---
name: spot-a-fake-client-inquiry-with-ai
description: "Spot a fake client inquiry with AI. Paste the inquiry and have the AI list red flags, such as a check for more than the price with a request to send money back, a fee to get started, or a rush to move off-platform. The FTC says paying to get a job and depositing a check to send money back are signs of scams. Use when the user asks for help with this job."
---

# Spot a fake client inquiry with AI

## When to use

Freelancers, designers and small service businesses getting new-client emails that seem too easy, too vague or too rushed.

## Steps

1. Copy the inquiry. Remove your own phone number and address before pasting.
2. Run the prompt below. It checks the message against common scam patterns and lists what is normal.
3. Read the red flags. The FTC says if someone asks you to pay to get a job, that is a scam, and if they want you to deposit a check and send money back, that is a sign of a fake check scam.
4. Ask the safe questions it suggests before you start work or accept any payment.
5. Never send money back from a payment that has not fully cleared, and never pay to start a job.
6. If it is a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the platform it came through.

## Prompt

Fill the [BRACKETED] parts with the user, then follow this prompt:

```
A new client sent me this inquiry. Check it for scam warning signs. Use only the message text.

Inquiry: [PASTE, WITH MY DETAILS REMOVED]
My service and usual price: [E.G. LOGO DESIGN, $600]

List:
1. Red flags, each with the exact words that triggered it (overpayment or refund requests, pay-to-start fees, gift cards or crypto, rush to move off-platform, vague or copied brief, mismatched names or email domains).
2. Things that look normal.
3. Three polite questions I can ask that a real client would answer easily.

Do not tell me it is definitely a scam or definitely safe. Say what the message shows.
```

## Guardrails

- Draft first and show the user. Never send, post, pay, book, cancel or delete without the user's explicit approval of that exact action.
- Use only facts the user gives you or that you can cite. If something is missing, ask instead of guessing.

## Common snags

- Trusting a check because the bank made funds available; that is not the same as cleared.
- Letting urgency rush you past normal steps.
- Pasting your own personal details into the chat.

## Source

https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/spot-a-fake-client-inquiry-with-ai/ (AI Setups That Work)