Dealing online these days is a risky business. Which is exactly what this post is about. I’ve dealt with dozens of clients in my internet career and over time, I learned what it is like to do business with those that live half a world away, those that live in the same state as you, and finally those that say they live in one place but instead live somewhere else and are lying to you.

Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way, that not everyone can be trusted. For a while, I had a trust-all mentality which is probably why I have been burned several times along the way. Now, I’m not saying don’t trust your clients; I think it’s a perfectly good idea to embed some form of trust in that person, but BE CAREFUL!! Not everyone seems to be who they are!

Let me give a brief example. Not more than a year ago, I was looking for dedicated web hosting and came across an individual that seemed to provide some fairly decent service.  I talked with him and everything seemed to check out so I sent him half of the payment so that he could set up the server and then we’d continue with the deal. Had I simply Googled his email, I would have found out this guy was a scammer who told various stories in order to get the most out of people. Luckily I only gave this guy a small payment and did research him before giving the entire payment.

Researching clients is also a good way to get a feel of who they are and how they act and talk. Some people tend to be very formal, while others not so formal. Knowing this has helped me set my tone correctly when working with them.

There’s a lot to be said on this topic, but I think that’s enough for now. I apologize for my posting frequency, I know it’s been pretty lame, but I’ll be working to improve it.

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