. So I wrote back “Could you explain your note a little more. I am confused.” The next thing I know, I am being cancelled and I received the following note with it “YOU are difficult person. I cancel YOU!”

So after the initial shock of “What the hell did I do to get my job cancelled?” I realized that this seller must have had the experience that anyone who questions them will give them a less than 5 star review and cancelled me before any potential lower star rating could effect them. To me that is fake.

If I were to say anything to sellers is that allow a bad review to happen. If it’s true to that person’s experience than so be it. A buyer can see through the bologna of bad ratings that are pointless and don’t really say much or have an unrealistic expectation to it. No one is perfect. I understand the ratings issue here on Fiverr but I also understand that you are human. I am not going judge you if you have a bad or average rating.

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thank you. I just tried out a gig from a promote your gig on social media in the hopes to really promote my gig on a top rated seller. your saying - their reply doesn’t really make sense - like they copied the script and pasted my name on it. Kept insisting I was all set and my ads was posted on his page…but no actual proof for it. what the… scams

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I think this is a good start to this conversation!

One correction: I think you can place your country as anything. I know of a user here on Fiverr that is in one country but their profile says another – so unless they made the account in point A and use it in Point B, you can just select your country. That’s why the country thing is not always the most accurate.

One addition: Profile pictures! If you come across an account that feels fisher, reverse image search the profile picture. It’s super easy: open a new browser (not tab, full browser) and go to Google Images and select “search by image.” Then drag and drop their profile picture into the Google search bar. If your search comes back with a stock photo… they’re probably a questionable/fake seller. Or, a seller who believes looking differently affects their sales (a lot of fake accounts put up an attractive white woman as a profile picture). I don’t think having a human photo is necessary (cartoons, logos, etc. are fine), but stolen photos or deceitful photos are definitely a red flag in my book.

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  • 5 weeks later...

1.Fake reviews
I had given orders to sellers who are level 2 with very high ratings. They turned out to be very uncommunicative, unable to understand simple instructions because their standard of English is low, and didn’t deliver according to the custom order. And I wondered why. So I went to see their ratings and feedbacks from their clients and noticed that they have the SAME few ‘clients’ giving them 5 stars, and very very often. So I went to see who these ‘clients’ are and noticed the ones who are also sellers had the same thing going on.

Fiverr ratings don’t mean anything because sellers abuse the system by giving each other 5 stars. And there is no way for anyone to report this abuse easily.

Which is a pity because now I will never trust a Fiverr seller’s ratings again. They are meaningless.

See the screenshot attached. I’ve colour coded the duplicates so you can see clearly that the same ‘clients’ giving review and how often.

I suggest all buyers to really look into the ratings.

  1. Bargaining
    And when I tried to cancel order, one seller wouldn’t accept it. Instead he asked me to select ‘buyer will order again’ so his rating wouldn’t be affected. What is the point of the rating system then?
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I just got caught with a fake seller, wasn’t a lot of money though and I really can’t see any way around it. It was only $6, I was gullible and thought that I would give the new person a chance. They haven’t delivered but have marked it as delivered. I really don’t know what to do, but it is a good lesson in the use of Fiver.

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Nope. I am in Greece but I am British. My profile specifies this beyond the flag. It would be better for all expatriate nationals to do the same imo.

As it is, pretending to be American (or whatever) is just… completely stupid. I know a lot of people with English as a second language, and the little mistakes that even the most fluent speakers make on a regular basis (e.g. using your mothertongue’s grammatical structure/features with English) are screamingly obvious. People from Eastern Europe, for example, often drop their articles (a/the). I could go on.

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I am not fake and have 100% perfect at the moment with hundreds of reviews. It can be done. But 100% doesn’t mean perfect. With enough positive reviews, it will eventually wipe out the negative. So yes, if you go back far enough, I have a bad review, but I have enough good reviews to make it not matter in the math.

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I would love to call your attention to one fact that is notorious amongst internet users perhaps you are not aware or might have forgotten. I am stating this obvious fact not because I a proud Nigerian who is operating on Fiverr from Nigeria, but because other people who may not know about this fact also need to know. The truth is “Hackers don’t use their original IP addresses while browsing or hacking people’s accounts.” There are so many software and Apps that can allow a person change h/her IP Address, for which I am sure so many sellers/buyers here on Fiverr make use of. This means that, if your account has been hacked by an IP Address that reads Nigeria, your hacker may even be in the same room with you, but only using a Tor browser. Haven said that, let me also express my objection to no.4. There is practically no way you can know anyone completely, not even in real life let alone on the internet. My humble submission on that point would be, as stated above, be positive about the seller your instinct has chosen, give h/her every useful info that will make your work shine. positively cooperate with them to deliver, then take your job and move on with your business and life. BUT please, remember to also appreciate them with good reviews and even tips. Lol. Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

what you will need to do is to take that to Fiverr’s attention. I got caught once as well - thru a TOP SELLER - it was all fake from the beginning and I was sold - but I got my money back right away when I contacted the Customer service.

after that…my respect for Top sellers kinda dropped. I actually respect and think Level 2 sellers are better and more enthusiastic for what they do!!

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If it´s really important to you, I guess you could try by casually interweaving a gotcha question into a conversation. You know, look at a list of cities of the country they are from/pretend to be from, make up a city that doesn´t exist but sounds as if might, and…"Oh, I read there was a big flooding in Strangetown, I hope that´s nowhere near you?"
But I guess that´s just for if it´s really really really important to you 😉

Emmaki’s point is great, but only if you have a feeling for that, or have enough contact to people from a country to know those tell-tales.

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Talking of fake reviews, I see, since hours, this post in Buyers’ Requests section, I´m quoting:

i need some buyer for my translation account. i am selling this account. i am level 2 seller 50 reviews… only interested buyer send me offer please.

Just sayin’.

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