We do not hold your money — so protect it yourself
There is no escrow here, and that is deliberate: nothing of yours is ever locked up. The trade-off is that you carry the risk, so here is exactly how to work safely.
Read this before your first project
Pakistan Freelancers is a discovery and communication platform. We do not process payments, hold funds or provide escrow, which means we cannot recover money that has been sent. What we can do is act on accounts that are reported — and the six rules below prevent almost every case we see.
Six rules that prevent almost everything
None of these are complicated. They are just the things people skip when they are excited about a project.
Never pay the full amount up front
Split the work into milestones and pay as each one is delivered. A 30–50% deposit is normal; 100% before anything is delivered is not.
Agree scope in writing, on-platform
Deliverables, revisions, deadline and price, in a message you can both scroll back to. Verbal agreements on a call are where disputes are born.
Be suspicious of urgency
"I need to pay you right now but my card is failing, can you send me a gift card first" is a scam, every single time. Urgency is the oldest pressure tactic there is.
Check the profile, not just the pitch
Look at when the account was created, whether it is verified, and whether the portfolio has any depth. A polished message on an empty profile is a warning sign.
Never send money to get paid
No legitimate client asks a freelancer to pay a registration fee, a deposit, a customs charge or a tax to release payment. That is always a scam.
Keep your credentials yours
Do not share passwords, OTPs or bank login details with anyone, including someone claiming to be our support team. We will never ask for them.
The six scams we see again and again
Scams are not creative. They recycle the same six shapes. Once you can name them, they stop working on you.
- Freelancers
The overpayment refund
You are "accidentally" overpaid and asked to refund the difference. The original payment is reversed later; the refund you sent is gone.
- Freelancers
The free sample trap
A large project is dangled, but first you must complete a substantial "test" unpaid. The project never materialises; your work is used anyway.
- Freelancers
The advance-fee client
A client insists you pay a small platform, insurance or verification fee before the contract is released. There is no contract.
- Clients
The vanishing freelancer
Full payment is requested up front at an unusually low price, then delivery slips, excuses pile up, and the account goes quiet.
- Clients
The portfolio impostor
A stunning portfolio, stolen wholesale from a real designer. The work delivered looks nothing like it. Reverse image search takes ten seconds.
- Both
The off-platform switch
Immediate pressure to move to WhatsApp before anything is agreed in writing, so there is no record when the dispute starts.
What we can do
- Investigate every report, with a person reading it
- Suspend or permanently ban accounts that scam or abuse
- Verify identity documents and show a verified badge
- Remove fake portfolios, fake reviews and fraudulent gigs
What we cannot do
- Recover, refund or reverse any payment
- Hold funds in escrow until work is delivered
- Guarantee the quality or delivery of any work
- Act as an arbitrator in a contractual dispute
This is the trade-off for a platform that takes no commission. If you want the protections of escrow, structure the work in small paid milestones — it achieves nearly the same thing, without anyone taking a cut. The guides cover how to set that up.
Something feels wrong? Tell us early
You do not need proof, and you do not need to have lost anything yet. A hunch reported early has stopped plenty of people losing money later.