Web Design Request for Proposal Scam?
Yesterday, I received a request for proposal (RFP). This RFP was fairly detailed, with the exception of having the person's contact information. The person who requested the proposal had a very common name, and didn't leave a phone number, address or company name. I found that a bit unusual, but it sometimes happens.
I then decided to ask for this information prior to working up a proposal. The person replied that they prefer not to give this information to me until after the proposal is done. So now, I am getting a little suspicious. I replied that in order for me to give to prepare a proposal, I hope in exchange, I can at least get contact information. Proposals don't take a minute to write up and I'd like to know whom to formally make it out to.
He finally replied with contact information but even that contact information looked strange. The company name was no where to be found on Google. The address did not match a real address on Google Maps. And I found no real matches for the phone number in a Google web search. I replied to this person as follows:
Not trying to be difficult, but is the address below correct or is there a typo?
So either I insulted the guy and he doesn't want my proposal or he is hiding something?
I tweeted this morning the question, "Why would someone send me a request for proposal and give me fake contact info for the proposal?" I received a handful of responses:
@fairminder @rustybrick saboteurs
@JJC13 @rustybrick Hey How you doing? Maybe they are testing your patience hahaha
@digi_planner @rustybrick Thats just weird
@DBSEO @rustybrick sounds like a phishing scam
Maybe I was wrong to be so persistent on asking for contact information, but something seemed out of place here. My thoughts on what it might have been? Possibly someone trying to get me to write a proposal they can use and pitch to their prospects? Possibly someone looking for my proposal templates? Possibly someone really looking for a proposal for themselves? Again, I'll likely never know.
Would you give a proposal to someone for a major project without knowing their true contact information?
Published January 26, 2010 by:
Barry
Barry Schwartz is the CEO of RustyBrick, a New York Web service firm specializing in customized online technology that helps companies decrease costs and increase sales. Barry is also the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable and the News Editor of Search Engine Land. He is well known & respected for his expertise in the search marketing industry. Barry graduated from the City University of New York and lives with his family in the NYC region.
This article is under General Business
There are 13 comments for this post
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13 COMMENTS
posted by on: Jan 27, 2010 02:09pm
solid post, Barry... And while we've had much of the same kind of "sidewalk consultation" type request for a ballpark website re-design, I noted that this one was for the full proposal. And like others here, I too think that this must have come from a competitor - or a friend of a competitor to help their own pricing. Glad to see too that you didn't donate to their 'biz espionage' -- and no, we wouldn't do that either! :-) Jim
posted by on: Jan 26, 2010 08:54pm
yeah they could have just tried to get some info of you you to see how you operate... Sounds weird to me!!!
posted by Barry Schwartz on: Jan 26, 2010 08:30pm
Personally, I am surprised there are not comments on the picture I used on this blog post. McLovin!
posted by Scott Clark on: Jan 26, 2010 08:26pm
Website proposals take a lot of time to produce - unless you just throw out a boilerplate. I do not believe those who say they "just want to avoid calls." Anyone who has done a smidgen of due diligence about RB should realize this is not a concern. This sounds like a waste of your time.
posted by Matt Friesen on: Jan 26, 2010 06:41pm
My guess is a competing company looking for competition pricing and proposal format. I've had a few experiences that seem fishy, but if the prospect won't play ball, why bother pursuing?
posted by Barry Schwartz on: Jan 26, 2010 06:07pm
This guy was very quick to reply to all my questions.
posted by Barry Schwartz on: Jan 26, 2010 05:51pm
Nah, don't think either. I was willing to give a ballpark price but they wanted a full proposal. Same with client, doesn't make sense.
posted by Alex Fierro on: Jan 26, 2010 05:01pm
My guess was a competing company looking for ballpark prices from competitors. Or maybe a current client looking to see if you're charging him extra because you don't like him maybe!
posted by on: Jan 26, 2010 04:16pm
It was really Ronnie making sure you were keeping up with work, not just blogging all day LOL JK :-P
posted by Barry Schwartz on: Jan 26, 2010 04:14pm
I should have added that I was willing to give a generic ball park price, without this information. He specifically wanted a full proposal.
posted by Martin on: Jan 26, 2010 04:05pm
I know some people are worried about giving details because they just want to get a rough idea of cost etc and don't want to then be bombarded with calls chasing them up. However, if this person has given such a detailed RFP then I would imagine they would be at least serious enough to give their details. So I'd say it's either a comparison and they're probably going with someone else anyway, or it's a competitor... but all guess work I suppose.
posted by DBSEO on: Jan 26, 2010 03:47pm
Seems very strange, and you are right to be suspicious - how long do they usually take to respond to your requests? If it is longer than usual then they probably were just trying to check out your proposal (spying) as yehudaj mentions to find a cheaper quote for the project. PS. Thank you for the mention :D
posted by on: Jan 26, 2010 03:35pm
Perhaps, it is a competing web dev company, proposed client accidentally mentions they may go to RB if they don't like the proposal, or rather they bluffed saying they already had and was quoted a cheaper price, and said competitor was checking up?