A prospective client contacts you via email or your website, seeking your services on a big, new job. He mentions that the job also involves a third party, so he wishes to pay you for the whole job, if you would then pay the other party involved.
Sounds a bit dubious, right? But this client has a good explanation: He’s seen your design portfolio online and wants to contract for your services to design his new business website if only you will pay his photographer so everything is on one consolidated invoice.
Or: He wishes to hire you to remove a tree from a property he just inherited, yet he also needs you to pay the gardener since he’s located overseas where it is difficult to make multiple international payments. He comes off as polished, presents a professional looking contract and has a real-deal bank account with a U.S. financial institution you believe you can trust. His offer is nothing like those scammy emails we all know are bogus…
More: 6 Steps to Avoid Becoming the Victim of ‘Advance-Fee’ Fraud