Fiverr scams: how to recognize and avoid them

Fiverr is a legitimate and widely used freelance platform that operates across 160 countries. Buyers and sellers come together for both quick gigs and long-term cooperation in 700+ specializations. This makes Fiverr a go-to marketplace to get digital work done and offers a sustainable way to earn a living for thousands of freelancers worldwide.

Not all of the sellers and buyers on Fiverr are trustworthy, though. Despite Fiverr’s rigorous user verification and buyer protection policies, scammers still slip through the cracks, so it’s extremely important to stay cautious whenever you do business on Fiverr. 

In this guide, we’ll break down exactly how Fiverr scams work, how to identify red flags, and what you can do to protect yourself.

Is it possible to get scammed on Fiverr?

Yes, you can get scammed on Fiverr both as a buyer and a seller, although it’s relatively rare if you stick to the platform’s guidelines and safety best practices.

Fiverr is generally safe and completely legit—money is held in escrow until the buyer approves the order as complete, reviews are verified and are nearly impossible to forge, and communication is monitored. Still, scammers exploit user trust, platform loopholes, or push transactions off the platform to carry out their fraudulent activities.

Fiverr fraud and scams typically target: 

• New buyers unfamiliar with the platform.
• Sellers with limited platform experience.
• Users looking for the lowest possible price. 

That’s why understanding the common types of Fiverr scams is essential for protecting your time, money, and peace of mind. 

Most common types of Fiverr scams

There are scams on Fiverr that target both sellers and buyers. Here’s the list of top Fiverr scams that you should learn to spot early and avoid:

Fake sellers

Are there scammers on Fiverr? Yes, there are, and fake sellers are just one type. 

Fake sellers set up seemingly legit accounts with fake names, stock photos, and inflated reviews. They advertise services they can’t or don’t intend to deliver, using Fiverr to target buyers and steal their money in exchange for poor or irrelevant work.

Most of the time, fake sellers lure in buyers with pricing that’s too good to be true. Once the buyer is hooked, they can: 

• Upsell or demand more money mid-project, especially for complex multi-stage gigs.
• Deliver extremely poor, AI-generated, or plagiarized work that doesn’t meet expectations.

When sending irrelevant, stolen, or low-quality deliverables, the scammers’ goal is to trick the system into marking the order as delivered so they can get the payment. In a rush to get the work done, clients might overlook the issues of quality and originality, or choose not to start a dispute—especially if the price is too low to argue over it. This is exactly what fake Fiverr sellers are looking for: quick profits at scale from buyers who are too busy to care.

Phishing by fake buyers

Likewise, there are Fiverr users posing as buyers but actually responding to your gigs with the intent to scam you.

One of their most common tactics is to pretend to buy your service and then request your email address because “Fiverr asks for it to complete the payment” or for some other invented reason. With your contact information, they can target you with phishing traps designed to collect your credit card information, home address, and other sensitive details. These can be further used to steal your funds or identity.

These phishing scams can take many forms. One of them is faking official Fiverr communication with links leading to spoofed websites to steal Fiverr credentials or collect the victim’s payment card data. These links may also contain malware, keyloggers, or ransomware. New sellers eager to get work may overlook red flags and click these malicious links, thinking it’s part of the legitimate order.

Even without access to your email, scammers can still share malicious links in communication with you. Fiverr checks shared links automatically, but it pays to verify the legitimacy of the link URL before clicking it.

Off-platform payment scams

In this common type of Fiverr scam, the scammer offers to take communication to email, WhatsApp, Telegram, or elsewhere. They may say that they have a big project and the Fiverr fees are too high, or that there are too many taxes and restrictions on the platform. The real goal behind this is to get work without ever paying or to avoid Fiverr’s safeguards in order to scam you. 

If you’re a starting-out seller, you might be desperate to get gigs and agree to such requests. However, Fiverr can suspend your account for taking communication off-platform, as it’s against their policy. If you still persist, you’ll lose all the available Fiverr protection in addition to the high risks of getting scammed.

Fake payments and chargebacks

If a fake buyer has access to your email address, they may fabricate payment confirmation emails from Fiverr to manipulate you into thinking you’ve been paid. They can also use fake payment screenshots and confirmations in direct messages with you, and if you’ve taken the transaction off Fiverr, you become even more vulnerable to this type of exploit.

Some fraudulent buyers may cancel the order or initiate a chargeback via their bank or PayPal after receiving the work, leaving the seller unpaid. As credit card chargebacks can override Fiverr’s policies, and scammers can use a stolen credit card to begin with, Fiverr may be forced to refund the buyer, in which case the seller loses both the time they spent on the assignment and the money due.

Account buying

In a variation of account takeover fraud, scammers may persuade Fiverr freelancers to sell their accounts, offering a hefty sum of money. These accounts can then be used to scam the freelancer’s professional network, exploiting their good standing with past clients and asking for more money from them. 

Sometimes, scammers go as far as to manipulate victims into setting up accounts on other freelance marketplaces and sharing sensitive personal data along the way.

Any such activity is prohibited and can tarnish your professional reputation, let alone expose you to potential fake check payments, which is a common payment fraud also found in Upwork scams.

How to spot a Fiverr scam: red flags to watch out for

Watch out for these warning signs when hiring or working with someone on Fiverr:

• Sketchy profiles with no photo or a stock photo, vague description, or an oddly generic name.
  
• Too-good-to-be-true pricing, like charging $50 for a full month’s work, or $5 for an illustration. 
  
• Request to move communication off Fiverr to “avoid fees” or for other reasons, violating Fiverr’s policies.
  
• Rushed or vague communication with many essential details omitted.
  
• Using urgency or pressure to start an order immediately.
  
• Poor grammar, punctuation, or formatting in gig description.
  
• Asking you to do a sample or test assignment for free, saying they’ll place a big order afterward.
  
• Stock portfolios with AI-generated or stolen imagery that appears on other websites if you do a reverse image search.
  
• Copy-paste proposals with generic responses that don’t reference your project specifics.
  
• Canceling the order right after delivery or initiating a chargeback on the buyer’s side.

Does Fiverr offer buyer protection?

Yes, there is the extensive Fiverr buyer protection program in addition to various measures designed to secure transactions between buyers and sellers: 

• Mandatory delivery approval: payments are held in escrow, and the seller doesn’t get paid until the buyer approves the delivery or three days pass without a dispute.
  
• Verified reviews: if the seller consistently underdelivers, it will show in negative reviews so new buyers can make informed decisions.
  
• Dispute resolution: buyers may request revisions or cancel the order via Fiverr’s Resolution Center if the quality of the deliverable is not acceptable. In some cases, though, Fiverr may side with the seller if their communication was consistent. 
  
• Message history: in case of a dispute, Fiverr’s support team can view all communication history to assess misrepresentation of services or tasks as well as poor conduct.
  
• In-chat warnings: Fiverr screens all shared links and messages automatically and shows warnings if a user is about to click a suspicious link or take the communication off the platform.

In addition, Fiverr’s Community Standards prohibit multiple accounts, using misleading service descriptions, plagiarizing other users’ profile information, and raising the price after the project has started. Users can also get banned for abusing the refund and chargeback system.

Even though Fiverr offers strong safeguards, they rely on spotting early signs and using the platform’s tools within the allowed timeframes. The rest is down to your vigilance and discretion when transacting with other Fiverr users.

What to do if you’ve been scammed on Fiverr

If you suspect you’ve been scammed, don’t panic but act fast to reduce potential damage. Here’s what to do next:

How to report someone on Fiverr

It’s not possible to report a user as a whole on Fiverr, but you can report a particular gig, message, brief, or video call if it violates Fiverr’s Community Standards.

1. Go to the user’s profile or your message thread.
2. Click the Report button.
3. Select the reason (such as asking for payment outside Fiverr or behaving inappropriately).
4. Include screenshots and details to support your case.

Fiverr’s Trust & Safety Team will review your report and take appropriate action if the violation is confirmed.

Filing a refund request after a scam

If you’re a buyer and would like to request a refund on poor-quality services, you can cancel the order via the Resolution Center:

1. Navigate to the order page.
2. Click on the Resolution Center.
3. Request to cancel the order.
4. Provide details about why you believe the seller scammed you.

Fiverr may approve the refund request at their discretion if the service was incomplete, misleading, or otherwise violated the policies.

Protect your personal information

If you shared sensitive personal details with the scammer, protect your affected accounts by changing passwords and setting up two-factor authentication. If you shared your credit card information, contact your bank or card issuer and report the fraud. It’s recommended to deactivate and reissue your payment card for additional protection.

Leave a review

Fiverr uses a trust-based system, so leave your honest review on the user’s profile after the order is closed. This will help others avoid making the same mistake and help the Fiverr community to stay safe.

How to avoid Fiverr scams moving forward

The number-one safety rule when using Fiverr is never to take communication to another platform. If you do, it’s easy to fall victim to WhatsApp scams or Telegram scams, as these popular messengers offer practically no protection against bad actors.

To minimize your chances of encountering scammers, vet every seller or buyer you want to do business with. Check portfolios, reviews, and the quality of their responses. It’s better to stick to verified gigs and top-rated sellers.

Finally, don’t rush and trust your instincts. Trustworthy professionals rarely need to beg for work or pressure buyers. If something feels off, stop your communication and move on.

FAQs

Can Fiverr sellers scam buyers?

Yes, you can get scammed on Fiverr as a buyer. Unscrupulous sellers deliver subpar work, request off-platform payments, or disappear after receiving an order. Fiverr has buyer protection in place, but you should always carefully vet sellers yourself.

Will Fiverr refund me if I get scammed?

Fiverr can refund buyers if they stay on the platform and follow the rules. Buyers can cancel an order at any stage if the cooperation with the seller doesn’t go as planned, but whether the buyer is refunded is up to Fiverr to decide.

How can I tell if a Fiverr seller is legit?

Look for signs such as consistent verified reviews, original portfolio samples, clear communication, and a detailed, personalized profile.

What should I do if a seller asks for payment outside Fiverr?

Do not agree, report the gig or the message, and move on to another seller. Never take communication or payment off Fiverr, or you’ll lose the Fiverr buyer protection and become vulnerable to scams.