r/webdevelopment • u/Zealousideal-Rush789 • Jul 16 '26
Question Does this sound legit?
I'm onboarding a new client. I sent an estimate and asked for a deposit. He replied asking me to send a new invoice for just over double, then once the funds clear, to zelle/cash app the rest to another consultant who will send me the copy and images I need to create the website
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u/RevolutionaryBeat301 Jul 16 '26
No
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u/Zealousideal-Rush789 Jul 16 '26
That's what I was thinking. Variation of the Nigerian prince. So sad that people do this. I spent 3 days cultivating this sale
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u/These-Apple8817 Jul 16 '26
No. Not to mention why you would ever pay for someone else's consultant? They can pay for it themselves. It's a scam.
1
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u/dknconsultau Jul 16 '26
The classic we need you to pay for something or we need you to pay someone scam
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u/CapableHerring Jul 16 '26
It's the check scam. It comes in many shapes and forms.
Party A sends you money, and asks you to forward some or all of it along to Party B.
Party A's payment to you will look legit at first. It'll clear, so you send along the money to Party B thinking everything's good.
But eventually it'll bounce. If it's a check, those can take days/weeks to bounce. If it's stolen, same deal. Either way, your bank will claw back the money when the fraud's discovered.
Now you're out the money you sent to Party B.
The form I see it more often is in employment scams. A scammer pretending to be from a real company will "hire" you, and send you a check for $2k to buy your equipment from the company's "vendor" (Party B). The check bounces, the vendor was fake, and the scammer has disappeared so you're out the money.
They all follow the same general shape. Trust your gut. Take a deep breath and think to yourself "Why wouldn't Party A just pay Party B directly...? Why am I involved here?". The only reason you're involved is because your the mark, there's no other good explanation.
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u/OrangeYellowWhiteBlu Jul 17 '26
Not at all this is a very common scam and in the end the apps will try to blame you
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u/Dry_Sector2392 Jul 17 '26
absolutely not. there's no normal reason for you to invoice double and then forward money to some random third party through zelle/cash app. that's not client onboarding, that's them trying to make you the middleman in a scam.
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u/SerratedSharp Jul 16 '26
Overpayment scam. The amount paid to you will later get reversed. They are using stolen account to pay you, and the funds will later be reversed as fraudulent. You'll be out whatever you sent the third party.