Hi, so I just got an email from my first potential client, I really liked his offer and I don't wanna screw this up. The issue is that he asked me whether I "accept cashier check as payment" and I have no idea how this works. I don't wanna risk losing a client by asking him if he'd agree with just sending me money by PayPal, so can someone explain me how this "cashier's check" method works and how safe of an option it is in terms of getting scammed?

Are they in the same country as you? How much is this check?

I'd just say no and ask for a deposit up front paid by bank transfer. Even PayPal isn't a good option as they can claim it back.

18 minutes ago, fisicx said:

Are they in the same country as you? How much is this check?

I'd just say no and ask for a deposit up front paid by bank transfer. Even PayPal isn't a good option as they can claim it back.

No, they're not from my country and he said the budget is 750$-1500$. The thing is that I don't really see the benefit of scamming someone on a website since I control whether the website is up or not. 

What country are they from? What sort of site is it?

I’d still ask for a 50% deposit by bank transfer.

6 hours ago, fisicx said:

What country are they from? What sort of site is it?

I’d still ask for a 50% deposit by bank transfer.

The client's from USA, it's a hotel/bar site, something like this one:  https://www.freshmenu.com/

Here's a new message i got from him:

"I would have preferred to pay you by pay pal or credit card machine but I was warn

by my bank not to use my card on pay pal or any other merchant again

because they double remit my account twice in the past and I don't

want to go against my bank warning. I will gladly mail out the payment

to you by check. I am located in USA and it does not matter the

Country you are provided you assured me a good and quality job. I need

your name and address or your representative name and address in USA

to send the payment to so that i can  make an upfront payment and you

can proceed on my web design. I also understand you will need the text

content with the logo and other document files to start work on my web

design asap as you know the document files are with my project

consultant and she will have them send to you via email"

 

I mean he does want to pay me up front so it looks legit, I just don't know how this check thing works. Anyone knows?

 

Edit: I also don't really get what he means by "i need your name and address(...) in USA to send the payment to". Maybe it's just a miswording, but why would he say id doesn't matter what country i'm in and then ask me for my address in USA? (which btw. I don't have I'm not from USA and he never seemed to care about where i'm from)

 

Edited July 19, 20224 yr by TrioWorks

They are lying about the double remit. They are lying about the documents being with their consultant.

There are multiple cashiers check scams. Do not fall for their lies.

1 hour ago, TrioWorks said:

The client's from USA, it's a hotel/bar site, something like this one:  https://www.freshmenu.com/

That's not a hotel/bar site. That site is an online food ordering app. Unless you have strong php and js skills and experienced in payment portal integration you won't be able to build a site like that. And you are underquoting. A site like that is going to a take a lot of work - I'd not consider anything under $5000.

37 minutes ago, fisicx said:

They are lying about the double remit. They are lying about the documents being with their consultant.

There are multiple cashiers check scams. Do not fall for their lies.

But why would they lie? It's not like he'll gain anything if he "scams" me on me making him a website that I can shut down anytime.

 

26 minutes ago, fisicx said:

That's not a hotel/bar site. That site is an online food ordering app. Unless you have strong php and js skills and experienced in payment portal integration you won't be able to build a site like that. And you are underquoting. A site like that is going to a take a lot of work - I'd not consider anything under $5000.

He specifically told me he doesn't want a cart for his website, so it's not going to be an app. When it comes to the design itself (which is basically what I'm getting paid for) it doesn't seem that sophisticated, I mean you can do this kind of stuff on shopify/woocommerce if you really want. 

 

Either way there's no check payment in my country, so in case it is a scam (for whatever reason) I'll just send him my account number. If he actually pays me upfront I guess I can be confident about the offer and start working. What do you think about that?

The scam is very simple. They send you a check for too much and ask you to refund the difference. The check is then reported as fraud and you lose the money.

They don't want a website, they just want to scam you.

But if you think it's all legitimate crack on.

3 hours ago, fisicx said:

The scam is very simple. They send you a check for too much and ask you to refund the difference. The check is then reported as fraud and you lose the money.

They don't want a website, they just want to scam you.

But if you think it's all legitimate crack on.

Nope, it was a scam indeed, you were right all along. I found those reddit posts: 

And also this: https://brightsanddesigns.com/web-designer-scam/

It is still a bit strange though. I mean why using a check for scamming people? My country doesn't even have that as an option so it'd be literally impossible for them to pay me that way. It may also be about personal data, I mean he was really pushy about giving him my address and name.

Anyway I owe you a big Thank You fisicx, cause I'd probably at least send them my personal info and maybe even fall for the whole thing if it wasn't for you pointing out the red flags.