Fiverr Community Forum

You totally got scammed, but here are the warning signs for next time

Fiverr Tips Tips for Sellers
#1

Fiverr has the occasional nightmare customer, and you will see them on just about an annual basis. I shall identify the types of scammers and cheaters on this website, and how to stop them before they do any damage.

  1. The Sampler
    The Sampler is a buyer that will message you asking for samples of your work, and then take it. They will message you saying, “do you have any examples of x you can provide?” The trick here is they want x, and know you have it. The solution? Redirect them to the gig portfolio, which is a record of your public audio, pictures, videos, etc. that prove you are a good seller (It’s automatically shown in the gig). They may be a Super Sampler, which is even more deceptive: They will ask for a sample of what you can do to their work. Just instruct them that an order must be placed, and if they do not receive their delivery fiverr will automatically refund them.
    • Note that some new buyers can easily be mistaken for a sampler, and are unaware that they cannot ask for sample work. This set of instructions allows for new buyers to feel safe in your hands, and that’s really important.
  1. The 1-star manipulator
    The 1-star manipulator may threaten to leave poor reviews on your profile for not bending to their absurd or irrelevant commands. Review manipulation is actually a violation of TOS, so report this immediately. The 1-star manipulator comes in many forms:
    • The 1-star 5-star manipulator
      This is a special case; this one leaves a 1-star review and then uses the leverage of your low ranking to force you into overworking for a cheap package. Don’t be fooled by it, simply block and report any buyers that attempt this.
    • The 5-star manipulator
      This one promises 5-stars for extra work. Stop the order right then and there, that’s another TOS violation. Don’t mistake this for buyers who are kind and simply say they are leaving 5 stars, because then YOU will receive the warning for false alarms.
    • The 3-star troll
      This particular one likes to just step on you after getting their order. Nothing you can do there, but it’s best to not take their orders again if possible.
  1. The Vanisher
    The Vanisher will reject the delivery, and cancel the order. Why? They like the end product but refuse to pay. Fiverr normally sides with the buyer if you don’t do anything, so you have to fight with CS to get the money you deserve. It’s an uphill battle, so be warned!
    • The very deadly alternate version of this buyer is the True Vanisher, who deletes their account after scamming you. CS can’t do anything if they don’t exist. The trick here is always attaching proof of work, but it doesn’t always work. In this case, try your best with CS even if the buyer vanishes.
    • Attaching proof of your work is always a good practice to prevent getting scammed. For example, webpage developers should always attach a screenshot of the webpage for CS to see when this buyer attempts to rip you off. CS only takes your side if you have proof, but if neither side has any evidence they normally side with buyers.
  1. The Phisherman
    • The Phisherman is not very common these days, but their one goal is to redirect you to a malicious site. If you see an uncommon URL, don’t get so clicky.

I have provided all the scams I am familiar with, but if you all know any more I will be happy to add them.

Best of luck,
the_mad_duck

19 Likes
Client received the work, and cancelled the order
Fiverr doesnt care about sellers, only buyers
#2

I think the “Chargebacker” overlaps with the True Vanisher, as the act of disputing a payment or declaring a legitimate order as a fraudulent charge causes Fiverr to automatically delete the buyer’s account and make them look just like a True Vanisher.

2 Likes
#3

Great post!!!

1 Like
#4

Thanks so much for this confidence. I am definitely going to fight for my case as well. It is an uphill battle but I am geared up. Wish me luck!

2 Likes
#5

The difference between the two is that the True Vanisher recieves their refund successfully and then deletes their own account. The Chargebacker is the failed attempt, where they do not recieve their money back.

2 Likes
#6

I’m pretty sure a Chargebacker can have varying levels of success, and Fiverr also has varying levels of compensating the seller in such instances, from fully to none whatsoever.

If I’m mistaken, then I graciously stand corrected!

1 Like
#7

There’s a lot of these scammers, and it really depends who’s working in CS that day.

#8

Thanks. I recently encountered one asking me to write a 1000 word paper because it is part of their recruitment process.

For free!!!
:open_mouth:

1 Like
#9

Block and report, simple as that. :triumph:

2 Likes
#10

very Informative…

#11

The “Great Tip Deceiver”

This has been the only type of scammer I had the honor to deal with.

I was at my starting pint on Fiverr, and was looking for visibility, by getting several reviews associated to my profile.

A guy contacted me and gave me a huge amount of work for only $15 ( it was probably worth $300 ). The thing is that he promised that a “great tip” was to be expected at the end of the project. I actually knew there was a huge probability of not seeing any tip at all, I just waged on the fact that this will just give me what I wanted : a potential review to get my activity taking off on the platform.

I was right twice :
→ I never saw the tip.
→ My results on Fiverr are today offering me the opportunity to leave my job if I wanted to.

And his review was “great experience”
What a brat :relaxed:

2 Likes
#12

Had one like this. I was delivering on time and just because he wanted the deliver immediately (which I couldn’t do because it was too late in the night in my country) he started to be pushy and was hurrying me. To make things worse I had a problem in which Chrome would crash everytime I was just about to send the delivery :woozy_face:

The “I have a lot of well paid works for you to do, just do this one a lot cheaper and you will be able to work with me and make a living of it” buyer. Spoiler: it’s never true, they just want to appear like they would be a loyal customer, but they maybe don’t even have more work and just want to underpay you.

Thank you for this post, specially for newbies around here who can be bamboozled by any of these tactics these scammers make.

#13

Ah, that’s a good addition. The “Richie Rich” buyer.

1 Like
#14

I’ve added the revision.

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E0049F0454B9459EAA6BC077281AE142.png708×1 83 Bytes

1 Like