Scam Projects on freelancer.com

There has been a lot of projects on freelancer.com where freelancers got awarded, but the "customer" than never actually starts the projects and declines every communication. So what? The problem is: freelancers get charged their 10% fee on the projectvolume immediatly. Even if the "customer" obviously never intended to start a real project, the freelancer has to pay these 10% with no way of a refund.
You will now ask your self, why someone should do this, though the "customer" gets nothing from that? Good question. But there is someone owning money by that fraudulent projects: freelancer.com!
There are a bunch of indicators that freelancer.com itself is making up these fraudulent projects. For example there where cases, when such a fraudulent "employee-account" doining this not only once, not twice, but a few dozens of times for hours straight, posting all these "projects", awarding, declining communication and instead keep on posting. Of cause, those has been reported a few times, but freelancer.com-"support" neither reacted, nor refund the charged freelancers.

What for is that fee?

Well, a fair price for the provided work?
No, there has no work beeing provided. That's not the freelancers fault, he/she is not able to check an employee first, because the employee-profiles are invisible until they write to you or award you.
Maybe it's for the service to bring together employees and freelancers?
No, they aren't real customers, because they never start a project. A service would include either a check before they can post projects and award freelancers or at least a refund if the provided work turns out to be fake.
Okay, last guess: It's for using the platform?
No, for using the platform you have to make an account and to use it properly chose a paid plan.

In conclusion

They will take your money (as they are used to do) and leave you without any shelter and in the same time are the only one to profit from this fraud. This suggest that they are making them up theirselfes.

How to protect yourself

• Be careful if you see the very same project more than once.
• Be careful if the project description is very poor with informations about the actual task.
• Do not accept a project without talking to the customer. Real customers love to talk, will have questions and appreciate your questions.