🔍 Welcome to this week's LeadBrew newsletter, fellow freelancers! We're coming at you with a super-charged edition, with a prime focus on dodging scams on Upwork.

Recently, we've noticed an alarming spike in scam attempts, but fear not! We at GigRadar have our gears grinding on an Upwork Antispam Solution, tailored to keep you safe! 💪

On a brighter note, we're thrilled to report the leaps and bounds our Sardor AI has made, contributing to a tangible surge in the Lead Reply Rate (LRR). The gig economy is pulsing with energy and we're right here, committed to smoothing your path to success.

Without further ado, let's get this show on the road, shall we? 🚀

📡 GigNews

🚀 Sardor increases LRR for our customers

Since its mass adoption and our bidder's speed and stability boost, we're seeing a robust growth spurt in our teams' average performance!

Note: The last few days' data is still a bit shy on replies, so we're leaving that out for now

The juicy part?

This isn't just a blip - it's an overall increase in Lead Reply Rate (LRR)! It seems like our reply curve is on an uphill climb, hinting that more clients are opting to hire on Upwork. Noticed this on your end too?

🚨 Stay Alert, GigRadar Crew: Navigating The Rising Tide of Scams

The freelance world is not without its risks, and scam attacks have been escalating recently. Unfortunately, even platforms as dependable as Upwork are not exempt. Quite a few of our valued GigRadar users have been affected.

Feast your eyes on this user's dashboard (details smudged for secrecy). Scads of deleted job links - scam-a-rama. Plus, these pesky scammers are unexpectedly pepping up your LRR, hehe

To keep you ahead of these pesky scammers, we've condensed key pointers from Reddit gurus u/WordsbyWes and u/leolego2. Here's a swift rundown of scam survival tips, created to safeguard both your reputation and wallet.🛡️

• 🤖 Original Post on Reddit
• 🔦 Our Feb's post about sneaky scammers

TL;DR:

🔹 The client insists on chatting off-site before signing the contract, with Telegram being a common go-to.

🔹 They offer check payments - an age-old check fraud scheme. Stick to Upwork for all monetary transactions.

🔹 They request you to purchase cryptocurrency, often citing it as 'illegal' in their country. Alarm bells should ring: stolen credit cards might be in play.

🔹 The client encourages you to buy a premium ID card. This is an outright scam. Keep all exchanges within Upwork.

🔹 They ask you to buy 'starting equipment' using their check - smells like a check scam.

🔹 In-game currencies, gift cards, casino balances - if they're asking you to buy any of these, it's likely money laundering via stolen cards, and you risk getting banned.

❗A Golden Rule: Any request for you to spend your money upfront is likely a scam. Your bank account should only receive money, not send it.

Extra Guidelines:

🔹 Upwork typically removes scam jobs within an hour, refunding any connects used for bidding or boosting.

🔹 GigRadar can help you sidestep potential scams: filter out jobs with unverified payments and set filters for total spend starting from $1.

🗣️ A Word of Caution: Filtering may lead to missing legitimate clients who have just joined Upwork.

🇺🇦 As evidence, one agency shared in our Ukrainian language podcast about scoring a $130k contract with a brand-new client!

🔥 Watch the podcast on the YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKBV0gWvHj8

💂‍♂️ And now for the exciting twist: we at GigRadar are whizzing away at creating an Upwork Anti-Spam Solution. It's set to make its grand debut very, very soon!

Our motto?

Say 'hasta la vista' to scam woes!

🗞️ LeadGenNews

🤖 Ever thought of dating an AI clone of your favorite influencer? Now you can, and it's only $1 per minute! Love is in the digital air. The Washington Post recently delved into the story of Caryn, AI companion - a chat-friendly replica of Snapchat's fastest growing sensation.

Who knew lead generation and OnlyFans could share the same sentence? The future really is now! 😂

🟦 Meta is enhancing its lead generation game!

Meta has found that 85% of shoppers actively seek out promotions and other offers before making a purchase, and the new promotional ads format aims to make it easier to help them find deals while enabling retailers to complete more sales.

🇺🇦 Conversion Catalysts: TheCEO's Intensive Course for Ukrainian CEOs and Sales Addicts  Nothing predicts that in the coming years it will become easier to sell by itself, and the leads will become cheaper. So how to get more development contracts with the same number of leads in the next month? Our partner - The CEO News, invites you to a practical 7-day intensive for CEOs, Sales People and everyone who wants to earn more $$$ in the service IT business. You will learn how to organize the correct work with funnels in IT according to the method "Conversion Catalyst". Closing a $20,000 contract is no easier than closing a $200,000 contract. How to increase sales in the next month with minimal expenditure of all resources?

As always, keep pushing forward and reaching for the stars! 🌟

🚀 Join GigRadar now and unlock frequent updates, expert insights, and turbocharge your Upwork accomplishments!