Down Payment Scams

Officials warn of flood-related scams

The fans are for drying.

"The humidity as it is, the temperatures as they are, it will start molding almost immediately," said John Coatney.

Coatney has been busy.

"I got three houses here together," said Coatney.

All three houses on 15th Street in Middlesboro took on feet of water.

"This water is completely different. It's a lot more mud to it," said Coatney.

He's been a contractor for years. But even that did not keep him from the sights of those looking to make a quick buck.

"Some of them are legit, and some of them are not. You can talk to them and tell whether they know what they're doing or not," said Coatney.

"Using local people, not paying anybody before the job is done, is a big thing because people will get you to make a down payment. And then you won't see them again," said University of Kentucky Extension Agent Wayne Kirby.

Kirby said if it seems too good to be true then it is.

"We're encouraging people to make sure they use credible people as far as doing repair and home repair," said Kirby.

As for John Coatney, he will be doing a lot of the work himself - but not alone.

"There's a lot of help from neighbors in this town. People help each other," said Coatney.

You can double check companies with the Better Business Bureau in Central and Eastern Kentucky. That number is 1-800-866-6668.

Freelance Life: Scam Avoidance 101 - The Writer Tank Journal ...

When I first entered the realm of freelance writing, I found myself scrambling to learn the difference between clients and con artists. The articles I read for the most part all said different things. I found myself narrowly dodging a few scams just in time, and working through a few bad deals because I hadn't realized ahead of time that they weren't good for me in the long run. Now I'm writing this guide to help new freelancers gain an understanding of scam avoidance. Even experienced freelance writers might find some useful information in the sections below.

2.1 Free Sample Scams

From time to time, you may come across a possible client who's asking for free original samples of your work. At it's face, providing free samples of your work doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. However, these are people who don't just want a sample, they want an original sample. Often following a set of guidelines and on a specific topic. They claim to want to "make sure you can follow instructions and/or carry out the task." The problem is that your work is valuable, and you're in essence handing them free money by handing them a free original sample to their specifications. They can ask for "free samples" from a number of different writers, and if the writers hand those original samples over the scam artist gets all the articles they want without paying. A man can't walk into a restaurant and ask for a free meal to prove the restaurant can cook what he wants, so why should they ask you for a free article? This isn't to say you shouldn't have samples, just to say that you should never create a new free sample to the specifications of a possible client. Instead, direct them to a samples gallery of your past works.

2.2 Urgent Work Scams

Another group of scammers to avoid in your freelance writing are people who want to confuse or bypass your usual rules by claiming they're in a rush. They want you to either work without a down payment, or without a contract, or without some other safety measure you would usually employ to keep yourself safe from scam artists. Don't ever let a possible client bypass your safety measures because they're in a hurry, or they might be in too much of a hurry to bother with paying you what they owe when the job is done. You should definitely waste no time getting things underway, and be perfectly clear about the quickest way they can get the work started. Being able to work a rush job can bring you in good money, just make sure you take the time to get the down payment, contract, or other safety measure first.

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