4 Signs You Are Working With a Potential Scammer Client

In this reality, you can get a client who knows what they want, pays on time, and everything ends well between you and them.

But of course, you may also get clients who are a bit more complicated. If you’ve ever worked with a difficult client, at least some of what we’ll discuss below will resonate with you.

On the other hand, if you have never come across such a client, you can consider yourself lucky. However, if you encounter a client who shows any of the following signs, the best you can do is maximize your precautions and even stay away from them.

1. Communication is difficult

Some clients are responsive at the beginning of the project, increasing your enthusiasm to do a good job, but over time, it may happen that the client no longer responds to your emails or doesn’t pick up the phone when you call them.

So, let’s say they take several days to get back to you, especially when you have questions about the project. In that case, it’s probably right to consider not working with that client anymore, since not only would they be unreliable, but they also don’t respect you.

Clients expect that you answer their emails and phone calls promptly. Answering your client’s emails on time irradiates professionalism, commitment, and experience. So, why shouldn’t you expect the same from them?

A client shouldn’t ignore your calls or emails or not respond to your concerns. Therefore, if the client disappears when you need them and gives no explanation, be alert. If this happens at the beginning of the project, it’s not unreasonable to wonder what will happen when it’s time to pay you. Are they going to ghost you?

In my experience, most clients respond over email within 48 hours, no matter what day of the week. I don’t usually call them, but they pick up the phone or call me back within hours when I do. So they are there, always.

2. Lack of information on project specifications

As professionals, we are used to clients who ask for our vision and want us to detail aspects of our work.

But it also happens, sometimes, that the client approaches us but doesn’t seem to have much idea of what they want. Not knowing the project’s specifications can make the job offer not very understandable and, at some point, strange.

If a client doesn’t know what they want, it can make you start and pause several tasks and projects due to the lack of a clear objective, which can be exhausting. To avoid this situation, always try to work with clients that have clear goals and concrete deadlines.

3. Unclear payment terms

Consider these three fundamental questions you need to answer about clients:

1. What do they want?
2. When do they want it?
3. Finally, how much are they willing to pay to get it done?

The question about payment is essential. If the client beats around the bush when talking about their budget or wants to pay you only when certain weird conditions are met, it will be better to run away.

Never accept a proposal from a client who sets conditions outside of the task itself to pay you (i.e., paying you for a number of visitors rather than for the article you have written). Instead, always use contracts that detail the project plan:

1. What you will do specifically
2. How you will do it
3. When you will finish
4. How much you will charge
5. Etc.

Having a contract avoids confusion and is aligned to a professional conception of freelance work.

4. Too many cooks in the kitchen

Most organizations contact the freelancer through only one person: the marketing manager, content manager, or even the owner if it’s a small business.

But when multiple people start showing up commenting on your work to evaluate it, it can cause you a headache. They will be opinionated about anything and everything and may even ask you to do and redo things without explanation.

If a client wants to hire you and warns you that several people will evaluate your work before they decide to pay you, take a stand because when there are too many people in the way, problems are more likely to arise.

Don’t let them have the perfect excuse or scenario not to pay you for your time and experience.

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This article was originally written in Spanish and translated into English to practice my language skills. As a result, writing errors may appear, but I’m working hard to improve. Thanks for reading!