Design Job Scams: 8 Red Flags to Look Out For

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels

Spring is upon us, and the sweet smell of change is in the air. For some of us, finding a new job is a top tier item on our list of things to accomplish this year. This may be especially true for those of us who work in the graphic design field. Opening the door for fresh, new creative opportunities is a great way to kick off a new season.

If you happen to be one of those people, that’s awesome! I wish you the best of luck in coming across the perfect client, project, agency, company, etc. You definitely got this! While you’re searching however, it’s important that you approach this job hunt with caution. Whether you are looking for freelance work or an in-house position, you need to be mindful of which opportunities you should and shouldn’t entertain.

Designer-targeted job scams are something that I didn’t learn about until my senior year of college. Three months prior to graduating, I began looking for my first design job. An “agency recruiter” reached out to me via LinkedIn to invite me to an interview. Although I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time, something about the interaction seemed a little…off. This was my first time getting a response from any employer, so I was hesitant to turn the opportunity down so quickly (despite the odd feeling I got). After talking it over with my supervisor/scholarship adviser, I was encouraged to research the agency more thoroughly if I was feeling weird about it.

So I did.

Ten minutes into researching, the situation went from being a little off to straight up sketchy. First off, the “agency” didn’t appear to be real. A clear sign was the fact that there wasn’t a single portfolio piece on their website. They didn’t have a clear list of services offered, or even an office address. How is it that this agency claimed to be “a leader in Detroit advertising” on their homepage, but didn’t have anything to show for it? In addition to that, I couldn’t find any other people on LinkedIn who worked there. I made a few other observations (some of which I will dive into later), and immediately cancelled my interview. I also made sure to report the user on LinkedIn and block their page.

While I was very careful with job searches and client inquiries from that point on, I almost fell victim to two more scams during my first year out of college. This time, I was looking for freelance work rather than applying for specific positions. Some people could blame naivety for this kind of misjudgment, but it’s important to note that these scammers have gotten creative over the years. They’ve begun using more believable websites, some go as far as impersonating real staff at real companies, and some use other misleading tactics that make them harder to identify as scams.

A part of me kept wondering why my design professors never warned us about situations like this in class. After contemplating a little more, I realized these types of scams didn’t exist back when they were job hunting several years, or even decades ago. They couldn’t have warned us about something that they hadn’t experienced or had no knowledge of. Most of the faculty were all well-established in their careers by the time they got hired as professors. They haven’t had to search for jobs in today’s world like their students were actively doing.

I’m sure there are plenty of early-career designers who are falling victim to these scams because they weren’t given proper insight or warnings against them. To help my fellow creatives stay on their toes, I’ve laid out this list of red flags to watch out for while searching for new design opportunities.

1. The client or employer offers to pay you way more than what you ask for.

It’s common for potential clients to inquire about pricing or ask for a quote before deciding to work with you on a project. What isn’t common is for potential clients to offer double or triple the amount you ask them for. Some scammers may offer a large amount upfront before project details are even discussed. Although it may initially come off as a nice gesture, understand that this individual doesn’t know the slightest thing about you yet. Why would a complete stranger offer you so much money for a project that you haven’t even begun working on? There’s also no telling whether or not they’ve taken a look at your portfolio to see what your capabilities are. You should raise an eyebrow anytime a client offers to pay you a questionably large amount of money for your services.

2. They use poor grammar and lack professionalism.

This is not exclusive to design scams. We see this often in general email scams that target populations who are not very tech-savvy. Anytime a person messages you with extremely broken grammar, lack of punctuation, no formal manners, etc., you should be cautious. Anyone who is serious about working with you will know how to approach you properly and communicate politely.

3. The email address is not directly owned by or affiliated with the company.

Let’s say a representative from “Real Dope Design Agency” contacts you. Their email address should look something like: rep@realdopedesignagency.com or rep@realdopedesign.co. Regardless of the format, you’ll want to make sure the last half of the address is a valid company domain.

Now…let’s say that this representative from Real Dope Design Agency is reaching out to you from a Gmail or Yahoo account. For example, it may look a little something like this: rep.realdopedesign@gmail.com or rep.realdopedesignagency@yahoo.com. If someone from an agency is reaching out to you from a standard email domain address, that is your sign to cease communication. No matter how big or small a company is, they should own a company domain with an accompanying email account. This is a standard business practice that any legitimate company or agency will follow.

For freelance inquiries however, communicating with someone from a Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or other standard email account is totally normal. Individuals seeking design assistance have no need to reach out from a company email account.

4. An agency website has no portfolio or proof of work.

This was one of the red flags I picked up on with my first scam run-in. Any business that offers creative services of any sort should have a site page that showcases their projects. If they don’t have work displayed anywhere online, chances are they don’t have any to show.

5. You’re being asked to design for a religious organization or charity.

Scammers know how to use empathy to their advantage. They know that some of us tend to use compassion when deciding which clients we want to work with. It’s hard to say “no” to people who seemingly have pure intentions and want to do good things.

A popular scam that was brought to my attention a little while ago included a man who wanted a t-shirt design for a church marathon event. The man claimed to be from another country and apologized multiple times for his broken English (trying to dismiss one of the tell tale signs that I mentioned earlier). He said that this t-shirt design would help raise funds for his church and go towards another non-profit — or at least the narrative went something like that. Long story short, he painted himself to be a good guy who simply wanted to do something nice for his community. He would do moderate check-ins, give constructive feedback on design drafts, was very kind despite the language barrier, etc.

Turns out that this scam was commonly used at the time to trick designers into sending over bank information and getting their accounts hacked. The church man would become “very busy gathering materials for the event” and encouraged designers to send him direct deposit info so that he could provide their payment as quickly as possible. Scammers love to build upon our consideration, compassion, and eagerness to get paid. In doing so, they wound up convincing some designers to send their information over with no hesitation.

There are genuinely good people in the world who will seek design assistance for real projects with real purposes. But it’s important that we stay wise and not allow our feelings to interfere with our better judgement.

6. Multiple points of contact.

In situations like this, you’ll find that your main contact person directs you to another person who is involved with the company or project. You quickly become a ping-pong ball being bounced back and forth between two or more people. All of these individuals will more than likely blow up your phone when they’ve gone too long without hearing from you. They may send you texts or emails at all times of the day to “check on your progress”. It can become quite annoying…

Sometimes scammers use this tactic to confuse you. That way when things go downhill, it becomes harder for you to pinpoint a specific person at fault. While it isn’t uncommon to work with a team of people at times, you should be weary when you’re receiving direction from too many people at once.

7. An employer asks to interview you via Hangouts.

Under very special circumstances, you might be asked to do a video interview with a potential employer. Maybe the company is in a different state that you plan on moving to. Maybe you’re being interviewed for a remote position. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s become pretty normal for companies to do all of their interviews this way.

Video chat servers like Skype and Zoom are commonly used for this purpose. They’re reliable, safe, and generally free. However, if you find yourself being asked to do a video interview specifically via Hangouts (formally known as Google Hangouts), you should probably decline. I’ll allow these Google search results to break this down further for you all.

8. You are being asked to make purchases with promises of reimbursement.

A shady employer or client may ask you to buy equipment or supplies to help you complete the job that they’re hiring you for. As a graphic designer, all you need is your computer, your programs, and maybe a designated work space. You should never be asked to pay out-of-pocket for additional materials. Anything that they need you to use should be provided to you free of charge.

While I hope that none of you get caught up in any of these situations, I do want to equip you with some tools for extra protection. Here are some additional measurements you can take to keep yourself safe:

1. Do not send any personal information to anyone. Your resume and portfolio have all of the information a potential client/employer would need.
2. Research research research! Never hesitate to do a quick fact check on the people who reach out to you. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a reliable resource when determining the legitimacy of a company. You can also contact companies or agencies directly to confirm names, phone numbers, and email addresses. I want to reiterate that some scammers will impersonate real people at real companies! It never hurts to confirm that the person who reached out to you was indeed the person they claim to be.
3. If you’re freelancing, reinforce a solid process when working with clients. Set deadline requirements. Schedule in-person consultations. Ask for 25%-50% deposits to be paid before you begin designing. Discuss revisions via telephone or video chat (not on Hangouts, though). Write a contract that protects your time and intellectual property just in case things don’t pan out.
4. Trust your intuition. One of my favorite sayings in the world is, “If it walks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, don’t try to convince yourself it’s not a duck!” Your intuition exists for a reason. If something seems odd to you, you need to take that inkling and run with it. Your career and livelihood are too important to risk for a job that may or may not be legit. Trust your gut and cut ties with someone if they give you a bad vibe.
5. Once you confirm that something is a fraud, block and delete any contact person involved.
6. Spread awareness to help others. Post about the company or client in a forum, report their pages on social media or any other relevant sites (you can also file reports with the BBB), and if need be, report anything illegal or dangerous to your local authorities.

There you have it! I hope that these tips help guide you as you search for your next big gig. I want to see my fellow creatives thrive and protect themselves out here in this crazy world. Please be sure to share this information with your designer friends, students, co-workers, or anyone else who may need it.

Stay safe, and happy designing!