Author Topic: Online Job Scam?  (Read 3835 times)

themagicman

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Online Job Scam?
« on: March 20, 2015, 10:42:22 PM »
My wife has been searching for an online writing job and came across one posted on craigslist that she was interested in.After sending the hiring person an email he got back to her asking for a writing sample and after she provided it he asked to set up a cal with her and ended up offering the job to her. It is commission based and is paid on the number of views her article  gets (The pay is pretty low and definitely not too  good to be true)

THe company seems legit and the person who she is talking to (their name) works for the company. The only issue could be if it is someone impersonating him, They are now wanting her to fill out employment info and tax info with her social.

I wanted to know if you all had any tips on completely online job search safety? Does anything her set off red flags for a scam?

iluvzbeach

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2015, 05:48:46 AM »
I sure would use caution in providing my personal information, unless I knew for certain it was legit. Too much risk for identity theft and the fraudsters are quite adept at their game.

themagicman

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2015, 06:44:34 AM »
I sure would use caution in providing my personal information, unless I knew for certain it was legit. Too much risk for identity theft and the fraudsters are quite adept at their game.

Any tips on figuring out if it is legit? Or warning signs to look out for?

iluvzbeach

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2015, 09:35:11 AM »
Primarily I would start by doing some online research about the company to determine whether it really exists. Does the person she's communicating with have an email address on the company's domain? Is the request for an employment application and identifying info coming from an HR department? Scour any email communication or other documents to see how professional it looks. Do you have access to any of the other work that's been published by this company? What about LinkedIn - can you find a profile for the person she's communicating with, can you get a feel for whether the profile has been around for a while, does the contact have numerous other contacts that work for the same company, etc? I would be extremely cautious about supplying my personally identifiable information (that could be used to steal my identity) to people I've never met before and for a business where I can't even visit their offices in person. Just my thoughts.

GizmoTX

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2015, 11:24:37 AM »
I would be very cautious about something that pays "per view", especially when that's not in your control. Have you looked at the website? How do they attract views? This is so easily manipulated, & not in your favor. Who owns the copyright? This sounds like another version of envelope stuffing, where the work is never up to "acceptable" standard.

If you decide it's legit & worth doing, it sounds like an independent contractor relationship, not employee. That doesn't make it bad, but you should realize this makes you 100% responsible for paying estimated, SS, & Medicare taxes.

bacchi

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2015, 06:13:39 PM »

Joshin

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Re: Online Job Scam?
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2015, 06:32:47 PM »
Personally, I wouldn't take on a "revenue share" writing job. She could do the same work and get all the rev earnings by simply posting on her own to rev share sites, such as hubpages.


When it comes to online writing work, I follow a few rules. 1) Never provide a free sample, especially if they assign the topic. I am more than happy to provide clips of my previously published work. When I first started freelancing, I had a freebie webpage with several samples on it that I would refer potential clients. 2) Get an EIN from the IRS, and use this instead of your SSN. 3)Piggy backing off of #2, private clients usually don't need your SSN. A few will insist if they end up paying you more than $600 during the fiscal year, but most won't. Online content companies will want it, though.

If she really wants to break in to the business, feel free to send me a message. I can send a few tips and possibly some leads to jobs I know are legit within her preferred writing niche!