The Copywriting Con: How I Almost Fell for a Freelancer Scam

It started with a seemingly innocuous message, one that could have made its way into any freelancer’s inbox. But behind the polite words and professional tone was a cunning scam designed to deceive and defraud.

As a seasoned copywriter, I recognized some red flags that told me to proceed with caution. But I still almost fell for the ruse—almost.

With a little research, I was fortunate to uncover the truth and dodge a bullet that could have cost me thousands of dollars. Now, I’m sharing my story with you as a cautionary tale and a guide to protect yourself from the increasingly sophisticated scams targeting freelancers like us.

Caught in the net: How a copywriting scam almost reeled me in. Learn from my experience.

My interaction with the scammer began when I received a message through my website’s contact form. The sender introduced herself as Annette Haynes, supposedly a prospective client in need of a copywriter.

Name: Annette Haynes
Email: Annettehaynes85@gmail.com
Message: “Hello, my name is Annette. I am an academic consultant and event planner. I need a copywriter to write an article on a particular topic and get it ready before the due date. I have put together the necessary guideline to help you deliver a well-tailored article. How much do you charge per word or per hour? Please I prefer email correspondence because of my schedule. I await your quick response. 208-505-8842 — Annette”
———-

I responded as I would to any such inquiry:

“Hi Annette,

It’s nice to meet you. I’d be happy to assist you with your copywriting project. Can you provide more details, please?

Susan”

———-

Annette replied.

“Hello Susan,

Thanks for your response. The article project is for an upcoming social sensitization program. The theme of the program is “Dealing with Depression In Young Adults.” The article will be featured in a magazine and distributed to the participants at the program.

The tone of the article should be informal and assertive. I want the exclusive rights to the article but you can include it in your portfolio. 

Below is the guideline:

Topic: Depression In Young Adults

1. Overview/introduction
2. Types of depression
3. Signs of depression in teens/adolescents
4. Diagnosing depression in teens
5. Warning signs of suicide
6. The negative effect of social media on teens
7. Help channels for depressed and suicidal teens
8. Conclusion

The delivery date is August 30th, 2024. The budget is $1.50c/word. That’s $1.50c x 2700= $4,050 in total. I believe this is a decent offer but let me know if it’s not satisfactory.

The payment for the article will be made by one of the sponsors of the program. The sponsor will issue a bank certified check. The check will be sent to you as soon as you provide me your name, physical address and phone number.

Annette”

———-

I have to admit, I was impressed. Annette had made the effort to write a detailed project brief. I was surprised she’d put in that much work. Most clients don’t. I would later find out she’d simply copied and pasted an outline she likely found online.

Despite Annette’s detailed reply, my suspicions were aroused. This client was flying multiple red flags.

However, there were other characteristics of the email that struck me as potential red flags:

• Annette said how much she was willing to pay up front. Most clients ask for a quote and hope it will be less than their budget. 
• The price was generous for the amount of work required. 
• Annette seemed willing to pay even more. She’d said to just let her know if the amount wasn’t enough. 
• The deadline was nearly 8 weeks away, far more time than I typically would take to write a single article. Most clients want their work completed ASAP. 
• Annette wanted to pay by bank-certified check. Most clients pay via PayPal, Zelle or direct deposit, especially if they want work to begin on the project right away. 
• Annette said the check would be from a sponsor, some organization or individual who presumably didn’t even know me. 

———- 

To calm my suspicions, I asked Annette some more questions about the project and her involvement. Her response seemed surprisingly plausible. 

“Hello Susan,

I am an independent academic consultant. I work part-time as a researcher and I also teach music on the side. From time to time I organize workshops to educate on chosen subject matter and hire professionals to discuss the subject in depth.

This is free to the participants of the workshop. I approach well-meaning individuals and organizations for sponsorship of these programs. As a giveback initiative, most sponsors want to be part of it as volunteers. I am not affiliated with any organization and this is not done for any pecuniary reward.

You’re writing for me. Everything that has to do with the workshop is mine to keep and document. The sponsor is a business owner named Angela Jennings.

Annette”

———-

I then asked for Annette’s or Angela’s contact information for my records and questioned whether either woman had a website I might visit. Again Annette had a fast response:

“Hello Susan,

I don’t have any online presence for now. I disabled all my online profiles because I was hacked. The hacker used my profiles to extort money from my contacts. I had to disable everything. I am in Boise. Below is my contact details:

Annette Haynes
210 E. McKinley St.
Boise, ID 83712
208-505-8842

———-

It was odd that Annette mentioned a hacker and money extortion just as I was trying to determine if she might be a scammer. But since she did provide a full address and phone, she seemed to be offering some transparency. I sent Annette a proposal, which included my request for a 50% deposit.

Annette responded immediately.

“I acknowledge that your details have been received. Payment will be mailed out to you as soon as possible. I will keep you posted.”

In the meantime, I Googled the Idaho address Annette had provided. While I could find the street on Google Maps, the house number didn’t seem to exist. Hmm, another red flag?

Annette’s last note also had a grammatical error in it that suggested she might not be American and living in the U.S. (“Below is my contact details”), even though she claimed to be in Idaho. 

———-

More than 10 days went by with no deposit, no communication. I figured that Annette had moved on. Perhaps I’d annoyed her by asking too many questions. Or maybe she’d found another freelance copywriter who was cheaper. Then, suddenly, Annette popped up in my in-box again.

“Hello Susan,

How are you doing? I am happy to inform you that the payment has been delivered to you by USPS. You have been professional and absolutely impeccable in your feedback and I am impressed. I have complete faith in your abilities.

The project will cost $4,050 and that’s the amount on the check. Kindly confirm with me as soon as you receive the payment and you can start immediately. We have barely 8 weeks to finish the project now. Proceed to deposit the check and send me a proof of deposit for my records.

Annette”

———-

Just as Annette said, there was a USPS Priority Mail envelope waiting for me in my mailbox. 

I went out to my mailbox and, sure enough, there sat a USPS Priority Mail envelope from Annette with a check inside. Everything looked legit, and Annette had obviously spent a few dollars to send me the check Priority Mail, but I still had concerns.

Why had it taken 10+ days with zero communication for Annette to respond? 

The check was for $4,050, which was the full amount she’d proposed for the project, double the required 50% deposit. Again my Spidey sense was tingling. 

The check was correctly made out to me. A Google search confirmed that the bank it was drawn on existed, but it didn’t seem to have any branches in Idaho, where Annette claimed to be located.

The payer was a California company that I’d never heard of. When I asked Annette about it, she said Angela, the sponsor, was a part-owner of the company. Again, very plausible.

My Spidey-sense was telling me this was a scam.

It was less than an hour later when I received yet another email from Annette, pressuring me to move forward. “Don’t hesitate Susan. Everything is fine. Angela wants to know when the check has been deposited so that she can authorize the release of the funds. Please go ahead. And let me know as soon as it is deposited.”

Alarm bells sounded in my head. I knew it was common for scammers to push the target victim to make a fast decision, ignoring the possible risks.

———-

Another hour went by while I focused attention on other matters. I was in no rush to take action, but apparently Annette was. She wrote me again:

“Hello Susan,

Have you deposited the check? Please let me know how the job is going.

Annette”

———-

Annette wanted to know “how the job was going”? The job wasn’t going, at least not yet. It’d been approximately one hour since I’d received her payment! 

I decided to visit my bank branch to see if they could determine whether the check was fraudulent. I met with a bank representative who examined the check and said it appeared to be real. She even contacted the sender’s bank, which confirmed that the account had sufficient funds. She encouraged me to deposit the check. Maybe I’d been worried for no reason; Annette and her project were unusual but legitimate.

When I returned to my office, I emailed Annette to let her know I’d deposited the check. Then, out of curiosity, I copied sections of her emails into Google to see if anything relevant would come up.

Sure enough, I found another site with matching information in the search results. The owner of this website, a freelance illustrator, described a scam that sounded almost identical to my situation. Although the client name she mentioned was different, the Idaho address and phone number Annette had given me were the same. 

A quick Google search revealed I wasn’t the only freelancer who’d been targeted for this scam.

The comments on the post provided further evidence. Other freelancers shared similar stories of being targeted by the same scheme. That was all the confirmation I needed. 

I now knew, without a doubt, Annette was a scammer. I set her work aside, unsure about my next step. It didn’t take long for Annette to force the issue. The next morning I received another red flag email from her.

“Hi Susan,

I hope you’re well. I was told that the funds will be available today and you’ll have access to your full payment. Please confirm that the money is available and accessible in your account. My sponsor wants to be sure the funds are in and we are ready to go. Confirm funds availability and get back to me. Thanks.

Annette”

———-

The added time pressure served as further proof to me that Annette’s check was bogus. But I still didn’t know how Annette would make money. 

I decided to see how the scam played out. I wrote back to Annette with a few lies of my own.

“Hi Annette,

I spoke to my bank this morning. They assured me the check had cleared and the funds were available in my account. So, everything looks good, and I’m hard at work doing research for your project. I’ll let you know if I have any further questions.

Susan”

———- 

Annette immediately replied, “Okay, thank you for the update.” At least she was a polite scammer.

I figured it would be a few days before I heard from Annette again and the scam would proceed to the next step. I was wrong.

Annette was already mentally counting her money, knowing that I’d deposited her check and presumably had no issues.

Annette smelled a payout and simply couldn’t wait. That afternoon, just a few hours after I’d confirmed that the check had been deposited, she wrote me again.

———-

“Hello Susan,

I think we are going to put the project on hold for now. The sponsor wants to use the workshop as a platform to send political messages and as a form of campaign. I declined the request to politicise my workshop so she’s pulling out of the sponsorship and asking for a refund asap.

I cannot afford to lose your service so I negotiated that she pays for the deposit. You’d deduct 25% of the amount as a retainer. Please note, this is not a cancellation of the project. Keep the article draft until I find another sponsor who will send the balance.

For the rest of the money, She asked for MONEY ORDERS in the amount of $3,000 and send via Fedex/UPS shipping. 

This is the breakdown below:

Total Payment Sent: $4,050

Deduct : 25% of $4,000 = $1,000 (Retainer)

Refund : $3,000

BUY MONEY ORDER IN THE AMOUNT OF ($3,000) AND MAIL VIA FEDEX/UPS PRIORITY OVERNIGHT TO:

Name : Angela M. Jennings
Address: 231 Barkley Road
Afton TN 37616

– Buy MONEY ORDER from the Post Office. Leave all Money Order BLANK or write names on it.
– Do not detach the receipt of the Money Orders for verification/authentication purposes.
– Mail out with USPS Overnight Express. Signature waiver.
– Get back to me with the USPS tracking number.

Alternatively, for your convenience, use Zelle. You won’t have to worry about running the unnecessary errand of mailing money orders. 

Zelle Email: Giselledueno@gmail.com
NAME: Gisselle Dueno

* Split the funds into 3 different transactions.
* You send $1,000 first, then $1,000 and finally $1,000.

After completing each transaction please take a screenshot and send it to me by email or to my phone. You’d send me 3 screenshots.

Many thanks.

Annette”

———

I had to admit, the scam was clever. Even my bank hadn’t seen it coming.

The account on which the check was drawn probably didn’t belong to Annette or Angela, the (fictitious) sponsor. The rightful owner would soon notice the fraudulent withdrawal and contact their bank, which would then contact my bank to demand that the money be returned. 

The scheme would quickly unravel. My bank would eventually claw back the $4,050 from my account. If I’d done as Annette asked, she would have already received my $3,000 refund and disappeared with it — poof, gone!

———-

I decided to send Annette a blunt reply, smiling as I pictured her reaction to my single sentence:

“Sorry, I don’t give refunds.”

———-

This was how I pictured Annette reading my reply.

 

It was less than one minute until I heard back from Annette. No doubt, she’d been sitting at her computer anxiously awaiting my confirmation that her money was on the way. And now she was furious! She wrote: 

“Listen Susan. I did not ask for this and I didn’t know Angela was going to make such demands. I fought her for the 25% retainer. Please give her the rest of the money. I do not want any complications to my project. She asked if I signed a contract with you. I told her no. You have the deposit/retainer. I don’t think you want any legal issues. Balance up!”

———

Wow! That had escalated quickly.

If Annette was going to get all pissy about it, I just wasn’t going to respond, even though I was tempted to send a final email gloating over my victory.

I went back to my bank and told them about the scam, which I’d figured out with no help from them. I had them remove Annette’s check from my account. I didn’t want to risk any further involvement with the scammer. The con had cost me nothing more than a few hours of drama and intrigue, but now it was time to get back to work for my legitimate clients.

I didn’t hear from Annette again. I was surprised she gave up so easily. I’d expected at least one more threatening email. She must have concluded that I’d figured out her scheme. Or perhaps she’d already found a more gullible mark.

When the red flags are flying and the offer is too good to be true, it’s time to walk away.

I’ve taken the time to write up this long, cautionary tale in the hopes that it saves some other freelancer from being bilked. In the end, I think I probably should have noted all the red flags and then considered the well-known, highly reliable, litmus test for scams: 

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I wrote this post to help prevent other freelancers from being taken. If you’ve been caught up in a scam like this, or if my blog post helped you avoid being scammed, I’d love to hear about it. Please send an email to me at: floridacopywriter@gmail.com. 

* * *

Update as of September 20, 2024

Within the first few weeks of publishing this post, 14 independent, freelance copywriters have written me to say they were targeted by Annette Haynes and were considering working with her until they searched Google and found my article. 

Additionally, I learned of a similar scam being run with the following name and contact information:

Joan Falken

joanfallk@gmail.com  (Note that the name “Falken” is spelled differently in the email address.)

1210 E McKinley St
Boise, ID 83712
208-505-8842

And with a little bit of additional research, I found a few more suspicious individuals using the same ploy but different names and no reference to the Boise, Idaho address:

• Lee Osbourne leeosb570@gmail.com
• Flores Johnson floresjohnson058@gmail.com
• Childers Larry childerslarry11111@gmail.com, 602-804-5336

Clearly, if anyone with the above names contacts you regarding any type of freelance work — copywriting, graphic design, web development, or assistance with a workshop — it is almost certainly a scam and you’re best to decline the work.

Lastly, if you or someone you know has been contacted by any of the above individuals and you found this article, please drop me a quick line. I like knowing that the effort I put into writing about this situation is taking a bite out of a scammer’s income and saving fellow freelance professionals from being swindled.  — Susan Greene, floridacopywriter@gmail.com