How do I avoid getting scammed as a seller? An example

[gracebowes]

Hi! I am a new Fiverr seller and excited to begin my first job as a virtual assistant. I feel as thought I am getting many requests that seem a tad sketchy. How do you know if you are getting scammed? I am starting to get concerned.

Do you have any specific request examples from scammers that I should avoid?

One example - a buyer reached out to me willing to pay me a certain amount on money per month working for them 10 hours a week. Since this was out of my offerings they asked if I could make an exception. They want me to print and mail checks for them. The user is no longer on Fiverr and it seems like this could be normal admin work but could also be a scam?

Any advice?

FYI - I told the buy I would not be able to proceed with the project.

UPDATE: I did a lot of research on this ask and figured it out because it has happened to me personally. Companies will ask you to simply print out and mail checks. They will be going to random people they might have found on Ebay hoping these poor people will cash the checks and they will gain access to bank accounts or will ask the user to send the money back on accident.

I never fell for this, but I know people who have - it is FRAUD and MONEY LAUNDERING. It might seem like easy money, but do not accept 🙂

[lloydsolutions]

If you type “new seller scams to avoid” in the search bar above there are several posts on the subject which you may find interesting.

[misscrystal]

Ask yourself why they can’t print and mail their own checks? It’s a little odd, (very odd) that someone would reach out to a total stranger asking them to print and mail out checks.

[gracebowes]

Ask yourself why they can’t print and mail their own checks? It’s a little odd, (very odd) that someone would reach out to a total stranger asking them to print and mail out checks.

Very true - my only thought was to ask because this is a basic admin task or payroll assistant task. If the company needed it, it would make sense, but I couldn’t find any forums with this particular experience scam. It might not be, or it definitely could be.

[misscrystal]

Very true - my only thought was to ask because this is a basic admin task or payroll assistant task. If the company needed it, it would make sense, but I couldn’t find any forums with this particular experience scam. It might not be, or it definitely could be.

Any time a stranger reaches out on the internet to a total stranger to print and mail checks it’s a known scam.

[gracebowes]

Any time a stranger reaches out on the internet to a total stranger to print and mail checks it’s a known scam.

Thank you misscrystal! I appreciate your insight. New to Fiverr and excited to start my first gig.

[leohamii]

That looks odd to me. Why they pay more instead do their own if they are representing a company, Feels more like scam. BTW, Welcome and Wish you Best of Luck in future 🙂

[psychicbunny]

Geez where do I start.

• If they ask you for outside payment
• If they ask for your email or to contact you outside of Fiverr
• Random messages asking you to “open a file”
  Majority of them is pretty much common sense. I think you can spot them pretty easily. Just read through Fiverr TOS because they have some pretty specific rules that you need to follow.