If you are a writer, you might encounter the following scam. The crooks go and register themselves on specific writer job boards and say they need a little test, for which they are willing to pay for.

The writers are required to write short paragraphs on a specific topic. Once the little assignment is done, the scammer is “happy” with the paragraph and pays the writer.

He leaves a positive feedback for the writer on the website, and requires the writer to do the same for him, once he gets his payment. All done, now they could proceed to the second deal: the full project.

The writer gets tons of info about the project and starts working on it, for the next few weeks. Once that is done, he sends the material for approval. Of course, the beneficiary has some changes to suggest and – when everything looks perfect – he will take it.

Now the scammer vanishes without paying for the complete job. The feedback, however, cannot be changed, since it has already been left by the victim.. The writer’s project will be used for print distribution, so the writer will probably never find it online, to complain about it.

How to avoid: very tough, since the “employer” paid the first time and might have a positive feedback online. The best thing to do is to require a deposit, as well as being paid a portion every time a milestone (a chapter) is reached.