Are you an aspiring freelancer wanting to make a living from home? Or are you already doing freelance work but want to reassess your safety standards? Either way, this guide is for you!
Why do I need to worry about internet safety?
As a freelancer, you’ll likely be dealing with a variety of sites and clients from all over the web. If you aren’t careful with your information and the places you visit online, you could even have your identity stolen. Knowing how to navigate safely is essential to making sure you don’t fall victim.
Why you need an EIN (Employer Identification Number)
If you do any kind of freelance work online, then chances are you’ve needed to supply your social security number at some point. Whether it’s for a membership to content writing website or with clients, a lot of tasks require your social security. This allows your taxes to be filed correctly come tax season.
But using your Social Security number comes with it’s own risks. Data breaches seem common on the news these days, and you don’t want your identity to be leaked in one.
To combat this, consider requesting a free Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. It’s less dangerous to get your EIN stolen than your social security since it isn’t tied to your credit history and other financial accounts. You can see more information about it on the IRS site here.
The benefits of using an EIN are that it:
- Isn’t tied to your personal medical records, insurance policies, or credit history
- Is an easier way to separate your personal finances from your business finances
- Can be used on payments sites like PayPal and Venmo
Do I need a VPN?
I’ll be honest- it depends. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, hides your IP by encrypting your data. In my honest opinion, a VPN is overkill for most. But if you travel and are often making use of spotty Wi-Fi connections, it can give you peace of mind that your information isn’t being leaked. A VPN can also help switch your country if you’re working overseas- this is especially helpful when accessing geographically restricted sites and services.
If you’re working from home on a secure network and aren’t a frequent traveler, it’s less vital to use a VPN unless you really want that extra security. Just make sure that if you do plan to use a VPN, don’t use a free service, as they profit off of selling your data.
Make sure the sites you’re using are legit
There’s nothing worse than finding out you’ve just made an account on a shady site that’s selling off your info- but how do we make sure the site we’re using is safe?
Here are a few ways to make sure:
- Check the URL: Click into the website’s URL and check to make sure it starts with https. If there isn’t an s at the end, then the site’s data is unsecured and not using encryption to protect its data. And remember that even if the site uses https, that doesn’t mean it isn’t also a scam.
- Google the site: This is the most obvious step to checking out a site. Look at the top results that show up and see if anyone is asking whether the site is a scam or not.
- Look at reviews: If the site is legit, you’ll be able to find user reviews. Look for trusted forums such as Quora and Reddit to see what experiences other users have had with the site.
- Check the contact page: Look to see if the site has proper contact information such as a phone number, email address, or physical address. Also check to see if the site has a social media presence or not. If there isn’t any identifying information, then that isn’t a good sign.
- Check Google’s Safe Browsing site status: Use Google’s free Safe Browsing tool to see if it has been flagged as unsafe.
Other than the above methods, use your gut. Bad spelling and grammar are one way you might feel something is off. And remember- if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Use strong passwords
Having a strong password is your first line of defense against attackers with malicious intent. A good password should be unique to its site, at least 8 characters, and use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.
From the above requirements, the most vital is that your passwords are unique to each account. If your data is made vulnerable in a data breach, you can at least know your password is only linked to that one site. This is especially important when it comes to very personal accounts such as online banking.
Know how to spot a scam
Even if you’ve taken the above precautions and are using a legitimate site, be wary of accepting projects that might be trying to take advantage of you. Below are a list of common red flags to watch out for.
- They request payment upfront: Be wary of any clients that demand payment before having started a job.
- Don’t give out your banking information: When engaging in a transaction, be sure to use trusted payment services such as PayPal rather than handing out your account information.
- Don’t accept requests for specific writing samples: By this I mean don’t accept requests asking you to write a sample according to a given prompt. Scammers will try and get you to write free content for them before ghosting you. You can submit your own previous work when requested, but don’t create any custom samples if asked to do so for free.
Concluding thoughts on how to freelance safely
Despite there being plenty of scammers and hackers out there, it’s easy to stay safe if you trust your gut and take the proper precautions. Not handing out personal information, verifying sites before using them, and knowing common red flags, can all help you stay safe as a freelance worker.
If any of these tips have helped you, or if you have any other methods you swear by to keep safe online, don’t hesitate to comment below!