Freelance Writers are the easiest to scam (why?)

It is scary to say this, but truth be said, freelance writers are among the most targeted groups on the internet.

It is regrettable, but it is true, and if you have been freelancing for a couple of months or years now, you have crossed paths with a scammer, at some point, even if you hardly realized it then.

Writers who immerse themselves into freelance easily get scammed, and as Jacob McMillen says, “getting scammed is baked into the freelance writing business model, the current freelance landscape”. And that idea alone, as scary as it may be, should make anyone reading; to STOP, LISTEN, and ASK:

Why are freelance writers the easiest to scam?

• There are a ton of aspiring freelance writers, but there is no reliable educational system to help them break into the industry
• A key component of expanding a new freelance writing business is taking on low-paying or unpaid work
• Almost no accountability mechanisms are in place for those who scam freelance writers
• Today everywhere you look online, there are numerous public proclamations and examples of success, which can lead unsuccessful writers to believe that they are lacking a crucial component

And then…

Nine times out of ten, when a writer is scammed, it will fall into one of the following three categories:

1. The writer is scammed into gladly working for free in exchange for receiving nothing of value.
2. The writer’s work is taken and used without the promised compensation.
3. Using forceful curiosity hooks, deceptive and useless instruction is marketed to the writer.

Understand that, there are several scam artists and narcissistic business owners prepared to offer you the “opportunity” to expand their business for them for free… with absolutely no value to you at all. This is similar to the abundance of entitled customers looking to take advantage of creatives.

And these scams can come at you in a number of ways:

1. Someone contacting you personally and asking for free work
2. A job posting looking for writing interns at a “rapidly growing startup”
3. A position for a paid job is posted, and in response to your proposal, they offer you an unpaid position.

They will typically be deliberate scams. In a few instances, you’ll be working with a would-be businessman who sincerely believes he’s going places and will be content to let you spend an endless amount of time developing his defective company without payment.

In both cases, you get the same return.

Nothing.

That’s what you need to understand.

So, have you been scammed as a freelance writer? Share your experience in the comments.