Sniffing Out Scams

[Guest joshcates]

When you have a bad feeling about someone who is pushing you for a curious offer, at what point to do you draw the line and stop responding? What would be your biggest red flags? Have you had an experience where someone you thought might be a scam turned out to be a legitimate buyer who was maybe new or confused about Fiverr? Post your experiences here! I’m still trying to develop a ‘Scammer Spider Sense’ as it were.

[lucycodex]

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback. Aside from that, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt unless they send major red flags, then I claim to be too busy with orders.

[ssj1236]

When you have a bad feeling about someone who is pushing you for a curious offer, at what point to do you draw the line and stop responding? What would be your biggest red flags? Have you had an experience where someone you thought might be a scam turned out to be a legitimate buyer who was maybe new or confused about Fiverr? Post your experiences here! I’m still trying to develop a ‘Scammer Spider Sense’ as it were.

What would be your biggest red flags?

When you say no and they still keep pushing that’s when you know you made the right call.

[cyaxrex]

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback. Aside from that, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt unless they send major red flags, then I claim to be too busy with orders.

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback.

Yep.

When you say no and they still keep pushing

Yes again.

The problem with scammers is that there are two types. There is the reseller selling work on for a higher markup. Then there is the basic doolally person who might not even realize they are a scammer.

Resellers:

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s
• Usually, they are new to Fiverr and their displayed location doesn’t match their displayed timezone
• Sometimes they will let slip that they have ordered from you previously (or other sellers)
• They ask for samples and/or specific ‘test’ work FOC (i.e. "Can I see a sample of an article you have written previously about how bees hibernate? - I won’t use it, promise.)"
• The main tell is that you as a seller find yourself thinking: "Hold on. Who in their right mind places an order like this without prior discussion?"

Doolally People:

• These are basically run before they can walk people
• They want a voice over / video / a ton of content for a business they don’t even have a website for yet
• They expect you to be bowled over by how brilliant their business is, yet when you click on a link for reference, you end up looking at a website titled ‘Lorem Ipsum’
• They seem to have the impression that their order will be the only one you will be occupied with after they place it and until you deliver
• They mention being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr previously
• If Sam and Sarah’s Sahara Sand Parlour doesn’t take off a few days or weeks after you deliver their work, they will see this as all your fault and return to ask for a refund or simply chargeback on an order with PayPal

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

Basically, you have to learn how to psychologically profile everyone.

[Guest joshcates]

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback.

Yep.

When you say no and they still keep pushing

Yes again.

The problem with scammers is that there are two types. There is the reseller selling work on for a higher markup. Then there is the basic doolally person who might not even realize they are a scammer.

Resellers:

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s
• Usually, they are new to Fiverr and their displayed location doesn’t match their displayed timezone
• Sometimes they will let slip that they have ordered from you previously (or other sellers)
• They ask for samples and/or specific ‘test’ work FOC (i.e. "Can I see a sample of an article you have written previously about how bees hibernate? - I won’t use it, promise.)"
• The main tell is that you as a seller find yourself thinking: "Hold on. Who in their right mind places an order like this without prior discussion?"

Doolally People:

• These are basically run before they can walk people
• They want a voice over / video / a ton of content for a business they don’t even have a website for yet
• They expect you to be bowled over by how brilliant their business is, yet when you click on a link for reference, you end up looking at a website titled ‘Lorem Ipsum’
• They seem to have the impression that their order will be the only one you will be occupied with after they place it and until you deliver
• They mention being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr previously
• If Sam and Sarah’s Sahara Sand Parlour doesn’t take off a few days or weeks after you deliver their work, they will see this as all your fault and return to ask for a refund or simply chargeback on an order with PayPal

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

Basically, you have to learn how to psychologically profile everyone.

Thank you for the great and detailed post! I’ve dealt with a few resellers–I even caught one in the act and reported him to customer service! EDIT: In this case it was because my work was used commercially against my consent and without commercial rights. Reselling is not against Fiverr’s ToS.

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

What a surprise! That very same reseller fell under this category!

You offer a lot of good points in your response that I hadn’t previously considered. The more and more I dealt with the person who made me want to make this post in the first place, the more I realized they were probably a reseller.

I’ve heard that line about being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr before. I wonder; if every seller lets you down, are the sellers the problem? :thinking:

[epiphanyanimati]

Thank you for the great and detailed post! I’ve dealt with a few resellers–I even caught one in the act and reported him to customer service! EDIT: In this case it was because my work was used commercially against my consent and without commercial rights. Reselling is not against Fiverr’s ToS.

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

What a surprise! That very same reseller fell under this category!

You offer a lot of good points in your response that I hadn’t previously considered. The more and more I dealt with the person who made me want to make this post in the first place, the more I realized they were probably a reseller.

I’ve heard that line about being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr before. I wonder; if every seller lets you down, are the sellers the problem? :thinking:

Where is it against the TOS to resell work? Can you send me that portion?

[cyaxrex]

Thank you for the great and detailed post! I’ve dealt with a few resellers–I even caught one in the act and reported him to customer service! EDIT: In this case it was because my work was used commercially against my consent and without commercial rights. Reselling is not against Fiverr’s ToS.

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

What a surprise! That very same reseller fell under this category!

You offer a lot of good points in your response that I hadn’t previously considered. The more and more I dealt with the person who made me want to make this post in the first place, the more I realized they were probably a reseller.

I’ve heard that line about being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr before. I wonder; if every seller lets you down, are the sellers the problem? :thinking:

What a surprise! That very same reseller fell under this category!

Yeah, the problem with them, though, is that they usually order direct to trap you into slaving away when your gut is already telling you how the order will end.

Another lot to watch out for are the ones who pretend not to know how Fiverr works and send orders as messages hoping you will send them whatever they want under the assumption they will pay later. - Them and other Fiverr sellers.

As for reporting resellers, this is actually not against TOS.

[Guest joshcates]

Where is it against the TOS to resell work? Can you send me that portion?

In my particular case my work was resold without commercial rights (I do voice overs). This particular example was a breach of copyright. However, there are times when two different sellers can work together to produce a better product. For instance, if commercial rights were purchased, I could supply the VO to another seller’s whiteboard animation. I should have been more clear about why I reported this particular user, sorry! My mistake.

[epiphanyanimati]

In my particular case my work was resold without commercial rights (I do voice overs). This particular example was a breach of copyright. However, there are times when two different sellers can work together to produce a better product. For instance, if commercial rights were purchased, I could supply the VO to another seller’s whiteboard animation. I should have been more clear about why I reported this particular user, sorry! My mistake.

Is this against TOS?

A voiceover company outsources your work… They pay for the voiceover (with commercial rights) to sell to their customers. I know people do this with animated videos…an animated video agency asked to outsource their work and resell mine in order to keep up with their demand.

[Guest joshcates]

Is this against TOS?

A voiceover company outsources your work… They pay for the voiceover (with commercial rights) to sell to their customers. I know people do this with animated videos…an animated video agency asked to outsource their work and resell mine in order to keep up with their demand.

They pay for the voiceover (with commercial rights) to sell to their customers.

This is not against the ToS. In my case, the buyer refused commercial rights (after I asked more than once if they needed them) and then used it commercially anyway.

[vickiespencer]

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback.

Yep.

When you say no and they still keep pushing

Yes again.

The problem with scammers is that there are two types. There is the reseller selling work on for a higher markup. Then there is the basic doolally person who might not even realize they are a scammer.

Resellers:

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s
• Usually, they are new to Fiverr and their displayed location doesn’t match their displayed timezone
• Sometimes they will let slip that they have ordered from you previously (or other sellers)
• They ask for samples and/or specific ‘test’ work FOC (i.e. "Can I see a sample of an article you have written previously about how bees hibernate? - I won’t use it, promise.)"
• The main tell is that you as a seller find yourself thinking: "Hold on. Who in their right mind places an order like this without prior discussion?"

Doolally People:

• These are basically run before they can walk people
• They want a voice over / video / a ton of content for a business they don’t even have a website for yet
• They expect you to be bowled over by how brilliant their business is, yet when you click on a link for reference, you end up looking at a website titled ‘Lorem Ipsum’
• They seem to have the impression that their order will be the only one you will be occupied with after they place it and until you deliver
• They mention being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr previously
• If Sam and Sarah’s Sahara Sand Parlour doesn’t take off a few days or weeks after you deliver their work, they will see this as all your fault and return to ask for a refund or simply chargeback on an order with PayPal

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

Basically, you have to learn how to psychologically profile everyone.

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s

I had one like this today. They called me “dear” and their time stamp did not match the country their profile was listed under. They had enough work to keep me busy for 3 years at $2500 per month. :roll_eyes:

[Guest joshcates]

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s

I had one like this today. They called me “dear” and their time stamp did not match the country their profile was listed under. They had enough work to keep me busy for 3 years at $2500 per month. :roll_eyes:

I got this EXACT SAME message!

[vickiespencer]

Calling me “dear” was the first clue I had. Did they find you through Buyer Requests?

[Guest joshcates]

Calling me “dear” was the first clue I had. Did they find you through Buyer Requests?

No, they sent me a direct message. I kept asking them more and more questions to keep them busy until they stopped answering.

[vickiespencer]

Mine wanted proofreading and editing.

[Guest joshcates]

Mine wanted proofreading and editing.

Me too! For a medical service in Sweden!

[vickiespencer]

Mine was for a book project in GB.

[maitasun]

Mine was for a book project in GB.

I haven’t got yet any request of this type but just yesterday I saw one “dear” showcasing for translating English into Spanish.

Strange things to be seen in life…

[ssj1236]

In my experience, if they are willing to buy each and every one of your extras, they will probably do a Paypal chargeback.

Yep.

When you say no and they still keep pushing

Yes again.

The problem with scammers is that there are two types. There is the reseller selling work on for a higher markup. Then there is the basic doolally person who might not even realize they are a scammer.

Resellers:

• Will often jump in and order tons of work and/or lots of extras
• They do this to make sellers pass out in ecstasy thinking of all those $$$$$'s
• Usually, they are new to Fiverr and their displayed location doesn’t match their displayed timezone
• Sometimes they will let slip that they have ordered from you previously (or other sellers)
• They ask for samples and/or specific ‘test’ work FOC (i.e. "Can I see a sample of an article you have written previously about how bees hibernate? - I won’t use it, promise.)"
• The main tell is that you as a seller find yourself thinking: "Hold on. Who in their right mind places an order like this without prior discussion?"

Doolally People:

• These are basically run before they can walk people
• They want a voice over / video / a ton of content for a business they don’t even have a website for yet
• They expect you to be bowled over by how brilliant their business is, yet when you click on a link for reference, you end up looking at a website titled ‘Lorem Ipsum’
• They seem to have the impression that their order will be the only one you will be occupied with after they place it and until you deliver
• They mention being let down by another seller and/or Fiverr previously
• If Sam and Sarah’s Sahara Sand Parlour doesn’t take off a few days or weeks after you deliver their work, they will see this as all your fault and return to ask for a refund or simply chargeback on an order with PayPal

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

Basically, you have to learn how to psychologically profile everyone.

Oh and then there are buyers from X which it is a huge political correctness no no to ever mention.

As someone from X i get a lotta people from X expecting me to give them X for 90% off. It’s really annoying to think X people can be so X’ing annoying.

[mariokluser]

On Fiverr I always listen to my guts. If something doesn’t feels goed, I don’t do it. No matter what.

However, I once had outside of Fiverr a client who wanted me to give him a free ‘demo’. I didn’t react to his request in the first place. After a couple of days I got a message with the question if I’m interested in a long term relationship or not.
I had a look at his initial message, shrugged and gave him the free sample. This is something I don’t do on Fiverr, but I just thought ‘So what?’
The result was a very good relationship to this day and €36.000,- + (and counting) in revenue.

[daviddoer]

Calling me “dear” was the first clue I had. Did they find you through Buyer Requests?

Calling me “dear” was the first clue I had.

yeah, but “dear” is so common… how can it be a clue of anything but a super out-dated education system? (… would I like to meet the instructors!)

[vickiespencer]

@joshcates was your “dear” guy back this morning? 😱

[nikavoice]

On Fiverr I always listen to my guts. If something doesn’t feels goed, I don’t do it. No matter what.

However, I once had outside of Fiverr a client who wanted me to give him a free ‘demo’. I didn’t react to his request in the first place. After a couple of days I got a message with the question if I’m interested in a long term relationship or not.

I had a look at his initial message, shrugged and gave him the free sample. This is something I don’t do on Fiverr, but I just thought ‘So what?’

The result was a very good relationship to this day and €36.000,- + (and counting) in revenue.

The result was a very good relationship to this day and €36.000,- + (and counting) in revenue.

Whoa! That’s awesome.

My Red Flag 🚩 Radar is always on high alert. Not only on Fiverr but elsewhere and IRL. My hunches are usually on point.

[Guest joshcates]

@joshcates was your “dear” guy back this morning? 😱

Not for me. Were they back for you?

[vickiespencer]

Yes, They came back and said, “what is your idea about working? i havent heard yours”

Thi was after I had said, “Thanks for your message but I can’t help you with this. Best of luck.”

So I said, “I cannot help you.”

I hope they are gone now. I guess I may need to block them. 😕