How Did an Unknown Ghostwriter Become Part of an Identity Theft Crime?

A warning to freelancers

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Taylor (not their real name) received an email indicating someone sent them a message on LinkedIn. “I hadn’t logged onto LinkedIn in a while,” Taylor told me. “When I checked it out, it was someone requesting my services as a ghostwriter.” Taylor and I began to use LinkedIn during the lockdown to increase our job prospects. We took advantage of their Services section where one can advertise up to five freelance services one performs. Though together we had professional experience as both creative and technical writers, neither of us had any significant ghostwriting opportunities. We both selected ghostwriting as one of the services we provided.

Taylor responded to the LinkedIn message that they would be interested in learning more about the opportunity. James (not his real name), the potential client, wanted to move the communication off LinkedIn and provided his email address. Taylor checked out James’s profile and saw that he was an agent at an insurance firm in Colorado. “Nothing seemed exceptional,” Taylor said. “Even the education section of his LinkedIn profile seemed ordinary.” In the brief email exchange, Taylor learned that he needed an article written about the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. James provided a thorough outline, specified a length of 3500 words, and a price of $3000 of which half would be paid upfront. “With an outline already in place, a lot of the work was already done,” Taylor said. “The interaction seemed professional. I was told to send a letter of agreement and an address to send the check.”

When the check hadn’t arrived a week later, Taylor sent an email asking if the project was still on. James replied back apologizing for the delay while also stating that the check would be arriving for the full amount of $3000 and that this project had a second and third “phase” that would be compensated at the same rate. I asked Taylor, “You’re getting paid in full and he hasn’t even read a word you’ve written for him yet?” Taylor also thought that this was unconventional, but a check arrived a week later for $6000 instead of $3000. Taylor sent an email asking about the extra money. The reply was that the funds were for both the first and second phases of the project. Taylor responded that…