Or: A scam in the world of online work

“You’re only interested in impossible things,”
my sweet father always used to say.

That’s how I started telling my story in December 2024 on LinkedIn. The story of how I got scammed. Tons of people read it. I got a lot of feedback, messages, comments— most of them, of course, in private.

Now, I could say how amazing it was to make such a powerful return to LinkedIn… but the truth isn’t that simple.

Because first, there’s the shame. The anger. The frustration. The disbelief that I, too, could be deceived. Fooled. Played.
And of course, the question: why did it happen—and what can I learn from it?
(But before the “lessons,” let’s be honest: comes the shock. The rage. The disappointment. The grief. And all the messy combinations in between.)

Humans are funny. Until something hits us personally—painfully personally— we don’t really believe it can happen.

But it can.

And it can happen to you, too.

Anytime.

That’s why I wrote down what happened to me.

My story

At the beginning of December, I had a wild idea. I accepted a translation job from an American (?) company that contacted me via Facebook Messenger.
Let that sink in—first red flag.

The task? Translate a brutally long professional text from English, reformat it to match the original layout—all over a weekend.

Yes, they promised money. A lot of it. Second red flag: an almost unreal amount of money for an insanely tight deadline.

Now, we’re all human. And when money is tight (and let’s face it—it usually is), you’re more vulnerable. And in my case—as a bit of a perfectionist—I also saw it as a chance to prove myself.

And I did. I translated almost 80 pages. Used AI tools, yes—but carefully, and I proofread every bit. The final version? Spotless Hungarian, professionally edited, all formatting in place. I hardly slept from Friday to Sunday—but I delivered.

Then the story really began.

Five minutes—yes, five—after I submitted the work, they wrote back: Accepted! Great job! Thank you!

Third massive red flag: How does anyone check 80 pages in five minutes?

And then came the real kicker: They asked me to pay them, instead of paying me.

Fourth red flag, and possibly the most outrageous one.

So yes. I, someone who’s worked online for years, paid up like a good little soldier.

You’re probably wondering: Why?!
Why, if I saw all those red flags, did I ignore them?

Because I didn’t want to see them. I didn’t want to admit it might be fake. I convinced myself that I’d be the exception. That this wouldn’t happen to me.

But of course, it did.

They said the money was transferred to a “bank” (allegedly an American one): 👉 https://citycb.org – fake site, obviously.
They even created a bank account for me there.

Then they asked for fees—two separate transactions—just so I could “access” the funds. Each fee required a special “code.” Which of course, led nowhere.

Eventually, I snapped out of it. The final straw was when they asked for another outrageous payment—for a supposed broker’s annual fee.

That’s when I said no.

I reported all transactions to PayPal, my bank, blocked my card. Something finally kicked in—something beyond reason. Instinct, maybe. Self-preservation.

I stopped. But by then, it was too late.

I had been scammed.

Lessons – and what came next

So… what now?

Well, I wrote about it. People started following me. I’ve had countless conversations since. I started researching, learning, connecting the dots.

PayPal refunded 2 of the 4 transactions. One they couldn’t reverse. The other they rejected, and I have no right to appeal.
(I might write a blog post about that, too.)

The other big thing?
Two of my friends sent me Ada’s site—AlertInsight.ch—within days of each other.

I looked. I commented. Ada messaged me. And the rest, as they say… is history.

I was scammed.
I lost money.
But here I am.

And I’m now one of the ambassadors of AlertInsight.ch.

I’ll do everything I can to reach more people,
to offer more support,
to make sure this never happens to you.

🚩 RED FLAGS – IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM:

• Job offer through Facebook Messenger

• Unrealistic amount of money + extremely short deadline

• They “reviewed” 80 pages in 5 minutes

• You’re the one sending them money to “receive” your payment

🚩 AND MORE RED FLAGS:

• Official-looking emails coming from a gmail address (yes, even me, I fell for that)

• They always have a quick solution for everything

• They’re overly friendly and helpful—almost too much so

• When it comes time to pay, they pressure you, push you, demand urgency

Dorka