7 scams that waste time and money when looking for a remote job

In 2019, Russia worked remotelyHow many freelancers do we have and where do they work: HeadHunter research about 30% of people, and in the worldThe State of Remote Work Report 52% of employees were able to work from home at least once a week. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for remote control has grown: many have lost"Romir": What changes in income are taking place among Muscovites amid the pandemic places or lost in salary and were forced to urgently seek earnings without violating the regime of self-isolation. Scammers used to profit from remote workers and freelancers, but now they are even more active, so you should be vigilant.

What schemes are used by scammers

1. Complete an unpaid test assignment

What's happening

When applying for a job, you are asked to complete a large test task: write an article, draw an illustration, write a content plan, create a logo, develop a lesson for a course, and so on. The employer claims: if you like your test, they will pay for it, and they will take you to the company.

You do the work, but they answer you that it did not fit, or they completely disappear. And then you find the results of your work on the Web, and you haven't been paid a dime for it.

How not to get caught

• Perform tasks (especially large ones) only if the employer is credible. The company must have a website, pages on social networks and corporate mail. An individual has a real last name, first name and patronymic, telephone number and at least one live account. The more open a potential employer is, the less likely it is that he will cheat you, because it will cost him his reputation.
• If we are talking about graphic materials, send them in low quality and with watermarks.
• Enter the name of the organization, name or contact information of the customer into the search engine. Look for information in black lists employers, chat rooms, channels and communities for remote workers and freelancers. If you are dealing with a fraudster, it is possible that he has already managed to appear somewhere.
• Remember, there is nothing wrong with test items. For the employer, this is a way to understand what you are capable of, and for you - to test your strength and see if you want to do what you are offered at all. Just be careful.

2. Work now, money later

What's happening

A new client writes to you and offers an order. You discuss the terms of reference, deadlines and payment. The person refuses to pay the advance payment, says that he has already been thrown more than once. First the result, then the money. You do the work, send it to the customer, and he disappears from the radar: he puts you on the black list, ignores messages and calls. Or he says that he does not like the job at all, everything needs to be redone and he will not pay. And he himself uses the result of your work, for example, puts on an avatar the photos you took, or places your texts on the site.

How not to get caught

• Use the advice from the previous point: look for information about the employer, do not send the result in full before payment, do not take the order if the client seems cloudy.
• Insist on prepayment, especially if there is a lot of work. Offer the customer to conclude a contract (it can be previously drawn up together with a lawyer). Yes, all this does not work well for one-time small orders, but if they plan to cooperate with you constantly, then you must have guarantees.
• Make a secure deal. This can be done, for example, through freelance exchanges (FL, YouDo and others). The client places an order there, you respond and complete the task. When the customer confirms that he received the result, the money will be debited from his account and transferred to you. Conflicting situations (for example, if the client is dissatisfied and refuses to pay) will be decided by the representatives of the site. The option is not ideal: you have to pay a small commission and the moderators are not always objective. But that's better than nothing.

3. Make a payment through the service-guarantor

What's happening

The client is afraid that you will deceive him, and offers to formalize cooperation through a service-guarantor. Such sites help to make safe transactions: money is debited from the customer only after the contractor has sent him the finished work.

Everything looks quite reliable. But fraudsters are behind many guarantors. And the employer who proposes such a deal may be one of them: you send the job and you don't get paid. Customers are also deceived in this way: a person transfers money to a false freelancer and does not see him again.

How not to get caught

• Do not enter into transactions through questionable services, especially if the guarantor is a group on a social network or an individual in general.
• Google the name of the guarantor and website address. Look for reviews.
• Offer the employer to formalize cooperation through a more well-known and reliable platform, for example, through freelance exchanges. Unless he plans to cheat on you, he has no reason to refuse.

4. Apply for a bank card

You sent summary, answered the questions, did the test task well. Hurray, you are on the team, but there is one little thing. In this organization, the salary is transferred only to the card of a particular bank, but you do not have one.

You are given a link to the bank's page, but when the card is ready and you have already been charged money for registration or service, the employer disappears. And you understand that no one was looking for an employee. The scammer simply used you to get money from the bank through an affiliate program.

How not to get caught

Do not issue any cards at the request of the employer. If you are told that they will only pay to the account of a certain bank, this is suspicious. The exception is government agencies, but hospitals, schools or ministries are usually not looking for remote employees, and in general, this is a completely different story.

5. Pay tuition

“You fit us,” says the employer. "But first you need to go through paid training." You deposit money, maybe even take some short courses. But no one formalizes you on the state, and communication with the employer ends there. He may say that you did a bad job, or he will stop answering calls and messages altogether.

How not to get caught

Never transfer any money to employers. You don't have to pay, but you. A conscientious company will train employees at its own expense, as well as provide them with uniforms or badges (yes, scammers sometimes ask for money for this too).

6. Send scans of documents

What's happening

You are hired and asked to send scans of your passport, TIN and SNILS. When you submit them, the employer evaporates. And after a while you find out that your documents are circulating somewhere on the Internet. For example, they hide behind swindlers or someone took in your name microloan.

How not to get caught

To register a remote employee on the TC, the employer will really need scans of documents. Therefore, the only way to protect yourself is to look for information about the employer and not deal with those who are in doubt.

7. Fill out the form following the link

What's happening

Warns about this type of fraudOn the main types of fraud associated with the spread of coronavirus infection Rospotrebnadzor. The bottom line is this. You see a job advertisement, a link to additional information, a questionnaire or a test task is attached to it. And she leads to a phishing site, with the help of which scammers collect personal data and passwords from various accounts.

How not to get caught

Pay attention to the address and appearance of the page. Phishing sites often mimic social media, large company pages, or other trustworthy resources outwardly, but the URL will still differ by at least one character.

How to recognize an unscrupulous employer

Here are the signs that should alert you.

1. Little information about the company

The employer says almost nothing about himself, does not give his first and last name, from contacts he gives only a nickname in Telegram or mail. In the text of the vacancy, the organization is designated as “large Russian company”, “marketing agency”, “online clothing store” - without a name.

2. No specifics

“We are looking for a copywriter to write different texts. If we work together, we will give tasks regularly. Payment by results interviews».

The responsible employer carefully prescribes the tasks of the future employee, the requirements for the candidate and the working conditions. Because I'm interested in finding the right person as soon as possible, and not sorting through a million irrelevant resumes.

3. Low requirements and high salaries

“We are looking for an SMM specialist, salary from 70,000 rubles. Work experience is not important. Requirements: basic knowledge of social media promotion, confident PC user. Employment - 3 hours a day. Career growth".

It is enough to look at how much employers offer to employees with minimal experience, and it becomes immediately clear that something is clearly wrong with such ads.

Have you ever come across fraudulent employers? Share your experience in the comments.