3 Reasons Why There are Scammers in Website Development
07-01-2023
Are you confident you won't be scammed by requesting the website development? Then, you may exit this page. However, If not, please take your time and read this article.
There are several types of fraud in the website development industry. We will look at the prevailing customer deception behavior in web business. There are inherent reasons why website development is vulnerable to these scams. Let's break it into three reasons.
1. Low Financial Barrier
Starting a website development business costs relatively little. Let me give you an example.
How much would it cost to open a cafe? First, you have to pay a premium and rent for the actual use of the building. Wallpaper, paint, counters, tables, chairs, props, coffee machines, etc., must be purchased for the interior and equipment. You must also pay for coffee ingredients, drinks, and dessert food. There are labor costs for hiring employees as well. You also have to pay utility bills such as electricity and water bills. A large amount of money is spent to start the business.
What about the website development business? Let's look at the most accessible business form an individual runs. You don't need a building. You can make and operate a website at home. You don't need interior design. The design of the website is interior design. One laptop with an Internet connection is sufficient for equipment. No labor costs are required. You can start a business with barely any expense.
This is where the so-called 'Eat-and-run' problem occurs. They can close the business after the customer's down payment. This amount is more than their initial expense for the business. This is why many ghost companies disappear only for advance payments. It is a problem caused by the low financial barriers to entering the industry.
2. Fake Information
How do previous ghost companies open consumers' wallets? The Internet is where anonymity is guaranteed. It's hard for someone to identify you unless you disclose it.
Bad website development businesses take advantage of this. They fabricate websites with fake portfolios, careers, and reviews. They pretend to be professionals. It is not easy for customers to determine the authenticity of this information. Eventually, they are deceived by manipulated information and pay for the service fee.
The customer will then receive poor deliverables. It is an unknown company not registered as a business, even if you try to take legal action afterward. The country or region to which the company belongs is also unknown and cannot even be identified. The email and phone number of the company you received are also unavailable for one-time contact.
Fraud companies deceive customers with their fake appearance. He cries wine and sells vinegar.
3. Technical Knowledge
Web development requires technical knowledge. Customers in other industries rarely have it. Therefore, Knowing the technical aspects of how websites are created is hard. How do scammers deceive customers with this?
Let's take another example of a previous cafe. Customers order coffee made from high-quality beans. However, the bad cafe owner takes advantage of the fact that customers don't know coffee well. And they serve coffee with low-cost beans sold at regular marts. The customer doesn't know yet, is reluctant, and asks to check. The vice owner will then mix unknown jargon and say that's how it is. The customer agrees as if there is no choice.
The above story can be applied directly to the web development business. Replace web development for the cafe—a website for coffee. Read the basic/premium websites by substituting them for low-cost/high-end. Such substandard deliverables are deceiving customers as if they were industry standards.
On the other hand, they charge excessive development costs for essential services. A simple code correction can cost you 30% of the development cost.
Some businesses steal copyrighted online materials without permission. Customers may be caught in legal action later on for copyright infringement without knowing this. Without basic knowledge of web development, you may be vulnerable to fraud.
So far, we've looked at three reasons why there are so many scammers in the web development industry. Let's sum up.
1. Low Financial Barrier
Some people think they have nothing to lose and turn their backs
on customers.
2. Fake Information
It's not hard at all to open an online store with fabricated
things.
3. Technical Knowledge
Anyone can be ripped off in areas they don't know.
Then how do we avoid these pitfalls? We’ll cover that in the next article.