I hired a freelancer through Fiverr for a computer programming job. The individual goes by Abdulrasheed J (@jabdulrasheed43 on Fiverr), but on Telegram, he uses different aliases such as @MOMT_Akinta (https://t.me/MOMT_Akinta) and Mohamed_Ayan, which raises suspicion about his authenticity.
Once he secured the job, he directed me to make payments through PayPal or Bitcoin, using various emails that seemed to be created solely for scamming clients. After receiving the initial payment, he tried to extort more money, claiming he underestimated the amount of work required for the project. When I refused to pay more, he disappeared.
I have reported this individual to Fiverr, but unfortunately, the platform appears to be rife with fake profiles and scams like this. I doubt any meaningful action will be taken to address these issues.