Beware: FreelanceHomeWriters.com

This letter is printed with permission. I’ve been aware of FreelanceHomeWriters for some time, since I blocked them from my Adsense for placing ads making it look like they were from FWJ. Since then many in the FWJ community have complained about their ads, which are disguised to look like legitimate job ads. After filling out a lengthy application, candidates are informed they have to pay for the service.  It appears some of these jobs are showing up in the listings here and for that, I apologize profusely. It should be noted that I neither endorse nor recommend FreelanceHomeWriters.com.

Dear Deborah:

Over the past few months, I have been repeatedly duped by misleading ads placed by www.FreelanceHomeWriters.Com.

Many of the ads that duped me, I found in your newsletter.One person connected with the company is cc-d in this message. The company is some sort of paid subscription service. It attracts people to its sign-up-and-pay page by posting varying help-wanted ads for writers. The texts of the help-wanted ads keep changing . .. sometimes it might be “Article writers needed, $300,” another time “Professional writer needed,” et cetera.
But the posts never state that what is being advertised is a paid subscription service of some sort, not a job and still less a writing job.

For your reference, the scammers’ company’s home page is here.

I have wasted hours and hours and hours of time, crafting application/responses to this company’s help-wanted ads, only to receive in response the link to their commercial sign-up–and-pay-page. Obviously, I am not the only victim.

Today, I complained to Craig Newmark of Craigslist about this company. I let the poster cc’d in this e-mail know I was angry over having been victimized in this manner. Obviously, henceforth if I respond to one of their misleading ads, as they know who I am, they will no longer respond to me. So, for the sake of the other recipients of your “Jobs” newsletter, I am requesting that you consider letting those other recipients know of this situation, and encourage them to report the company to Craigslist if and when it makes fraudulent posts in the future.

“Charlie” at the cc’d address sent me messages stating he never intended to deceive anybody, blah blah blah. Funny, that when I told him I wanted an e-mail message from him committing to never again posting a misleading ad, I received no answer. It is not correct to continue to let this company place misleading ads. If they want to post for their pay-to-join service, they should post clearly stating that the “opportunity” involves paying to join the service. The freelance community should join to stop these unethical people from wasting freelancers’ time.

Sincerely,

Scott Rose

Thanks for having our back, Scott.