5 Ways That will Help To Identify Fake Online Agencies
Everyone thinks they’re smart enough to identify a fake online agency, but scammers are becoming more inventive every single day.
Received a shocking BBC report on Madbird, a fancy, digital design company.
More than 50 remote employees were part of the ‘company’. Most of them were hired on a commission-only basis within the first six months.
After a few months, however, the newly hired employees realized that many of their online colleagues were fake. They wouldn’t get any pay because no project deals had been finalized and the founder was a pathological liar who created his entire online persona.
Crazy stuff.
Here’s how to avoid being scammed by these scammy remote agencies.
Trust your Instincts
Imagine a company like this:
- Has years of industry experience
- All types of services are available
- Promises results within a very brief time
- Quality customer service available 24 hours a day
- Below-average charges rates
Does it sound too good to be true It probably is?
Every company that is worth its salt takes pride and joy in its work.
It will not offer all services. It will instead offer niche services. Why? Because it knows its strengths and won’t let subpar work ruin its reputation.
These companies will tell you upfront how long it will take to get meaningful results.
They know the value they bring and won’t be cheap.
Trust your gut when you sense that there is a catch.
It doesn’t matter if your instincts are incorrect. There is plenty of other fish (agencies).
If they are right, however, you can avoid having your hard-earned cash go to waste.
Search the company’s office address
These fake online businesses no longer use a P.O. Instead of using a physical address, these fake online organizations now use a P.O. box or another mailing system.
To look more genuine, they now proudly display a traceable address for their office. It makes sense since most people won’t bother to verify the address. It must be true if it is mentioned.
Wrong! It is important to keep track of the office address. This is how Madbird’s employee discovered the scam.
She wanted to see how the commute would look after the pandemic. Alarm bells began to ring in her head after Google Street View showed only a block of flats. This was far from the chic workspace that Madbird featured on its website.
To confirm her suspicions, she immediately contacted a realtor who also had a listing at that address. Madbird’s global headquarters was, in fact, purely residential.
Originally published on The Tech Trend
