Whether working online or off, your business is at risk of loss via theft or fraud. From online service providers to local grocers, loss is a cost of doing business for which you must account. Unfortunately, the Internet provides a layer of anonymity that makes it more difficult to detect, locate and prosecute those that would attempt to steal from or defraud you.

Like many other online marketplaces, Guru.com has a fraud detection team that analyzes user behavior data to identify users that present a significant risk. Our efforts have resulted in fraud losses (to us and our users) of less than 1% of total billing. While this level of success is fantastic, there are still users that are experiencing losses.  While we will continue to do our best to detect and deter the scammers, we need you to be on the lookout as well.

Common Characteristics of Fraudulent or Scamming Users

Our fraud detection team catalogs characteristics common to fraudulent users. Armed with this knowledge, we hope to harness the collective power of our user base to continue to crack down on those who try to take advantage of you and your fellow Guru.com users.

Be wary of Employers who ask you:

• To accept third-party payments or send money by wire:
  
  • This is a sure sign of an Advance-Fee Fraud scheme.
  • In this scenario, the Employer will ask you to accept a payment (typically a check) on his behalf. You will then be instructed to deposit the payment in your bank account, keep a percentage for yourself and either mail a money order or wire the remaining funds to the Employer. Once you’ve sent the funds to the Employer, your bank will inform you that the original payments from the third-party, or parties, were fake. The bank then pulls the funds back from your bank account leaving you with a loss equivalent to the amount sent/wired to the Employer.
  • Scammers ask you to send money orders or wire funds because neither can be reversed once the fraud has been discovered.


• For bank account numbers or personal ID numbers upfront:
  • Due to our requirement to bill through Guru Invoicing or SafePay, there is no legitimate reason for an Employer to ask you for a bank account or credit card number. The purpose of paying through Guru.com is to keep all payment information confidential.
  • Personal ID numbers can be used to steal your identity. If you disclose a personal ID number to an Employer, make sure it is for a valid reason.


• For an upfront investment
  • This is a violation of Guru.com policies. Employers are prohibited from asking for any type of upfront investment.


• To rush jobs on Friday or Saturday with a next-day deadline
  • Granted, the Employer may truly have a rush job that needs to be completed; however, it’s also possible that the individual may be hoping to use the weekend to slip the project past our screeners. Use your best judgment.


• To accept an upfront payment and appear overly pushy
  • Use your experience to determine whether this type of behavior is genuine or is a smokescreen for fraudulent behavior.


• Submit a proposal for projects with  payments budgeted well above market value
  • Remember, if a budget sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Trust Your Own Instincts

Too many times we’ve had users tell us that they knew something was wrong but gave the Employer the benefit of the doubt. It really is imperative that you trust your own instincts.  Most scammers aren’t that smart: they are simply relying on your desire to secure a project to override your instincts.

As an example; we once had an Employer that asked Freelancers to purchase website templates on his behalf. He had been to a site that sold the templates and identified the templates of interest. The Freelancers were instructed to purchase and modify the templates per his specifications and then bill him for the cost of the template plus the cost of their services. He even agreed to pay the project fee (at the time it was 10%) on top of the cost of the website template. 

Questions you should ask yourself in this situation:

1. If the Employer has access to the templates, why did he not buy them himself? He obviously has the means to use the Internet and pay online. Otherwise, he would not post a project on Guru.com or be able to pay a Freelancer’s invoice.
2. Why would an Employer agree to pay an additional 10% for a template he can easily purchase himself?

Unfortunately, some Freelancers complied with his request only to find that he was paying them with a stolen credit card. The Freelancers were out the cost of the templates and their services. The Freelancers indicated that they were anxious to get the work and didn’t think anything of his request. Again, that’s exactly what the scammers are counting on.

We certainly wish we lived in a world where articles like this were not necessary. Unfortunately, that’s not the case and we need your help to continue to fight this on-going battle. 

If you have any suspicion that someone may be trying take advantage of you or another user, please contact us immediately. We will post information regarding large-scale scam attempts and further tips on the Preventing Fraud forum in Guru Answers.