My First Attempted Scam as a Freelancer

When you become a micro-entrepreneur (or when you become an entrepreneur in general), it is very common to receive letters asking you to pay for "so-called" official and mandatory services.

These businesses, with their more or less dubious methods, playing on words to try to squeeze a few hundred euros out of you, contact you thanks to the official information published when the company was created.

Unfortunately, these companies aren't really operating illegally, but rather in a legal gray area that allows them to keep operating this way.

But a few days ago, I nearly fell victim to a very well-crafted scam attempt that could have cost me thousands of euros.

Fortunately for me, I had heard about a similar method a few months earlier, which kept me from falling into the trap!

That's why I decided to explain to you how this scam unfolded, so that as many freelancers as possible are warned!

The Insufficient Funds Transfer Scam

Here's how the scam attempt I experienced this week played out, step by step:

#1 - Initial contact

Last week, I received an email from someone called "Jean-Yves ...", an individual who had decided to set up a company around sports with some of his friends. He told me that the company was in the process of being registered and wanted to have a logo made for it.

This was followed by some details about the project, a request for my availability and a quote at the end of the email, to which I replied within a few hours.

The first minor red flag was that the person didn't tell me how they had heard about my business — not a big deal, but not very common in my case.

But nothing to worry about at this stage.

#2 - Sending the quote

Since the project and the "specifications" were fairly simple, a few days later I sent a quote based on a flat rate for this type of project, specifying a deposit to be paid before starting the project.

Note to any freelancers reading this: ALWAYS ask for a deposit.

#3 - Quote acceptance and sending of the deposit invoice

The same day, without asking for any clarification, without asking for any additional details, I received a reply, short, simple and to the point, along the lines of:

"Thank you for the quote, which we accept [signed quote attached], we look forward to receiving your deposit invoice as well as your bank details so we can start the project as soon as possible."

So the next day, I sent a deposit invoice for a few hundred euros (25% of the total project cost) along with the bank details for my business account.

At this stage, I knew I wasn't at risk since I hadn't given away any compromising information, but the exchanged messages and the client's blind trust were starting to make me seriously suspicious.

At the time, I imagined more of a client trying to get all the work done while only paying the deposit for the project — what happened next proved me wrong.

#4 - Refund request

The next evening, I received one last email from my so-called client, telling me the following:

"Hello, my accountant just informed me of a major mistake he made when transferring the deposit to you: he mistakenly transferred to you the sum of 4000€ meant for another service provider.

Once you receive this transfer, please refund the difference [bank details attached] compared to the amount actually owed to you, in order to correct our accountant's mistake."

And there, thankfully I already knew about this type of scam, otherwise I honestly could have fallen for it once I received the 4000€!

What you need to do

Obviously, you must not do what is being asked of you, because the transfer made to you is a transfer "without funds."

This is a fairly little-known trick, but it's possible to make a "fake" transfer, just like you could write a check without having the money in your account.

If you refund the person, you'll see the transfer in your favor canceled from your account within a few days because it couldn't be honored — but your transfer of several thousand euros will have already been debited from your account!

Once you receive the transfer, you simply need to call your bank so they can cancel the transfer, then contact the relevant authorities if you wish to file a complaint.