I came across a job posting searching for freelance writers at Craigslist weeks ago and thought of sending in my application. The supposed writing position was intended for experienced writers and rewriters and the promised payment was $0.0175 to $0.025 per word for unique articles and $0.025 to $0.0175 per word for rewritten articles. My application was met with a positive response – I received a response email from a certain Valerie Kermann and was given further details about the position and job description. I was then told to send an email to her supposed colleague who went by the name Victoria Douglas.
The email from Victoria contained a .pdf attachment which included instructions about my first assignment. I was asked to write 30 articles, which was to be returned back after 14 days of receipt. Wary of the large volume of initial assignment, I tried Googling Morgan Media Services, Ltd. and the names of people behind it but did not find much information that can assure me of the company’s legitimacy. I did find a website bearing the name of Morgan Media Services, Ltd. but it said the site was under maintenance.
Despite having second thoughts about the legitimacy of the company, I went on writing the articles, which were mostly reviews about an online gambling site. When I had finished 15 of the 30 assigned articles, I came across a posting at Craigslist warning other writers about the scam activities of Morgan Media Services.
I emailed the poster and asked for more details about the information she has gathered about the company. She said she found out that the website (which was supposedly under maintenance) was created only weeks before and the Whois information of the site contained information that was way too different from the information supplied to her by the people who contacted her about the writing assignment. She also said she found a facebook page bearing the name of Morgan Media Services, Ltd. but it was in Arabic, contrary to the claims of Valerie and Victoria that their office is located in London. Lastly, she said there is no such place as Westbrookshield in London, the address where Valerie and Victoria said their office was located.
My warning alert heightened upon receiving this information from the Craigslist poster. I sent a message to Victoria asking more details about payment for the project. Her response was less than professional, although she did answer my question. She didn’t sound professional to me at all, not like the way a real manager would respond to people she has contact with.
That email sealed my belief that the company may indeed be fictitious and not legit. I stopped writing the articles and waited until the supposed deadline. The deadline has passed but I have not received any correspondence from them asking me about the articles they have assigned to me. A legit company wouldn’t just disappear without a word, right? If they don’t hear from their writers on or after the agreed date of submission, they usually send emails asking about progress of the projects.
I am not certain whether Morgan Media Services, Ltd. is indeed a scam. I am just sharing my experience with this company to my fellow freelance writers so they might also be aware of the possible consequences that may befall them if they write for this company. If there is someone out there who has a positive experience with Morgan Media Services, Ltd. and who can vouch its legitimacy, please let us know.
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Hello, thank you for this information. The bad news is I have already submitted my articles to them. If they don’t pay me, I think we should do something about it, like flagging them as spam or something in Craigslist. I am still waiting if they are going to pay me. We’ll see about that.
Hi,
Did they also ask you to write around 30 articles? I did not submit my articles and they did not even bother to check if I still have plans to submit them, which strengthened my belief that they may indeed be a scam. If they pay you, that would be good. If ever you receive payment, can you please tell us here so our fellow freelance writers, including me, will know that they indeed pay?
Thanks.
Of course, I will. The certain Victoria Douglas said she is on a business trip and will contact me in 3 days about the articles. I am also suspicious about their operations because their website is invalid and their address does not exist. If it happens that they are not legitimate,then we should take measure to thwart their evil operations. And yes, they asked me to write 30 articles about Prism Casino.
On a business trip? hmmm…I think I hear an alarm bell ringing. Anyway, at least she is still responding to your emails so you can at least give her the benefit of the doubt as of now. Can’t wait to hear the news after three days. But I do hope she’ll pay you for your hard work.
Thank you for the warning. I had just found a new ad on craigslist about the same job. I had written to the specified email, receiving a reply from Nicolas Susta giving the exact payments amounts as in your post. After a small search in google I see many scam warnings about this quasi company now. I am still waiting to see how it turns out for Twinkle.
I bet some other writers have already posted several warnings about the activities of these scammers. I am also waiting for news from Twinkle. I am not certain if they are really a scam – I may be wrong. But the way they communicated (and not communicated with me) gave me a strong feeling they may not be up to something good.
hi. i’ve received the same assignment. 30 articles with the same promised payout only the deadline is on the 21st day. ive submitted the articles on the 11th and havent heard from them until now. ive also wondered why they werent following up on my works. also when ive submitted my application, i instantly got a positive reply and gave me the assignment instantly. im still hoping theyd reply and pay me.. will give updates
Cris we’re on the same boat. Trust me, they will never pay us.
Cris, a legit company would follow up on its writers on how they are progressing with the assignments. The fact that they didn’t even bother to check just shows that they are really up to something not good. I made another search in Google for this company and found a scam alert for them. These people have scammed a number of writers already and they use different contact names.
@Twinkle…so, it’s confirmed? I’m sorry for both you and Cris.
to Writer MOM
Maybe there really is something to serendipity.
I had a very old note about their services and was looking for Morgan Media to find a writer or blog manager.
So thanks for saving this employer too
If you have a look at our site you will see that we have a lot in Book/Niches in common. We are looking for long term writer relationships to help us make the transition to Internet publishing, so there may be an opportunity to hook up somehow.
You’ll notice, I hope that we’ve been around for more than 190 years, so there’s no question of scamming with us.
I’ve given you the address of my PA because I delete so much spam that you could easily end up that way.
If you will send an email to Sue (wilkins) and explain that I’ve asked you to do so, then we can pick this up in Email. Please put Barry in the subject box to alert her.
I look forward to learning about your potential.
Good luck
Barry Belasco
belasco@foulsham.com
That’s okay though, I have found a decent employer who’s work is legit. I’m going to be very careful right now. That is my first time to experience scams, so maybe next time I’ll be a lot more careful. I hope this will serve as a warning for other freelance writers.
I have been a victim of the scam and they did not pay me anything even after I had completed the batch of 30 articles. I would like to request everyone associated with Morgan Media Services to be aware that this is just a scam. The only thing that confuses me, however, is that why are they asking everyone to write reviews of Casinos?
I would also like to ask everyone to write about possible scams and frauds in this column so that the writers can be protected. Let this site become a meeting place of all freelance writers. This will be great.
Hi! Yes, I’ve been scammed by these people as well. Tsk.Tsk
Maybe they are the casino owners themselves. Bunch of crooks…