How to check a new client is legit before you start work (freelancers, agencies and small businesses)

Quick answer

To check a new client is legit, confirm the person is real (a work email on the company's domain, a video call, a profile that matches), confirm the company is real in its official registry (state business search, Companies House, or the EU business register), and check that its website, phone and address line up. Never accept a check for more than the invoice or forward money to a "vendor". Take a deposit, sign a written contract, and bill in milestones.

Key numbers

• $3.05 billionlost to business email compromise in 2025, across 24,768 complaints to the FBIFBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report
• $503 millionlost to non-payment and non-delivery fraud reported to the FBI in 2025FBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report
• 62%of New York freelancers surveyed had lost wages because a client never paid for completed workFreelancers Union
• £41.3mlost to invoice and mandate scams through UK banks in 2025UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026

A new client emails out of the blue. The budget is good, the timeline is tight, and they want to start Monday. Most of the time that is just a good week. Sometimes it is a fake check scam, a company that doesn't exist, or a real business that will take your work and never pay.

The cost is real. In a survey by the Freelancers Union and partner groups, 62% of New York freelancers said they had lost wages because a client never paid for finished work. The FBI logged $503 million in non-payment and non-delivery losses in 2025. A 20-minute check before you start catches most of the bad ones.

How do I know if a new client is legit?

A new client is likely legit if the person, the company and the payment all check out independently: a real person with a verifiable role, a company that is registered and active, and payment terms that don't ask you to move money for them. Run these five checks before you send a proposal or start work:

1. The person: do they use a work email on the company's own domain, and do their name and role show up somewhere you didn't get from them?
2. The company: is it in the official business registry, active, with a name and address that match what they told you?
3. The contact details: do the website, phone number and address you find independently match the ones in their email?
4. The payment: will they pay a deposit by a normal business method, with no overpayment and no "please pay our vendor"?
5. The paperwork: will they sign a written contract with your payment terms?

A client who passes all five is very unlikely to be a scam. A client who pushes back on more than one is telling you something.

What scams target freelancers and agencies?

The most common scams aimed at freelancers and small agencies are overpayment and fake check scams, fake "vendor" payments, impersonation of real brands, malware sent as a project brief, and work taken without payment. Each has a pattern.

Overpayment and fake check scams

The client sends a check or payment for more than the agreed fee and asks you to forward the extra to a third party: a stylist, a printer, a "project coordinator". The payment bounces days or weeks later, and you owe your bank the money you forwarded. The BBB warned in July 2026 that scammers posing as magazines, marketing firms and event companies were targeting photographers, videographers and designers this way. In February 2026, Designers Today reported an interior designer who received a check for more than $25,000 from "clients" who had signed a contract and done a Zoom call. The check was fake.

We've sent the full payment plus $3,800 for the makeup artist and venue. Please send her share by Zelle today so she can hold the date.

The FTC is blunt about this: seeing the funds in your account doesn't mean the check is good, and you are responsible for repaying the bank.

Fake vendor and equipment purchases

A variation: you are told to buy software, equipment or a "license" from a specific supplier, to be reimbursed later. The supplier is the scammer. Kaspersky documented fake game-studio recruiters using this exact script on artists, with a fake check delivered by courier late on a Friday so it couldn't be checked before the weekend.

Impersonated companies

Scammers use the name, logo and staff names of a real company, writing from a lookalike domain or a free email account. The company is real; the person is not. This is why checking the registry alone is not enough.

Malware disguised as a brief

The "client" sends a project file that is really a program, often a zip or .exe, or asks you to install a meeting app from a link. Interior designers in the Designers Today report saw Zoom calls followed by a link to an .exe file. Real briefs are documents, not software.

Clients who just don't pay

Not every bad client is a criminal. Many are real businesses that delay, dispute or disappear. The Freelancers Union survey found 91% of respondents had been paid late at least once. The defense here is contracts and deposits, covered below.

How do I verify a client is who they say they are?

Verify a client by confirming their identity through channels they didn't give you. Their email, phone number and LinkedIn link all come from them, so check them against independent sources.

• Email domain matches the company. A marketing director at a real brand writes from that brand's domain, not Gmail or a near-copy like the brand's name plus "-group" or "hq".
• Call the company's main number from its official website, not the one in the email signature, and ask for the person by name.
• Do a video call. Real clients will take a short call. Repeated excuses are a warning sign.
• Check their professional profile for history, connections and activity. Our guide to spotting fake LinkedIn profiles covers the signs of a made-up one.
• Search their name with the company name and look for news, conference talks or their name on the company's own site.

A Search A-Z business search does several of these at once. Enter the person's full name and country, and add the company, email or phone if you have them. The report says how confident we are that we found the right person, then shows their current job and company, work history, public professional profiles, news and web mentions from a live web search, and any public scam or fraud warnings. It checks whether their email and phone are real and flags fraud risk, finds their work email, and shows company registration details: UK Companies House roles and the worldwide LEI register. They are never told you searched.

Search A-Z is not a consumer reporting agency, so don't use it to decide credit for an individual. If you want to offer payment terms based on a business's creditworthiness, use a commercial business credit report from a credit reference agency.

How do I check a client's company is real?

Check a client's company by finding it in the official business registry for the country where it says it is based, then comparing the registered name, status, address and officers with what the client told you. For a deeper look, see our guide on how to check if a company is legit.

In the UK, it is now harder to put a fake person on the register: from 18 November 2025, new directors must verify their identity with Companies House, and existing directors must do so with their company's next confirmation statement. A company founded last month, with a director at a virtual office address, and a client claiming years of history, doesn't add up.

• The company was registered very recently, or is dissolved or "proposal to strike off"
• The registered name or address doesn't match the contract or invoice details
• The website is new, has stock photos and no named team, or copies another firm
• The client's name isn't among the officers and they can't explain their role

How do I avoid fake check and overpayment scams?

Avoid overpayment scams with one rule: never send money onward from a client payment. If a client "accidentally" overpays, the only acceptable fix is to refund the full payment to them, by the same method, after it has fully cleared, or to return the check uncashed and ask for the correct amount.

• Invoice exactly, and accept only the invoiced amount.
• Prefer bank transfers, card payments or established invoicing platforms over paper checks from new clients.
• If you do take a check, call your bank to ask whether it has actually cleared, not just whether funds are "available".
• Never buy gift cards, crypto or equipment on a client's behalf.
• Confirm any change of payment details by phone, using a number you already had. Our guide to verifying an email sender explains why: business email compromise cost $3.05 billion in 2025, according to the FBI.

How do I protect myself from clients who don't pay?

Protect yourself from non-payers with a written contract, an upfront deposit and billing in stages, so you are never far ahead of what you've been paid.

1. Sign a contract with scope, deliverables, fee, payment dates, a late fee, and who owns the work until it is paid for.
2. Take a deposit before starting, for example a third or half of the fee from a new client.
3. Bill in milestones on longer projects, and pause work when a payment is late.
4. Hold final files or transfer rights only on final payment.
5. Get the billing contact and the legal entity name, so you know who to chase.

UK: under the late payment rules, if no date is agreed, a business-to-business invoice is late 30 days after delivery or the invoice, whichever is later. You can charge statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate unless your contract sets another rate.

What are the red flags of a fake or bad client?

The biggest red flags are pressure to start fast, refusing a call, paying more than you asked, and asking you to send money to someone else.

Before a first meeting with a bigger prospect, our checklist on researching someone before a business meeting helps you go in prepared.

What should I do if a client scams me?

If a client scams you, call your bank or payment provider straight away to try to stop or reverse payments, then report it. Fast action matters most with wire transfers and instant payments.

• US: report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also warn others on BBB Scam Tracker.
• UK: report to Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud) at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040, and tell your bank.
• EU: report to your national police and your bank.
• Report the account on whichever platform the client found you through.

For a genuine client who simply won't pay, send a formal demand letter, then use small claims court (US) or the Money Claim Online service (England and Wales).

The bottom line

Before you start work, confirm the person, the company and the payment independently, using registries and contact details you found yourself. Never forward money from a client payment, and protect your time with a contract, a deposit and milestone billing. Real clients won't mind; scammers will disappear.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if a client is legit?

Confirm the person (work email on the company domain, a video call, a matching professional profile), confirm the company in its official registry, and check that independently found contact details match. Then insist on a contract and a deposit paid by a normal business method.

What is the overpayment scam for freelancers?

A fake client sends a check or payment for more than your fee and asks you to forward the extra to a third party, such as a vendor or assistant. The payment later bounces and you owe your bank the money you sent. Never forward money from a client payment.

Should I accept a check from a new client?

Be cautious. Banks make funds available before a check is confirmed, and a fake can bounce weeks later, leaving you liable. Prefer bank transfer or card payment from new clients, and never spend or forward money from a check until your bank confirms it has truly cleared.

How do I verify a UK client's company?

Search it free on Companies House. Check it is active, that accounts aren't overdue, and that the directors and registered address match what the client told you. Since 18 November 2025, directors must verify their identity with Companies House.

How much deposit should a freelancer ask for?

Ask enough that you aren't badly exposed if they vanish, for example a third or half of the fee upfront, with the rest in milestones or on delivery. A real client who values your work will usually agree. Refusing any deposit is a warning sign.

Can I use Search A-Z to check a client's credit?

No. Search A-Z is not a consumer reporting agency and doesn't provide credit reports. It helps you confirm a business contact is real. For creditworthiness, use a commercial business credit report.

Sources

1. FBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report
2. Freelancers Union: over 60% of NY freelancers report not being paid for work performed
3. UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026
4. FTC: fake check scams
5. KTXS: BBB warns creative professionals of overpayment scam targeting freelancers (July 2026)
6. Designers Today: interior designers warn of sophisticated client scams (February 2026)
7. Kaspersky: how scammers targeted ArtStation freelancers
8. Penningtons Manches Cooper: Companies House mandatory identity verification from 18 November 2025
9. GOV.UK: late commercial payments, charging interest

Figures are the latest published by each source when this guide was updated. Reported fraud losses are a floor: most fraud is never reported.