Does anyone work as a freelancer and sometimes get vibes that tell you something isn't right about a situation or person?
Even just through text messaging, I got the vibes recently, while writing an article on the top ten greatest Metallica moments.
Okay, let me break this all down for you, as often the case is, I at first didn't make too much of anything until all these different things started to surface.
To start, I like to use Upwork now and then. I found the job there, listed as a writing job for metal music. Of course, I applied and got an interview. I then noticed that, according to Upwork, the publisher, Saad Muzaffar, works for the company Interscape Media Corp, and resides in Pakistan.
Now, if you Google Interscape Media Corp, you get two main results. Number one is Interscapemedia.com, which my browser blocks as a suspicious site. More so, the business itself is a bit shady stating in the Google results "InMarket Data Targeting uses our core technologies (Behavioral Tracking, Identity Resolution and AI Machine Learning) to find prospects who are actively pursuing a purchase of YOUR product or service."
The other two are in Florida and New York, maybe I'll give them a call and ask if they run the MetalShout website :)
Also of note relating to this, even though I can't confirm his company, I can confirm that Upwork says he is in Pakistan. However, if you go to the MetalShout Twitter page, for instance, the account mentions California as the publication's residence. Another oddity added to the smoke. With enough, there's sure to be a fire, right?
Another thing adding to the bad vibes is that Muzaffar is HORRIBLE at corresponding. He doesn't answer the actual questions being asked, and then when we finally work one part of the contract out, the very next step would again be vaguely explained.
Finally, I wrote the article. Thanks to Upwork, the client can't see the work until they pay me, and after payment goes through, the publisher asks for an email with no context as to what they would use it for. There was no prior discussion of this, so I asked what it would be used for. Almost a WEEK later, I checked their site and found they published the article, which is fine, cause I did get paid. However, it was under another author's name, Santiago Motto.
I messaged the publisher on UPwork, asking them why this happened and to change it or I would have to consider calling it plagiarism. Upon this, he messaged me within 20 minutes on Upwork saying it was an accident, that it was accidentally published under the other author's name because it is alphabetically similar to my own.
This seems fishy too, for the author's picture is next to his name in the author spot at the bottom of the article, implying the publisher would have had to ask me for a headshot if he was planning on publishing my piece and giving me proper credit. So why didn't he reach out and ask for my headshot before publishing? Odd...
In conclusion, it would seem to me that there's a chance that Interscape Media Corp could indeed run websites whose visitors have succumbed to their behavior-tracking technology, at which point they bundle said data and sell to the highest bidder.
What do ya'll think? Am I being paranoid?