Website Scam Tactics Australia Needs To Avoid

There is a growing trend among businesses to hire freelancers, which can be a cost-effective solution for both companies and the self employed. However, this approach carries significant risks, one of which is the potential for your brand to be subjected to unwarranted scrutiny.

First, let's talk about the gossip that follows should you be concerned about unethical practises that are rightfully upsetting to you as the client. 

The issues often begin with the internal support systems of freelance platforms, where complaints and concerns are circulated among support staff via systems like Zendesk, Zohodesk and others.

Each staff member replies to the complaint without necessarily possessing a complete understanding of the entire situation, leading to rumours of inaccurate narratives to their friends and family. The after work drinks turns into a juicy gossip with each one having a reaction to a "rude" customer.

"I was transferred over 20 times without resolution for a case involving a full-stack developer on Upwork who had tormented us during a development project" says JJ.

"But the support staff seemed more focused on getting feedback for their performance metrics than taking decisive action to resolve the issue. They left the case open, allowing the problem to escalate. Each time we would respond, someone new would reply and ask us stupid questions all over again."

"The freelancer hired on Upwork may induce viruses to your website if they don't like you for simply wanting what they initially promised before getting the job."

She further expressed frustration with platform's management, who refused to remove a negative rating left by the developer after the project. 

"Initially, when I approached support to discuss his misconduct, they suggested withholding his final $50 payment due to unsatisfactory delivery.

Instead, they recommended using those funds to hire a more competent freelancer. The developer had also been experiencing personal issues and claimed to suffer from depression during the project" she says. 

In October, when we first engaged a developer for a bug fix—while an intermediate level WordPress developer was simultaneously introducing a virus to ensure he continually got hired—a one month project became a never ending problematic issue. 

True to form, when it was time for him to take over the project and create an HTML version, he delayed its launch by four weeks, ultimately delivering it at the very last minute before the first of January.

"The biggest problem with inexperienced freelancers is that, even if they possess technical skills, they may lack the experience in customer care as freelancers. Clients often find themselves treated as employers or project managers rather than customers," the founder of Axpd Hired explains.

"Unethical website developers exist, particularly on Upwork, so be very cautious"

"Many freelancers who enter the market do so out of desperate financial necessity, often prioritizing customer service as a least concern. To secure jobs, they promise exceptional service but frequently fail to deliver once the project is underway. If you express frustration, be prepared to be labelled demanding, toxic or a difficult client."

"It seems that we are not permitted to express dissatisfaction or frustration. One month following the project, the developer attempted to hack into our GitHub account, creating a repository without our knowledge".

"All because his feelings were hurt when he was told off for repeatedly coding seven font sizes instead of the universal three font sizes on Axpd Hired website. It initially looked very cluttered and reflected his inability to follow instructions".

"He was more concerned about being disrespected than the impact of being pushed to complete the project on time."

"Once again, when I reported this to Upwork, and providing screenshots as evidence of his unauthorized actions, the issue was passed around among support staff without anyone grasping the initial problem of him delaying our project". 

"Clients are not tech professionals, and that is why we entrust these freelancers with our projects, only to find ourselves being cyber bullied" states Julie.

"Exercise caution when hiring anyone to build your website especially on Upwork. The process of hiring and then having to train them on what you want, can significantly become time consuming". 

"Not to mention the extensive trial and error problems from them learning on the job and using you as their emotional punching bag for when things go south". 

"This experience led us to a firm decision: we no longer allow the hiring of full-stack developers or agencies on our own freelance platform. These alarming incidents we encountered led us to this decision, and we could not be more happier" concludes the founder of Axpd Hired.

On how to detect and prevent cyber crimes, visit https://www.axpublisherdigital.com/cyber-security-issues