Saw this on Toronto CraigsList the other day and thought I should repost it here. I already put it on the ShameTab but thought I should make it front and centre when a regular site reader e-mailed me to let me know that she may have been taken by these people. I have to say that this completely changes my attitude on giving people samples.
The original article was located at the link below, but it has since been replaced with a joke page designed to spam the person on the Toronto Craigslist who “blew the whistle” on them there. There is no virus on the site. Basically, it told fellow “Black Hatters” to write CraigsList postings in cities that didn’t require the $25.00 job listing fee, basically anything outside of a major metropolitan centre. The ass who wrote the “tip” used the Ottawa Craigslist and another one in the US I can’t remember. In their ads they tried to make themselves look like a legitimate content directory, but failed. Their purpose is to take the “free sample” articles and post them on Associated Content.
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/associated-content-writing-articles/64145-getting-free-professionally-written-articles.html
I’ve already flagged the Ottawa CL listing, I recommend you head on over there to do the same. Let’s take these people down. If you are checking on Craigslist, be careful of any job listed outside of a major metropolitan centre, as the people using this practice are too cheap to spend the $25.00 on a job listing. Also, watch “Gigs” sections. They’re pretty suspect to begin with but this makes them more so.
If someone asks you for a sample and you’ve never heard of their company before, send them the link to explain why you won’t give them a free sample. Most reasonable buyers will probably say your portfolio is enough at that point. I would recommend that you try to have at least one clip from various industries. To get there, simply enroll on Associated Content yourself rather than giving the free goods to one of these schmucks to do so.
Basically, if you see a job ad that you know isn’t right in your gut, don’t respond to it with a requested “free sample”.
Also, if you think you may have been taken, do a search of Associated Content and send them a copy of your original e-mail to the fake job listing with the free sample article to prove that it is plagiarized. This may result in the cancellation of the accounts of these fraudsters, which will really hit them where it hurts.
Posted in Canadian Freelance Writer Jobs |
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