Fraudulent clients

[New Perspective studio]

What is the best approach with regards to designing a website for somebody who's business does not seem legitimate.

Most cases with small companies i do not worry , but recently i had a 'engineering' company. of course i asked them for any certifications and registrations as from the little i know these things mean a lot in the engineering world.

They could however not provide me with any.

Do i as a web designer and content writer have any responsibility regarding the validity od this company ?

[HR Solutions]

Im not sure why you think its your responsibility to question an Engineering company ? The engineering company may be anything from making small parts to big structures with a silent engineer partner !! Your job is to do their website - your only responsibility is to make sure you get paid, either with a deposit upfront and payment on completion or any way you choose.

Personally if you as a website company ask me for my credentials before you do the job - I would go somewhere else !!

[New Perspective studio]

I would never ask for credentials and i have clauses regarding deposits and such. Perhaps i was unclear in my initial question let me expand.

I do not know if said company is fraudulent, it just got me wondering what if i do come across that situation.

Yes as a web designer i understand what you are saying, but as web designers, we at times get asked to do seo. We have to start writing content for these guys to enhance their search engine rankings. Build external links for them to reputable sources ect ect we are basically validifying them for a search engine's and users. That is when i find the question arises.

When im putting my own words into their pages and linking communities.

[HR Solutions]

There are fraudulent / unethical clients everywhere - we see plenty - we have a job of work to do at the end of the day - we choose to work for them or walk away.

[New Perspective studio]

yes i only asked for certifications because i was infact doing seo for them and knew it would be of great value content wise on their website, it was not intended to prove to myself that they are indeed legitimate. They could possibly be a silent partner as you say.

My question though lets say they are fraudsters and get caught by the law , do i with what i have written and marketed for them online have any issues with the law or not ?

I guess if i am not benefiting from what they are doing and had no idea maybe not, like you say its not my job to investigate clients credibility but to enhance their online presence , then its purely a question of moral standards.

[HR Solutions]

Yes it just boils down to morals. Unfortunately we cannot save the world ....... Not in this country .

[padjakkels]

Do you not have a clause in your contract with the client stating your are not responsible for the contents of the website? Just to be on the save side?

[New Perspective studio]

Man now i feel stupid ... well that s why im here to learn i guess ... thanks padjakkels

[padjakkels]

Man now i feel stupid ... well that s why im here to learn i guess ... thanks padjakkels

We all had to learn somewhere. At a clause on your invoices... something like if they pay the invoice, they accept your terms and conditions, which is on your website for everyone to see and read. Just for the extra cover.

[Dave A]

Pretty safe to say if you uploaded content knowing it was fraudulent, you would likely be deemed party to the fraud.

The question I guess is - how hard are you supposed to look?

[padjakkels]

Pretty safe to say if you uploaded content knowing it was fraudulent, you would likely be deemed party to the fraud.

The question I guess is - how hard are you supposed to look?

Thats true - think you must apply the 'reasonable' rule...

[New Perspective studio]

Pretty safe to say if you uploaded content knowing it was fraudulent, you would likely be deemed party to the fraud.

The question I guess is - how hard are you supposed to look?

Well with seo every little bit helps because its so competitive, so i would say hard enough that if they were fraudulent one would know.

[Mike C]

I want to applaud you for taking this seriously. If only more people would do that there may be a lot less corruption in our country. I know that the seasoned answer may be - "Well if you don't do it they will just find someone who will" - but you are still the person who has to look at yourself in the mirror every morning.

So, give the benefit of the doubt when you need to but, if something seems "off" you may need to consult your conscience.

[HR Solutions]

So by a client not producing certain certificates means u can jump to these conclusions ??

[New Perspective studio]

So by a client not producing certain certificates means u can jump to these conclusions ??

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Well if you must know certificates made me a little suspicious why would you not show them if you had them its a great way to gain authority .... but like you said maybe they are a sister company ...

There is a section on which they say all electrical work is done by their in house department "company x" , so i looked for a facebook page , any trace of these guys nothing... fair enough maybe they are new...

iI understand you saying its not my job to investigate , but in terms of seo when you provide me with such thin content it IS my job to go and dig for the content that matters in terms of rankings. I do not see why a company would find this offensive as this is exactly what they asked me when they

asked for seo services,If i did not do this searching for more valid content, i would be cheating them out of money so if they do have a problem with it , that in itself is suspicious.

So yes these things can be explained but how many red flags do i pass until i say enough....

It was when i asked for staff photos and found that some of the photos of directors and project managers where f people at home or at the beach - fair enough maybe just new to business -but further along i even reverse searched one staff images, to see if i could not find a better fitting picture ,only to find a purchased stock image , which if you know how is easy to obtain without the watermark.

So unless one of their managing directors is or was, a stock image model for shutterstock my conscious is clear.