I understand it may be a common practice to have inquires about architecture online but I have gotten a couple offers asking if I would develop floor plans for residental homes?
I'm a student. I know in some juristictions, unlicenced architects can work solo on these types of projects but something just isn't right. Is it some sort of scam of selling these off or using them without compensation cause I wouldn't know better?
Like, I would like to work on these things, I just don't want to get played.
kjdt
Oct 30, 19 4:08 pm
It's usually a scam. Be suspicious, particularly if the email or text provides some excuse for why the "client" can't contact you in person or by phone (most common excuses are that the client is in the military, overseas, on an oil rig, working on a ship, or hearing-impaired.) It's usually a credit card scam in which they try to get you to agree to accept payment in excess of your fees, and then have you transfer the excess to another account (often claiming that the 3rd party is their drafting service, interior designer, or some other consultant or contractor.) The credit card payment will appear to clear, but days to weeks later it will be reversed or rejected and then you'll be out the amount that you sent to the 3rd party, plus your work - plus sometimes bank fees, and sometimes it even results in the bank contacting the authorities and the victim being suspected of perpetrating the fraud.
If they're for real then they should be ok with having a phone conversation. If you really want to err on the side of not inadvertently discriminating against an actually hearing impaired person, tell them you only accept payment through a reputable escrow service, in the exact amount of the transaction - and see if they continue the communications past that point.
kjdt
Oct 30, 19 4:20 pm
There are some other more elaborate schemes that target architects, some of which have even taken in the principals of large, well-known firms, in which the "clients" entice the victims to travel overseas to visit project sites and negotiate contracts. That scam usually goes: convince the clients that there are large local license or permit fees, taxes, etc. that foreign firms must pay to work in that locale, and convince the firm that it's more convenient or a better deal because of currency exchange rates for the firm to pay those fees and all the travel expenses and the "client" to reimburse them. The "clients" wine and dine the firm and themselves lavishly, and then of course the "client's" reimbursement is eventually reversed or rejected by the credit card company, leaving the firm on the hook for the whole pointless trip.
atelier nobody
Oct 30, 19 5:02 pm
Unless you have advertised design services and they are responding to the ad, it's a scam.
NB: There is no such thing as an "unlicensed architect." State laws about what an unlicensed person can design vary, but SFRs are legal in most states. If you do decide to hang out your shingle before you get your license, make sure the words "architect," "architecture," and "architectural" do not appear anywhere associated with your name - your title is "designer." I even put a clause in my contracts stating that I was an "unlicensed designer practicing under the requirements of <code reference>," so that I had it on record I hadn't represented myself as an architect to the client.
kjdt
Oct 30, 19 6:43 pm
I wouldn't go as far as to say that 100% of unsolicited emails about projects are scams. Some of the first projects I got, while I was still in architecture school, were friends-of-friends-of-friends things, who contacted me out of the blue. But it's very easy to determine in the earliest emails back and forth how people found you, what their connection is, and whether they're for real.
citizen
Oct 30, 19 6:09 pm
"The client can't contact you directly because he is currently serving on the International Space Station and/or participating in a secure biodrome study. Please enter your credit card information and social security number below. We look forward to working with you!"
Everyday Architect
Oct 30, 19 6:41 pm
lol, they aren't sure if the client is in space or locked in a dome somewhere?
geezertect
Oct 30, 19 10:14 pm
Getting scammed seems a fit introduction into the profession. LOL.
I understand it may be a common practice to have inquires about architecture online but I have gotten a couple offers asking if I would develop floor plans for residental homes?
I'm a student. I know in some juristictions, unlicenced architects can work solo on these types of projects but something just isn't right. Is it some sort of scam of selling these off or using them without compensation cause I wouldn't know better?
Like, I would like to work on these things, I just don't want to get played.
It's usually a scam. Be suspicious, particularly if the email or text provides some excuse for why the "client" can't contact you in person or by phone (most common excuses are that the client is in the military, overseas, on an oil rig, working on a ship, or hearing-impaired.) It's usually a credit card scam in which they try to get you to agree to accept payment in excess of your fees, and then have you transfer the excess to another account (often claiming that the 3rd party is their drafting service, interior designer, or some other consultant or contractor.) The credit card payment will appear to clear, but days to weeks later it will be reversed or rejected and then you'll be out the amount that you sent to the 3rd party, plus your work - plus sometimes bank fees, and sometimes it even results in the bank contacting the authorities and the victim being suspected of perpetrating the fraud.
If they're for real then they should be ok with having a phone conversation. If you really want to err on the side of not inadvertently discriminating against an actually hearing impaired person, tell them you only accept payment through a reputable escrow service, in the exact amount of the transaction - and see if they continue the communications past that point.
There are some other more elaborate schemes that target architects, some of which have even taken in the principals of large, well-known firms, in which the "clients" entice the victims to travel overseas to visit project sites and negotiate contracts. That scam usually goes: convince the clients that there are large local license or permit fees, taxes, etc. that foreign firms must pay to work in that locale, and convince the firm that it's more convenient or a better deal because of currency exchange rates for the firm to pay those fees and all the travel expenses and the "client" to reimburse them. The "clients" wine and dine the firm and themselves lavishly, and then of course the "client's" reimbursement is eventually reversed or rejected by the credit card company, leaving the firm on the hook for the whole pointless trip.
Unless you have advertised design services and they are responding to the ad, it's a scam.
NB: There is no such thing as an "unlicensed architect." State laws about what an unlicensed person can design vary, but SFRs are legal in most states. If you do decide to hang out your shingle before you get your license, make sure the words "architect," "architecture," and "architectural" do not appear anywhere associated with your name - your title is "designer." I even put a clause in my contracts stating that I was an "unlicensed designer practicing under the requirements of <code reference>," so that I had it on record I hadn't represented myself as an architect to the client.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that 100% of unsolicited emails about projects are scams. Some of the first projects I got, while I was still in architecture school, were friends-of-friends-of-friends things, who contacted me out of the blue. But it's very easy to determine in the earliest emails back and forth how people found you, what their connection is, and whether they're for real.
"The client can't contact you directly because he is currently serving on the International Space Station and/or participating in a secure biodrome study. Please enter your credit card information and social security number below. We look forward to working with you!"
lol, they aren't sure if the client is in space or locked in a dome somewhere?
Getting scammed seems a fit introduction into the profession. LOL.
Boo-yah!