How to Spot Scam Freelance Sites

Aug 16, 2008

I’ve just received an email from a new freelancer. The guy is eager to get his first job. He was asking me to check for a particular data entry site called InetDataEntry.com whether it is a scam site or not. I took some time to check out that site that the guy mentioned because I never heard of it. I read the details from the top of the site and when I reached the bottom of the site, I saw the required $49.99 one-time registration fee.

Upfront Non-refundable Payment

The payment does not come cheap – it requires people to pay for one-time non-refundable fee for training and other administrative costs. Data entry jobs require the most basic computer skills and there is no need for in-depth training for such. I did not think that the registration fee required by InetDataEntry.com is necessary. Most freelance sites do not require payment for standard membership. The simple site design rings off so many alarm signals in my head – I should be steering away from this kind of site.

User Opinions from Forums and Blogs

I sought out more opinions by seeking out the web. Just typing in keywords like “inetdataentry.com scam” gave me a lot of opinions about it being a scam. I tried “inetdataentry.com success” and “inetdataentry.com payment proof” but I was not successful with it. I got more negative responses than positive ones. I got opinions from forums and blogs alike and I never found any happy user testifying its credibility. I also tried “inetdataentry.com news” and I never found any news sites mentioning their site.

Ask Experienced People

I am glad that the user emailed me to ask about this. I was able to create a new post about it. Asking experienced people is indeed important. It could even be helpful to ask opinions from more people to help make a decision whether to join a freelance site or not. Just like the real world, there are money-making opportunities that really truly give treasures of income. And there are scams.