Exposing EBS#2574: How I Fell Victim to a Freelancing Scam

Introduction

Recently, I had a negative experience with a freelancer I hired to work on a Discord scraper program. The freelancer, who goes by the name EBS (EBS#2574), was hired to create a program that would scrape billions of messages from Discord. I thought EBS was a reputable freelancer and trusted him to deliver the work, but unfortunately, the program he delivered was not what we had agreed upon.

In this blog post, I want to share my experience with EBS and offer advice to others who may be considering hiring a freelancer for similar work. I believe it's important to be cautious when hiring freelancers and to thoroughly vet them before agreeing to work with them. By sharing my story, I hope to help others avoid similar situations and protect themselves and their businesses.

I hired EBS through the 2b2t Signed Book Network, which is a Discord server that connects Minecraft players who want to trade signed books. EBS offered his services as a freelancer, and I thought he seemed like a trustworthy and capable person. We agreed on a deal for him to create a Discord scraper program that would scrape billions of messages from Discord using tokens, proxies, and invite links as input.

The Deal

After discussing the details of the project with EBS, we agreed on a deal for him to create a Discord scraper program that would scrape billions of messages from Discord. The program would take tokens, proxies, and invite links as input and would be designed to join servers and scrape messages from them. We agreed on a price and a deadline for the project, and I sent EBS the tokens and proxies he needed to start the work.

At the time, I believed that EBS was a capable freelancer and that he would be able to deliver the work as promised. We communicated regularly throughout the project, and EBS kept me updated on his progress. He seemed professional and knowledgeable about the work he was doing, and I felt confident that he would deliver a high-quality program.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, and I was left with a program that did not meet my expectations. Despite our initial agreement, EBS delivered a very basic program that simply downloaded all the messages from the channels that the tokens were already in. It did not join servers, which was the main point of the program, and it did not scrape billions of messages as promised. I was disappointed with the work and felt that I had been misled by EBS.

I removed my messages shortly after since they were pertaining to avoiding discord's bot detection. But I asked him how he was going to avoid CAPTCHA when joining servers, he told me he could use an alternative program. I told him to build it in and he replied "It won't be too hard to setup." He never ended up coding that. This is most of what I was hiring someone to make.

The Work

When EBS delivered the program, I was disappointed with the quality of the work. It was a very basic program that did not meet the requirements of the project. Despite our initial agreement, the program did not join servers, which was the main point of the program. Instead, it simply downloaded all the messages from the channels that the tokens were already in. This was not what I had asked for, and it was not worth the price that I had paid.

I contacted EBS to express my concerns and to request changes to the program. However, EBS was not willing to make any changes and insisted that the program was as promised. I felt frustrated and cheated by EBS, and I regretted hiring him for the project. It was clear that he had not delivered what he had promised, and I felt that I had been scammed.

Exposing EBS

After receiving the program from EBS, it became clear that he had not delivered on what we had agreed to. The program was very basic and did not include the invite joiner functionality that was the main point of the program. It was clear that he had not put in the effort to create a functional program as agreed. When I brought this to his attention, he became defensive and argumentative, refusing to admit that he had not delivered what we had agreed to.

I also gathered evidence to support my claims, including screenshots of our conversations and the program he had delivered. I made sure to keep a record of all of our interactions in case I needed to take legal action against him in the future.

By sharing my experience and warning others about EBS, I hope to prevent others from falling victim to his scams. It is important to be cautious when hiring freelancers and to thoroughly vet them before agreeing to work with them. By taking steps to protect ourselves and each other, we can help build a safer and more trustworthy online community.

Red Flags

When working with EBS, there were a few red flags that should have given me pause. For one, he used Java to build the scraper program, While Java is a perfectly valid programming language, it's not the best choice for this type of project and it made me wonder whether EBS was truly qualified for the job. Had I asked which language he was going to use before hand, I may have been able to sus out the scam.

Another red flag was EBS's profile picture on Discord, which showed him flaunting a wad of cash that he had stolen from me. While this may seem like a minor detail, it made me question whether EBS was more interested in making a quick buck than in delivering quality work. In retrospect, I should have taken this as a warning sign and looked for a more professional freelancer.

Overall, these red flags should have alerted me to potential issues with EBS's work and made me more cautious about working with him. While it's always possible that things could have turned out differently, these warning signs should not be ignored when working with freelancers.

Moving Forward

While my experience with EBS was disappointing, I learned some valuable lessons about working with freelancers and protecting myself and my business. In the future, I plan to be more cautious when hiring freelancers and to thoroughly vet them before agreeing to work with them. This may include asking for references, reviewing their portfolio and past work, and checking their reputation on freelancing platforms.

I also plan to be more specific about my expectations and requirements from the outset of any project. This may include drafting a detailed contract that outlines the scope of work, the price, the deadline, and any other relevant terms and conditions. By setting clear expectations, I hope to avoid any misunderstandings or disputes with freelancers in the future.

Finally, I plan to continue to educate myself on best practices for working with freelancers and protecting myself and my business. This may include attending workshops, networking with other professionals, and seeking out resources and advice online. By staying informed and proactive, I hope to ensure that my future experiences with freelancers are positive and productive.

Conclusion

My experience with EBS was disappointing, but it taught me some valuable lessons about working with freelancers and protecting myself and my business.