Many people want to work from home. And, freelance writing is one career that allows you to do that. If you’ve done any type of investigating into finding this type of work, you’ve undoubtedly come across ads seeking “freelance home writers.” If this sounds like you, before you do anything else, read this to avoid possibly being ripped off.
One Way the Trap Is Set by Scammers for Wannabe Freelance Home Writers
Scam artists like these prey upon your intense desire to live out your dream of working from home, so the working on their websites will be very seductive. So they set a very attractive mouse trap. Following is one way it works.
You may come across an ad or a legitimate looking site offering to help you start a freelance writing career. They’ll bill themselves as a membership site, promising to supply you leads for jobs “for a small fee of $2.95,” or something similarly low.
While they won’t outright promise that you’ll get work (in fact, they’ll say that they can’t “guarantee” that you’ll find work), they’ll make it sound so remotely impossible that you won’t land writing jobs, that you’ll dismiss their non-guarantee altogether.
Then, they’ll go on to say that freelance home writers who use their service are making $200, $400 or $500 per day. But again, they’ll backslide and say, “We can’t guarantee you’ll make this much, but you can easily do so, and possibly even earn more. All the while you’re thinking, “Heck, if I earned just $100 per day, I’ll be happy.”
So you sign up because you’re thinking, “It’s only $2.95,” and if I don’t get any freelance writing jobs, I won’t have lost anything.
Hold your horses! They’re not done with you yet. This is just the “getting you to take it bait” charge. The real payoff – for them — is the $40 or $50 that you will be charged later on.
You see, when you sign up, this is just to get your account info (credit card, checking account, etc.). Usually a few weeks or a month later, you’ll find that they are debiting/charging your account a regular “membership fee”, and most of these are $39.95, $47, or $49.95 (or something similar). And, many of these are recurring monthly fees.
Freelance Home Writers: The No. 1 Way to Spot a Scam
If you’re asked to pay for job leads – I don’t care if it’s billed as a membership site, a subscription site, etc. – it’s most likely a scam.
I’ve been a freelance writer since 1993, and owned/managed an editorial staffing firm in New York City for 8 years and I have never paid for a job lead and/or asked anyone to pay for a job lead.
If you want to be a freelance home writer, do your research, and seek out legitimate opportunities. There are plenty of sites out there (eg, AssociatedContent, Helium, BrightHub, FreelanceWritingGigs, WritersWeekly, etc.).
Legitimate sources/sites will keep popping up over and over again in your research. Just know that you don’t ever have to pay for freelance home writer job leads – ever.
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