Fiver Scam

I picked up some Fiverr courses, studied how to make gigs, and invested my precious time there. Yet, I can’t help but think if I had invested that same time in writing strong scripts (my real specialty in screenwriting), it would have been far more rewarding and better. Many new freelancers on Fiverr don’t realize this, but the platform’s structure is completely different from Upwork, which in my opinion still stands as one of the best freelancing platforms out there, “I meant the Upwork”.

On another note, I’ve studied cybercrimes and advanced into ethical hacking, learning about scams and loopholes in digital spaces. So when this scam hit me, I wasn’t entirely blindsided but you can say I was in Hurry! and New. So if you are new, that’s why I’m here not just to share what happened, but also to pass on some tricks that might help you avoid falling into the same trap.

I don’t regret that why I studied Fiver and then get started with Fiverr because I love learning new things and i will continue this till me last breath. My motivation and kickstart for learning is something that you can’t even imagine.

When I look back at that moment, I realize it wasn’t just about Fiverr or freelancing it was about the fragile nature of the digital world we all live in. One scam might look small compared to global cybercrime, but for the person experiencing it, the impact feels just as sharp. It shakes your confidence, makes you question platforms, and leaves you wondering how secure any digital space really is.

That’s when my studies in cybercrimes and ethical hacking started to make sense in real life. What I had learned in theory about phishing, loopholes, and digital fraud suddenly stood right in front of me. Scams are not isolated; they are part of a larger chain of breaches and manipulations that affect millions daily. And if a single gig mistake or scam can disorient a freelancer, imagine what happens when entire industries, communities, or governments face breaches at scale.

Over the past five years, data breaches have increased at an alarming pace. Hacking, malware, human error, and misuse have become the vocabulary of a digital battlefield. These breaches do more than steal information they fracture trust between providers and users, creating ripples across industries and societies. The Data Breach Investigation Reports noted nearly thirty thousand incidents in 2022, of which around five thousand were confirmed. Targets ranged from healthcare and finance to food services and education, with small businesses the most vulnerable.

The Uber breach in September 2022 is a powerful example. Hackers used social engineering to access an employee’s cloud account, exposing sensitive data of over 57 million riders, drivers, and partners. Email addresses, phone numbers, passwords, and live location data were compromised. This was not just a technical lapse but a human and societal one, proving that behind every breached system is a breached life.

The real threat of data breaches lies in their impact on social infrastructure. While companies may recover financially, individuals and communities often carry lasting scars. In Asia, where traditions and social pride run deep, such incidents generate insecurity that goes beyond economics. A breach can erode culture, trust, and collective identity.

Law enforcement responses often lag behind evolving cyber tactics, stirring administrative and even political tensions. That is why businesses share responsibility. By limiting third-party involvement, building stronger firewalls, and securing systems, entrepreneurs can reduce risk. Security is not just technical it is cultural preservation and user confidence.

In a world where stories, art, and heritage exist online, protecting data is essential. A breach is never only about stolen files it is about stolen trust, memory, and humanity itself.

The truth is, cyber threats do not just target money or data; they target trust. And once trust is compromised, everything else begins to fall apart. That’s why understanding data breaches isn’t just for experts it concerns every one of us.

During my studies of Cybercrimes and Hacking, I completely isolated myself from social media and any unnecessary online presence. You won’t find my digital footprint anywhere except through direct access to my accounts or by breaching logs and backdoors. And honestly, that’s only possible if you are a hacker or you’ve hired one. At that time, I treated my data like it was some classified nuclear blueprints. It wasn’t, of course, but that was the mindset I had slipped into the mindset of a hacker, a cybercrime artist.

But eventually, I stepped away. Due to personal reasons, I decided not to involve myself any further in that world. The deeper I went, the more I realized how consuming it could become and I didn’t want to let hacking or cybercrime define my life.

No one really knew about this side of my journey, but after today’s scam, I’ve decided it’s time to put it on the table and maybe add a little spice to the story.

The Third Party Agenda!

Back in my early career, I frequently noticed one critical thing about data: “Whom you allow third-party access to matters more than anything else.” That single decision can make or break the security of an entire system. Many businesses underestimate this, thinking their internal safeguards are enough, but a careless third-party link can become the weakest chain in the security chain.

I’ve seen it countless times companies with state of the art firewalls and protocols still get compromised because an external partner didn’t follow basic security measures. That’s where most breaches begin: not from hackers breaking in, but from access given too freely. And the impact isn’t just financial it shakes trust, affects users, and can even ripple through social and cultural systems.

In my experience, the lesson is clear: control your digital gates. Limit external access, monitor every entry point, and never assume that someone else will uphold your standards. Data is not just numbers on a server; it’s reputation, trust, and in many cases, people’s lives. The stronger your boundaries, the safer your digital world becomes and the more confidently you can operate in this increasingly fragile cyber landscape.

Where are you!

Second most important thing I have seen, most people avoid and I am sure they would’ve never considered this thing before. If you are here and reading this piece, I am sure you would not be that illiterate. When you enter a place the most important thing you must notice is how the place treat you is ultimately how the people will treat you, this is simple and obscure reality based on the factual greed of psychology. Hacker or whether scammers are the biggest manipulators but not the biggest psycho analysts or I may say, they don’t have that much good psychology.

Apparently you may see them as good as far your mind takes you. So whenever something happens with you in the place “where you are!” that is what is defined by the people of that place. However, when something strange also happens with you, you ask the responsible or the person of the place about that thing or change which happened in the meantime, but in the case of Web Searching or Web activities it is completely different, because, your person, who is responsible for the answers is absent in the meantime of your real existences in the “place” which is called “Web”.

You might completely ignore this, but don’t worry you’re not the only one. All humans experience it. The person responsible for the strange behavior you encountered earlier exists in your subconscious mind, and for that, you’d have to be a robot or a true masterpiece. Even I’ve experienced it, and for people like us, it feels almost impossible to explain how it happens.

What are you doing!

Scammers are treating you what you are. And obviously you will do or perform the action accordingly to “what you are” and that defines your “what you are doing” at the moment. Generally, you do things accordingly when you don’t know or you are new to that place where you are doing the action to what i am referring. At my time, this was the main focus for me. I would’ve always be precised here because this way i could’ve to invest less time then the more. Meanwhile, the other would have to focused on the section “where you are!”. Why this way? Because for me cohesion is not for the artist, you may elaborate more about this that what I meant to say.

What i want to say is that you, usually, don’t notice your actions and that is your weakness. You make it very easy for both the system and the hacker or scammer who is observing you. They target what you usually don’t notice when you enter to a new space and that is not your problem that is your mindset’s problem. That mindset is not weak, right now you assumed, that is made accordingly and for that, you may Read and Explore Psychology with me “you can subscribe if you want, you will be notified”.

They will target that place which you don’t notice; the living example: Today Fiverr Scam with me

So, let me explain the pictures, when I started fiver, an unknown user came my fiver inbox and said Ahsan, I want to buy one of your offers but I am facing an issue, and I said, okay what is it? the scammer answered that you are new and your payment method is not verified. I believed, because I thought, maybe I am new and they want confirmation first so I said okay let me send my email. They send me a direct mail which you can see in the picture, of course seems scam email, they sent me that and I literary entered my bank account details. When entered, of course my account get washed at once, but the plot twist is that I always use empty accounts for external payments and at the time my account was empty and that account is always empty, so trick number 1 for external payment from the place where you are trying to buy or sell use empty accounts.

Why? Because if they are scammer you will be safe and you will know the right thing in that place how to deal with these kind of people when they come again. Probably, you have a lot of questions, and one of them is that for payments you must have some amount to processed, alright, I agree, but, not for the payment which you receive probably.

Lets say you are a student, and you are out of pocket money, the only way you can receive money from parents is banking, so what will you do to receive that amount, are you supposed to borrow money from parents and transfer that money to the account in which you will be receiving you pocket money and then again ask parents send me the pocket money, if so, I will say you must delete all you tech presence because you are threat for the Web, just kidding.

Because I know since then, that external payments are not the bank way to collect payments. Look into the second picture, where you can see “Receive your amount”. How is it possible that for five thousand pkr, I need 60k to only receive that amount. Come on just send me the money my account is empty its not your concern, if you to, so just click sent, I will receive.

Key Tricks for Staying Safe:

1. Don’t allow third-party access lightly.
2. Know where you are and what you’re doing—stay alert.
3. Have at least basic knowledge before entering new platforms or spaces.

Remember, the digital world is fragile. One wrong click can cost more than money it can cost trust, confidence, and peace of mind.

Read related Article, “Data Breach and socio-infrastructures”