Avoiding Common Freelance Scams Online
At the risk of sounding cliche (and maybe a bit dramatic) navigating the world of freelancing scams can be a minefield. It’s disheartening to find a potential new client, only to realise something’s fishy.
It’s not just newbie freelancers getting caught out by these scammers. Even when you think you’re pretty well-versed, they’ll find a new way to try to win you over. Honestly? I was almost scammed by a too good to be true freelance gig just this morning.
Let’s make my own lapse in judgement into something useful! Here’s some common (and not-so-common) scams to look out for as a freelancer, and how to spot them.
LinkedIn scams
If you’re freelancing, you likely find a decent amount of your work through LinkedIn, so understanding the scams on the platform is essential. The bad news here is that there’s tonnes of them, and there are different variations of each a lot of the time, too.
These are a few of the scam categories that I’ve come across on LinkedIn over the past year, and I’ve also included some from other freelancers I know.
Fake agencies
I guess we can start with the LinkedIn scam I experienced most recently. At the core of this one, it’s usually an attempt to get the freelancer to pay an upfront fee to gain access to the fake agency’s “clients”. The front man probably won’t mention this fee until you’ve agreed to a call or start asking more questions about the proposed work and clients.
It’s not really in the scammers interest to let you in on this before they’re sure you seem interested.
Look out for:
- Rates or work quantity that’s too good to be true
- Requests for upfront payment or setup fees
- Shadiness about the specific client(s)
Some may pose as an agency, others might just be a fake client, or even a freelance job board. But a solid foundational rule that I follow as a writer is that I’m supposed to be making the cash for my clients, not the other way around.
AI training jobs
You can’t really avoid the topic of AI as a copywriter; that’s no different when it comes to scams. On LinkedIn, you’ll find loads of advertisements for freelance AI training, paying decent hourly rates for seemingly easy work. And look, I get why it’s tempting.
If you’ve ever started a screening test for one of these companies you’ll know they’re tedious, demanding, and long. But that’s not even the scam.
Every individual who takes one of these tests is providing data that can be used to train the AI, regardless of whether you’re hired or not (and you’ll usually find that you’re not…) Companies are effectively harnessing free labour and training data under the guise of screening tests and “interviews”, for a role that may not even exist.
Truthfully, I can’t prove that all of these jobs aren’t real – but something has always felt off about them.
Crypto currencies
One type of scam I find the most annoying (for personal lore reasons) are dodgy crypto currencies. You can make your own mind up on the general ethics of crypto, but keep an eye out on LinkedIn for explicit, indisputable, crypto scams.
Depending upon how well-developed the scam is, it might be presented to you as some kind of “cutting-edge” project or upcoming product. This may not even be crypto themed (though it usually is).
Spotting a crypto scam:
- Encouragement or requirement to invest
- New or smaller coin with limited existing investors
- Lack of transparency about team, project, etc
We’re all a bit more clued up in 2025, and crypto scams aren’t as common as they once were. There may be freelance work available adjacent to the crypto industry, but scams all have one simple thing in common: you’ll be asked to invest in the coin or the project.
Phishing attempts
Phishing scams can come in loads of shapes and sizes. Honestly, they might look like almost all of the rest of those I’ve listed here. Simply put, most phishing scams use some kind of front to gather your personal information, to then sell to third-parties. They’ll send dodgy links, request your personal data, and may impersonate someone that they’re not.
What does a phishing scam usually look like?
- Unsolicited messages on any platform
- Suspicious language, grammatical errors, etc.
- The sense of urgency or pressure to act fast
In short, you need to verify the identity of anyone that reaches out to you, and make sure you always take a reasonable level of care to make sure everything adds up.
Oh, and don’t go clicking any links sent by users you don’t know!
Upwork scams
Upwork is where my freelance journey began; the platform is ideal for those who are just starting out to find their first few clients.
But I've found the pay on Upwork tend to be lower than the UK average rates for high-quality freelance copywriting. You’re also competing in a global freelancer market, and there’s generally just a lot of rubbish to wade through to get to the good stuff. All of that’s before we even get into the scammers.
Overpromising pay
One of the classic Upwork scams comes dressed as a dream gig, and I’ve experienced my fair share of these earlier on in my freelance career.
Think: $80/hour for blog writing, flexible hours, guaranteed weekly work.
Except when you actually apply or get to the interview stage, the project is suddenly “only a few hours a week to start”, or they want “just one article as a trial first” (unpaid, of course, but I’ll come back to this). It’s a bait-and-switch. These kinds of listings are designed to attract top applicants, inflate the client’s ego, and sometimes even fill up a pool of free trial work they never plan to pay for.
Immediate giveaways:
- High rate for low experience
- Limited freelancer reviews
It’s not always easy to tell these apart from real, high-calibre offers. Ultimately, be honest with yourself. If the listing sounds like a dream but comes with unclear deliverables, low client spend history, or sketchy reviews: run.
Free test projects
The test project scam is simple and extremely common on Upwork. If you’ve spent a decent amount of time on the platform you’ll probably have experienced it at least once or twice.
A client posts a project, gets dozens of applicants, and asks 5–10 to complete a “short test” to assess quality.
In reality, they’ve chunked up a larger project into free bits of work, and they’re never going to hire anyone. They might ghost completely, or provide generic “we’ve gone with someone else” responses to everyone (after collecting a handful of free, usable samples).
Always clarify whether test work is paid, and check the client’s hiring history before agreeing to anything. If they’ve never hired or only hired once despite posting multiple jobs, that’s your cue.
Off-platform pressure
While not exclusive to Upwork, I’ve seen this crop up there more and more lately. A client will reach out with an opportunity and then push to move the conversation off-platform – onto WhatsApp, Telegram, or email – before you’ve even agreed to anything.
Their excuse might sound plausible (“Upwork fees are high”, “We’re onboarding quickly via email”), but often it’s a tactic to avoid detection and take advantage without repercussions. Once you’re off-platform, you’re no longer protected by Upwork’s dispute resolution or payment guarantees.
Unless you’ve worked with a client before, there’s really no good reason to ditch the platform’s messaging and payment system. It’s also against Upwork’s usage policy to take any clients off-platform, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend this anyway!
And the rest...
You’re likely to come across almost any of the scams we discussed for LinkedIn, also on Upwork. Phishing scams, fake agencies and work. I’ve not yet personally come across any crypto-related scams on Upwork, but they’re probably lurking out there somewhere.
At the end of the day, the only way you really avoid scams as a freelancer is to stay vigilant and try not to be blinded by any offers that are suspiciously good.
This one hasn't been much fun (sorry about that). Delayed invoices are one thing, but no one likes being scammed – especially when it directly relates to their work and livelihood. So it's essential knowledge, if still a bit depressing.
Scams are an unfortunate reality of life as a freelancer online. By becoming more familiar with the more common scams, you can begin to recognise the tell-tale signs when something less obvious pops up.
Hone your instincts and you’ll spend less time having to vet each potential new client.
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