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Step 1
Check the source. Where did you find the job listing? While scammers have been known to advertise on reputable sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and MediaBistro, they're more likely to spam Craigslist and various Yahoo! mailing lists.
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Step 2
Read the company details. How much company information do they provide in the job listing? The less information they provide, the more likely it is that there is no information.
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Step 3
Scrutinize the pay scale closely, and be realistic. Most freelance jobs will pay per completed project, with either a lump sum for completed articles/posts or a reasonable per-word payment; some will also pay per page views, if you're writing for an online venue. If they only make vague noises about royalties or promise that "you too can make $300 to $500 a day working from home," steer clear. They may make that kind of money. You'll never see a penny of it.
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Step 4
Look at the qualifications for the job. If they don't require at least some experience with the topic you'll be writing about and a decent grasp of written English, then they don't care if you can write. They care if they can sucker you in.
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Step 5
Check out the company. Look them up in the Better Business Bureau, and ask around. If their operation is a scam, more than a few people have been burned already and will be quite vocal about it.
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Step 6
Don't be afraid to ask questions of the company itself. Do they send payments by check, direct deposit or PayPal? Do they require a W-9? Will you be an employee or contractor? Do they report your income to the government, and will they send you a W-2 or 1099-MISC at the end of the year? Most legitimate companies will be up front with this information.
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Step 7
If they ask you for money, then writer beware. The basic principle of any job is that the employer pays the employee, not the other way around. If they say you have to pay for training before they'll give you paid work, or demand that you pay for materials or anything else, it's a scam.
Comments
sha4852 said
on 7/25/2009 Designer150 said that 'freelancehomewriters.com is a scam, but I disagree. I got a lot of information for my 2.95 which I was able to save to my hard drive. I also got several decent places to bid for jobs.
From that one site, I also found a lot of info on how to blog for money and I currently get a free newsetter with tips about how to do so. I would never have found this info if I hadn't paid the 2.95.
There were other ones that I checked out and some of them charged me a small 'fee' each month, which was hard to get cancelled.
ruf1950 said
on 7/7/2009 By the way, I also recommended you thanks to this article.
ruf1950 said
on 7/7/2009 Thank you for the warning. Scam artists are everywhere, especially in this economic crisis. When income drops, people become more desperate. Scammers know that and feed on the desperation. Great article. 5*****
designer150 said
on 3/7/2009 actually you need to google it with the word "spam".
designer150 said
on 3/7/2009 That scam website is called "freelancehomewriters.com" and if you google it, there is a lot of evidence that it's a scam. They require $2.95 to "join".