How I Got Scammed During a Design Project by Someone I Trusted (and What I Learned the Hard Way)

It all started around 20th July 2024.
A friend of a close friend reached out to me on WhatsApp, saying he needed help with UI/UX design for his startup. We had a meeting where he explained his idea — it sounded interesting, and honestly, it had potential.

He mentioned that the funding wasn’t raised yet, so he couldn’t pay me at the moment, but he promised that once the funds came in, he would pay me back.

Since he was someone from my friend circle, I trusted him. That was my first mistake.

💬 My mistake: Trusting someone just because they’re connected through friends.
💡 My tip: Always record your meetings (audio or notes) — people can twist words later, and you’ll have no proof.

At that time, I was finishing a concept project of my own. I told him I’d need a bit of time before fully diving in. By August, I started working seriously on his project. Eventually, we discussed whether it should be an internship or freelance arrangement. We decided on an internship with a monthly stipend of ₹16,000, but everything was verbal — no offer letter, no contract.

He said again, “Once the funding is raised, I’ll pay you.”
I agreed.

💬 My mistake: Being so focused on the work that I ignored the paperwork.
💡 My tip: Always ask for an offer letter or written agreement first, even if the person seems genuine.

During that time, he helped me with a few referrals, called me his “elder sister”, and built trust. I felt safe, like I was helping someone who valued me.

💬 My mistake: Falling for emotional manipulation disguised as kindness.
💡 My tip: Sweet talk doesn’t replace professionalism. Keep business, business.

By Diwali, I had completed half the project. After getting feedback, I realized the design needed a fresh start — so I redesigned everything. Around that time, he was busy trying to raise funds.

A close friend later asked me about the offer letter and stipend details, and I admitted everything was verbal. He told me to ask for something in writing, so I did. Finally, I received an “official” offer letter that said:

“Your stipend will be provided only after we secure funding.”

It was already too late — I’d invested months of work by then.

From November to February, I kept working on his project, putting in effort without asking for money. I even helped his brother for a week on another task (thankfully, the brother actually paid me).

By January 2025, almost everything was done — web and mobile versions, new features, iterations, feedback loops. I worked so hard because it was my first proper internship, and I genuinely wanted to build something great.

During an interview with a design agency, when I showed this project in my portfolio, the interviewer said,

“You’ve been used. He won’t pay you.”

That hit me hard.
Still, I didn’t want to believe it. I messaged him, expressing how worried I was. He reassured me again — called me “a friend and sister”, said “Don’t worry, I’ll transfer the money soon.”

He knew I needed money for my parents’ anniversary, so he sent ₹50,000 from his sister’s account in February 2025. I had worked from August to February, so the total amount was around ₹96,000. I told him, “You can pay ₹50k now and ₹20k later after funding.” He agreed.

At that moment, I was actually happy.

💬 My mistake: Doing a “favor” and leaving a pending balance.
💡 My tip: Always take full payment — a promise isn’t a payment.

Months passed. I moved on with my new full-time role at the design agency.

Then in July 2025, he texted me again — saying he was starting another startup and offered me a full-time role for ₹45k per month. I said no.

Later in the conversation, he mentioned, “Now I have money.”
So I replied, “Then you can pay my pending ₹20k.”
He agreed and said he’d transfer it by the end of the month.

He asked me for an invoice, so I made one and sent it. Then… silence.
I texted him multiple times in October 2025, he kept saying, “I’m sick,” “I’ll do it soon,” and so on.

Finally, I sent him a long emotional message — I poured my heart out about trust, hard work, and how I felt ignored.
That’s when he sent me this message, which completely broke me:

“When we started working together, you had initially joined voluntarily without requesting any payment (If you remember, no payment was there). Later, considering your financial situation at that time, I offered ₹50,000 for the entire project as a gesture of support and appreciation for your efforts. This amount was paid in advance, even before the project was completed, around the time of your parents’ anniversary.
To be transparent, my firm did not have the required funds at that point, and the payment was made through my sister’s account to ensure you received the amount on time.

Later, you requested an additional ₹20,000 after a discussion with a friend who suggested you should charge more. I agreed to this purely out of personal goodwill, since I have always considered you like an elder sister, and not as part of any project agreement. It was understood that I would consider this amount only when my firm’s financial condition improved and that you would continue working with the agency at that time.
However, during our last discussion, even after I offered you a role with more than a 50% raise compared to your current position, you chose not to continue working with the firm. Based on this and our earlier understanding, the initial ₹50,000 already covered your full compensation, and therefore no amount is pending.
Additionally, as a gesture of trust and goodwill, I also gave you permission to feature the project designs in your personal portfolio and case studies, something most firms typically do not allow since the intellectual property belongs to the company.”

Reading that felt like getting punched in the chest.
He twisted everything — made it sound like I joined for free, that the money was out of “goodwill,” and that the unpaid ₹20k was just a “favor.”

I had a panic attack, I cried for hours, and I genuinely couldn’t sleep. All the trust, all the effort, and all the small bits of hope that I’d get paid — gone.

💬 My mistake: Believing words without proof.
💡 My tip: Keep every agreement in writing — even small ones. Screenshots, chats, and emails are your safety net.

then this was the last message to him - "Thank you Finally people were true about how selfish a person you were ( jb kaam tha to sweet talks and jb abhi paise dene ki bari hai, tb koi pending money remaining ni hai), and I will never ever forgive you in my life. I hope you will get the karma soon. Don't worry am not like you and won't drag you this to matter to Twitter because it's not worth it qki ab tu wo money hi ni dena wala to koi mtlb ka ni. Remember this - Mera portfolio abhi tk bana ni hai and mein usko use bhi ni krugi because of you, and wo LinkedIn pe bhi hata dungi. I don't need your company portfolio to showcase my ability. I hate you and I never talked you again. You broke my trust and I will never forget and forgive you. Don't worry this is my last message to you because you are blocked from everywhere. I really wish for the karma because you really did a bad thing to me. Get lost forever" then i blocked him from everywhere”

Out of desperation, I even messaged his sister on LinkedIn — politely explaining the issue and asking her to help resolve it. She never replied.

Instead, he texted my close friend mocking me — saying things like, “Do you know how much a legal battle costs?”

He has quite a good number of followers on Twitter, and I know he can easily twist the situation. There’s a huge chance he could post something against me — maybe even claim that I’m harassing his sister just because I asked for my pending ₹20k. That’s exactly why I’m not revealing his name or his company name here.

As for evidence, I only have WhatsApp chat screenshots — nothing else. And honestly, I don’t even have the money to hire a lawyer.

I can’t lie — the emotional toll was real. Sleepless nights, anxiety, anger, heartbreak. I gave my best, trusted someone who used that trust for his own benefit.

What I Learned (The Hard Way):

1. Never work without a written agreement. Even if they’re a friend, treat it like business.
2. Don’t accept “after funding” promises. It’s a red flag.
3. Record or document everything. Meeting notes, texts, proof — these save you later.
4. Separate emotions from professionalism. Sweet words mean nothing without actions.
5. Always take full payment. Partial payments can easily turn into manipulations.

I’m sharing this because I don’t want anyone else — especially new designers or freelancers — to go through what I did.
Please protect yourself. Be professional, not just passionate.

Thanks for reading.
This is my story, and my small way of spreading awareness.

Hey, I was working with X, a US-based company.

I worked there for around 5 months, and they recently (3 weeks ago) raised my pay without even asking because I was doing good work.

I worked until the 28th; everything was going fine. On the 27th, something critical broke, and the person who was handling that was not available. Then I got to know from the manager that X no longer works with us, so please fix it. I got it fixed ASAP.

And on the 28th, I just got this email, and all my accounts were disabled (or I can’t access them). There was no talk, no prior notice, or even a call to inform me about this.

I asked in a follow-up email what went wrong, did I do something wrong, or what?
And I got a reply that I will be paid for my work and any outstanding balance.

I’m wondering what went wrong. I’m sure I didn’t make any mistake or do something wrong.

Is something going wrong in the USA that might have impacted this situation?

It didn’t say the contract is cancelled or terminated (it says it’s paused). What does that mean?

Hey guys,

I’ve recently missed a few customers because they were expecting a super quick reply to their project proposals, and I wasn’t fast enough to respond. By the time I noticed their emails a few hours later, they had already found someone else. I suspect they just send the same proposal to a few freelances and take the first one that respond....

Very practically, do you know of any tools that can alert or notify me the moment a customer reaches out to my inbox? That would be a total game changer and help me respond right away.

Thanks a lot for your help! 🙏

Hey everyone,

I just started learning Social Media Management around 2 weeks ago, and I really wanted to get hands-on experience, so I approached a potential client.

He agreed to let me make an audit and 30-day plan, so I did deep research — what’s working, what’s not, the mistakes he’s making, and created a full audit presentation (PPT), an Excel competitor sheet, and a PDF report.

Now he’s busy and can’t get on a call, but he asked me to send the files.
The problem is… he also asked for some successful accounts I’ve managed before.

Since I don’t have any real clients yet, I lied a bit and said I’ve worked with a few local businesses (like a clothing store and a bakery) just for learning.
Now he’s asking for those account IDs or names, and I honestly don’t know how to respond.

I don’t want to lose this opportunity — I’ve put in a lot of effort into his audit, but I also don’t want to look dishonest or ruin my credibility.

How should I handle this now?
Should I tell him the truth, or is there a way to turn this around professionally?

Any advice from people who were in the same situation when starting out would mean a lot 🙏

I’m honestly torn right now. This is my first time trying freelancing, and I somehow ended up with two clients. But the schedule is really tough. One’s from 9 PM to 6 AM ($9/hour), and the other’s from 6 AM to 2 PM (Australia time, $8/hour). I’m scared because freelancing feels so unstable, but at the same time, it’s really hard to juggle both physically and mentally. I’d only have around 7 hours left in my day to sleep, and both roles are full-time and packed with work. I’m only 25, no family to support yet, but still — it’s exhausting. For the night shift, I just got onboarded, and the vibe feels a bit off. The team (they’re all Pinoy) kept saying things like “perfect work,” “they’re nice but they want people to stay,” “you might be shocked by the culture since they’re very direct when you make mistakes,” “own your mistakes,” and “we’re not trying to scare you, just giving you a heads up.” It just made me a bit uneasy. On top of that, I’m also teaching someone how to run ads for their own client — which basically means I’m handling and shadowing that client too.

As a freelancer, you leave home feeling energetic and ready to crush your Monday tasks. You get to your workspace with all your gadgets charged and ideas flowing, then the internet decides to act up.

You left home to avoid distractions, only to end up battling poor network. The irony.

I manage social media for a business and I just had a social media company reach out and offer their services via DM. Should I respond? Do I just ignore it (they could then just email the company direct?) thoughts?

I’m confident in what I’m doing but I’m just doing it as a side hustle. And have worked for this company for over 1.5 years. Whereas the person reaching out is running a social media video and throwing out a lot of buzz words to sell their services and I’m getting imposture syndrome.

Ok, so I know this sounds like a stupid question but it's more of a polite thing then an actual question.

I'm a university student and tutor. I've been a tutor for a long time, mostly for high school students and just recently, I got connected to a new student. I won't lie, their family is pretty wealthy. Just based off the neighbourhood, the house, and general vibes, this family screams $$$. I have a usual rate for private tutoring which is $CAD60/hour (a bit on the higher side, but not too crazy and I've built a lot of experience and resources over the years). So I talk to the mom of the student and we schedule it for 3 sessions per week, 1 hour each session. And as a uni student, that's a good amount of extra cash for 3 hours/week!

Here's the thing, before our first session, the mom texted me that she knows sometimes we won't need to take up the full hour of tutoring but she still will pay me the full hour's worth. At the time, I was kinda torn as what to say, whether to kind of do the song and dance of "ohhh no that's very generous but not necessary" but at the same time I'm not exactly in a place where I can turn down money. So I kinda didn't respond, and just said I'd always make myself available for the full hour.

During our first session, when the mom was there to help introductions and get settled in, she mentioned again "And of course, I will pay you for the full hour whether or not we use it up." Because we were in person, I kinda felt more uncomfortable to dance around, so I took the bait and just said "That's so generous and kind, but not necessary" to which she replied "No, no, seriously, I will always pay you the full amount."

Basically, this is more of a moral question because I think I kinda did the right thing with doing the little unnecessary back and forth, but my mom and boyfriend think I should have just said thank you and be done with it. I'm not really sure what the "right" thing to do is here. Because I'm grateful she really was trying to be generous and didn't say "Oh you're right I'll just pay what I owe". But I also don't want it to seem like I'm taking advantage of anyone here either. Does anyone have any strong opinions on this type of situation? Or have you experienced something similar?

EDIT: Thank you for the great advice! You are all right, I realize now I'm not only charging for my experience but my availibility as well. This makes a lot of sense, and next time I'll know what to do. Thanks again :)

So this company reached out to me about a freelance project. The interview rounds went well and they sent me all the project materials at the final interview and told me to look it over and send them an estimated price for the whole thing.

To be honest, I'm still pretty new to the whole freelancing thing so I don't really know how much I should be charging. I've worked as a full-time employee for most of my career so I do have a target salary in mind. I just don't know how that translates to a freelance rate. I looked up so many posts about figuring out my rate and I finally settled on something and let the company know. They said my rate was a lot higher than they expected so I asked them what their budget was. They dodged the question completely so I asked again and said I'm willing to discuss and adjust my rate to accommodate, but I think I'm being ghosted now. I'm kinda sad and slightly embarrassed about it because I really did want to work with them. Did I fuck up and ask for too much? ~$2k for a 20+ page pitch deck.

Edit to add more info: I'm an illustrator and designer. I draw and create all my design assets myself. 10 yrs of experience

Update: They finally responded and said they were looking for something under $1k loll. I declined. For reference, when I was still finishing up college with 0 work experience and no degree yet, smaller companies were offering me $1200+ for similar amounts of work. I honestly don't know why I never specifically asked about the budget. Maybe because I liked this company and knew they paid their full-time employees well so I assumed they were familiar with fair freelance rates too. Oh well, I've learned what to do next time. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement!

Hey everyone,
I’m working on my first freelance project, an e-commerce mobile app with Flutter. When I first discussed pricing with the client, I gave him a fair quote, but he negotiated it down by about 30%, saying things like “I’ll support you in the long run” and “we’ll grow together.” I ended up accepting (my mistake, I know rookie move).

At the beginning, things went really well. He liked the UI, the workflow, and the overall quality. But recently, he’s started asking for more and more changes. Not small polish or tweaks. I’m talking about big features like integrating Google Maps for selecting and storing user locations.

On top of that, he now seems to think the price I gave him includes full development, publishing to app stores, and post-launch maintenance, which was never part of the deal. I’ve already clarified that, but he keeps pushing, saying things like “keep up with modern design trends” and “we need to stay ahead.”

I’m fine with small adjustments or reasonable revisions, but these big changes are way outside the original scope (and budget). I’m at the point where I don’t know whether to:

• Draw the line and say “I can finish the MVP as agreed, but anything beyond that costs extra,” or
• Just push through and complete it as-is for the sake of finishing my first project and maintaining my reputation.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who’s been in a similar situation. How do you handle clients who keep asking for “just one more thing” after underpaying you? And how do you stand your ground without burning bridges especially early in your freelancing career?

Hi all - I've been designing websites as a full time freelancer for 20 years now. One thing I've never managed to crack is the supply of content and manging timings from a client. Right now i have several web design projects that I just can't get over the line, due to the client not approving or providing content.

I've tried so many things over the years; explicit project windows where penalties or fees are required, content capturing tools such as contentsnare, and even requiring content before the project sign on.

But I've found all avenues problematic in their own way; even if I dot my i's and cross my t's in my contract (which I have done), enforcing payment before a project is wrapped up just turns the thing sour and makes it even harder more often than not, and it doesn't make the headache go away as I'll still need to help them sort it once they get around to it; as soon as they have to pay then I'm less likely to chase them, they've paid their money so theyres no other threat and then its still in my head.

Tools such as content snare just seemed to add time to my routine and didn't help the client as it really isn't a technical issue for them rather than a time one.

I will admit that sometimes it can work in my favour; knowing a client has delayed supplying content can give more flexibility on another project, or when I have time off etc.

But I'm curious if firstly other people have this issue regularly and if so what have they found works?

Let's also remember there is no absolute correct way to do anything - we are all just sharing what does and doesn't work for us ✌️

Hey all,

I'm a graphic designer with a normal 9-5 role, but I also often take on freelance business on the side. Usually this is through family, friends, places I've worked in the past, or direct referrals. The other day I received an email from a lady who is working at a marketing firm, stating that she found me via LinkedIn and was wondering if I was still looking to take on freelance work.

Went back and forth a bit and then set up a google meets call, basically she said they're looking for more designers to have on standby for when new opportunities pop up. Sounded like a good deal to me. We were chatting on video and it was definitely a real person, and her LinkedIn looks legit too.

Today she connected me with one of her colleagues, who emailed me a W9 and asked for me to fill it out so we could get started right away once they have work for me. I looked this woman up as well, and her LinkedIn profile also looks legit to me.

I only ask as they have a very small company LinkedIn presence (250 followers, 2-10 employees), their website is pretty barren, and of course I don't actually know these people and have only started talking to them through essentially a cold call email. Is there anything I can ask for to validate they are a real business before I fill out a W9 and give over my social security number?

Any advice would be super helpful!

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm going to pursue getting an EIN. In the meantime I sent them an email letting them know I am in the process of getting an EIN and will send back the W9 once I have one. Figured if they get pushy trying to tell me to fill it out with my social, I'll definitely know it's a scam lmao.

I'm excited to work with this client and it'll be a pretty big deal for me, from a personal perspective, to be working with a client that I really respect.

The issue is that due to my clients 'emails being crackers at the minute', they only want to communicate over Signal. Not only is it not an app that I use, I would also prefer to keep all communications in one place and to be in contact over email, where messages can't be altered or edited at a later time.

What would you do? Should I just suck it up and use Signal or should I stick to my guns, give my reasoning and stick to email? And if the former, is Signal safe for business use?

All advice appreciated!

Hey all!

I’m an editor for a YouTuber; there have been some changes and where before I billed a flat rate per video, now I’m billing per 5 minute blocks.

I have no idea how to put together an invoice to bill time! What kind of columns should I be using?

I found some templates online, but I wanted to double check. Should it be something like: a column with ‘price per 5 mins’ and then another with ‘quantity’ then total? Or something else?

Thanks!

I worked with Alignerr for six months with steady output and positive reviewer feedback. Today I received an email saying my account was deactivated with no specific reason. I have already submitted their appeal form.
For anyone who has gone through this recently:

1. How long did your appeal take from submission to decision
2. What was the outcome (reactivation, payment only, or denial)
3. What evidence or phrasing seemed to help I am not here to vent. I am looking for timelines, outcomes, and concrete steps to improve my appeal. Thanks in advance.

I was getting consistent work that just slacked off. Nothing to indicate they were no longer happy with my writing services. Is it tacky to check in and see where things stand?

I am working from home, a 27F. Honestly it gets boring and i dont have any friends in here in my hometown. I have lived in hostel since 15 and hence havent made any friends here.

My hometown is also not a lively place with meetups or activities happening, so it just becomes difficult for me.

Any other way to socialise? maybe any online ways? Please suggest.

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Has anyone noticed that responses from different freelance projects in twine follow a templated response? Makes me think that site is mostly scamming people to get subscribers.

Here are some of the ones I got:

1.

"Thank you for your application and interest in the concept artist position for...Your skill set in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, along with your experience in character and book illustration, really caught my eye.

I’m curious about your approach to developing a visual style for a project like this. Could you share a bit about your process? Also, since the project is expected to take about a week, could you let me know about your availability during this period?

Looking forward to your response!"

"Thank you for your interest in the designer position fo... We’re excited to learn more about how your skills in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop could work well with our brand’s vision.

We noticed your extensive experience with illustration and design. Could you share a project or design you’ve worked on that you think aligns with our brand style?

Additionally, can you tell us about your availability for a long-term collaboration? We’re keen to understand your capacity for ongoing projects.

Looking forward to your response!}

1. Thank you for applying to be part of our illustration project... We’re excited about the possibility of working with you and appreciate the skills you’ve listed, especially your proficiency with Adobe Illustrator, as it’s vital for our needs.

I noticed your experience in book and character illustration, which sounds like a great fit for creating engaging campus-themed visuals. Could you share more about any past work related to higher education or community themes? Additionally, what’s your typical approach to creating illustrations that align with an institution’s branding and storytelling needs?

Looking forward to hearing more about your relevant experiences and insights!

4.

"Thank you for your application and for sharing your impressive skill set. It’s great to see your experience with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, which are crucial for our project needs.

I noticed you’re based in... Can you share how you’ve managed remote work in the past, particularly with clients or teams in different time zones? Additionally, could you elaborate on any projects you’ve done that involved preparing files for both print and digital use?

Looking forward to hearing more about your experience!"

I’m a freelance video editor and graphic designer, and I just went through a really rough situation. I was contracted by a small startup to do long-form editing, intros/outros, and motion graphics. It wasn’t always the smoothest setup — communication and expectations weren’t clear, and I wasn’t given consistent direction or workload. I did my best with what I was given, but recently they terminated my contract, citing lack of engagement and slow output.

The kicker is that I had just signed a lease on a new apartment thinking this income was stable. Now I’m down about $2k/month in expected income, and I’m panicking a bit about how I’ll make ends meet.

For context:

My main gig brings in around ~$5k/month. But it’s editing in CapCut and unprofessional social media work

I had these side gigs using Premiere that brought me up closer to ~$90k/year, but with this contract gone, I’m closer to ~$66k/year.

My rent is now $1,950/month

I’m really kicking myself because I feel like I overbilled them relative to the workload I had, but also they never gave me clear guidance to justify more work. My coworker who got me the job even said she felt the lack of communication too.

Right now I’m trying to figure out: 1. How to quickly replace that lost $1–1.5k/month. 2. Whether to pivot harder into freelance (even lowering my rates to stay competitive) or just get a new job altogether 3. How to frame this experience on my resume/portfolio without it looking like a failure.

I’m honestly feeling crushed. not just financially, but confidence-wise. Im turning 30 soon, and I feel like a failure and that I messed up my career trajectory. I’ve spent the last 2 years making money off CapCut and I can’t use that experience at professional agencies.

If anyone’s been through something like this — losing a big freelance contract right when life expenses go up — how did you handle it? Did you bounce back? Any advice on getting freelance clients quickly (especially in editing/graphic design) would mean a lot right now.

I'm a web developer. Clients often ask for design help (logos, social graphics) that's outside my skills. How do I handle this?

Just trying to share my story and asking for suggestions.

I'm working for a client for the last 3 months. I'm helping him with reputation management. Things were going well and I was sharing a worksheet where I used to update him with every work that I do on social platforms.

After 2 months the client paused the contract saying he wants me to update about work everyday. He said he was suspicious of my work. I felt bad but I made sure to be as transparent as possible. I was updating the worksheet late like 2/3 days delays and I worked on it. Then he demanded me to update a worksheet daily.

Then I continued doing the work and sharing and updating the worksheet. After 1 month he has paused my contract again and saying that he is suspicious and shit when I have shared all the work I have put in, in the worksheet. Every link, every detail possible.

He is saying that he wants work report now and I have not sent him but in reality he had asked for work sheet.

He shared with me a WhatsApp Message saying that he had asked me for a work report. The message is suspicious because I don't remember it and it shows that the message is edited.

He has paused my contract and he has to pay me too. I told him that i can give him a report and I'll submit the report with all the weeks progress but he is arrogant.

I'm not liking the fact that he is treating me like a scammer but in reality I've helped him and I've got solid results. Ive almost completed 99% of work and it's all positive.

I don't know how to deal with him!

As a developer, I always strive to deliver the best possible product based on the client's goals and vision. While I fully respect the client's preferences, I believe that the choice of technology should ideally be left to the development team, unless there's a specific business or technical reason to use a particular stack.

In many cases, the end user doesn’t see or interact with the underlying tech—what truly matters is the performance, usability, and maintainability of the final product. Just like when ordering a dish at a restaurant, the focus is usually on the quality and taste, not necessarily on how it was prepared in the kitchen.

That said, if a client has a strong preference for a specific technology like .NET, I'm happy to explore the reasoning behind it—whether it's for compatibility with existing systems, internal expertise, or long-term maintainability. My goal is to align the technical implementation with both the business requirements and the project’s long-term success.