Uber can be credited as the pioneer of the On-demand services that we see in abundance today. Its advent of its Taxi Booking System was critical as it not only transformed the taxi industry but also laid a path for the entrepreneurs and developers to provide Uber for X services.
Soon after Uber we saw On-demand applications for food delivery, eCommerce, healthcare, logistics, professional services and many more.
All the entrepreneurs got busy in developing their own Uber for X services to boost their enterprise business.
But sadly, the rising demand of Uber for X services has also attracted scammers. As more and more techpreneurs look for Uber for X clone scripts, the number of scam companies selling fraudulent on-demand apps has also increased.
How does the scam occur?
It’s important to know that in this day and age of internet and technology where people are so aware of how these scams take place so easily and frequently? I would list out two factors resulting to this, which are: 1. Ignorance and 2. Lack of patience.
These two factors are also interrelated as one is the precursor of the other. When a techpreneurs is in a hurry to develop an Uber like app for its company then he/she might not be as careful as one must be, which gives birth to the ignorance.
On the other hand, an ignorant client won’t know the value of being patient and would go ahead with the deal anyway.
We discussed the psyche of the prey, now let’s discuss the psyche of the predator. The people who scam others know very well about the ignorance and lack of patient of the techpreneurs and thus take full advantage of it.
They make the techpreneurs believe in their company by showing them the websites and work which in reality doesn’t exists.
How scamming puts you on a dead-end?
The best way to get rid of scammers is to check the demo of the app. Generally, the well-known companies that have a fair amount of experience would already have an application developed by them.
Moreover, they would also have a working demo for their clients to get a better understanding of the app’s working.
The companies which don’t have a working demo with them and still asks for the payments are the ones you should be careful about.
If you still decide to pay to such company then you’re figuratively doing the payment in the darkness without knowing the exact outcome.
Such scenario will have two adverse outcomes for you. Firstly, the company will take your money and cease to exist or they will give you a product that you didn’t ask for.
This leaves you in a precarious situation which restricts you from taking any legal action since you never saw the product prior to the payment.
In such case, all your money is gone and you’re either left with nothing or an app that adds no value to you.
These kind of scams usually takes place with Gojek clone scripts. Gojek is the first unicorn company from Indonesia and provides a plethora of Uber for X services.
Many techpreneurs in an attempt to replicate the Gojek’s success get trapped by the scammers.
How to prevent such predatory scammers?
Prefer skeptical companies
It may sound weird, but yes you must choose skeptical companies over the rest. It’s because like you even the app development companies are under the constant threat of fake clients.
However, a fraud app development company will have nothing to lose and thus it won’t be skeptical regarding their client.
So, if you find that the app development company is asking or scrutinizing you too much then you shouldn’t get annoyed by it, but on the contrary you must see it as a positive sign as the chances of that company being fraud are minimal.
Always ask for a demo
The simplest and most foolproof way to be sure that you’re not being conned is to ask for a live demo. A live demo would answer many questions like 1. Authenticity of the app 2. Working of app and 3. Whether the app is worth paying for.
White-labelling of your app
In white-labelling, an app developed by a company is completely revamped, branded, and launched under the name and logo of some other company.
White-labelling is important as it keeps your authority over the app and eliminates the scenario of intellectual property theft.
Sign a non-disclosure agreement
This may seem as a normal or even insignificant thing, but signing a non-disclosure agreement with the company that develops your app is imperative.
There are many reasons for this, first you don’t want to disclose the identity of the app development company. Because if you do then your rivals can easily contact them and develop an app superior to yours.
However, this is not the only reason why must go for an NDA. It includes many essential things like portfolios, review, testimonials which are hosted by the taxi app development company.
Conclusion
If you’re a first-time entrepreneur then it becomes extremely important for you to be careful about the scammers in the world of mobile app development.
The situation isn’t that scary as you can avoid it by taking some simple steps.Like you can simply visit the company’s workplace and speak to them directly.
If that’s not possible then talk to them over video calls or phone calls which will help you to check their authenticity. If the company is authentic then you’ll see their employees working.
Moreover, you can cross check the data mentioned on their website to what you saw in person or on video call. You can easily check if they have a staff that can handle your project or not.
You must understand the fact there are many people who are just looking to make some easy money by employing wrong means.
So, you always have to be careful whenever you go for an Uber clone app or a cloud taxi dispatch system. I hope that the way I mentioned above will help you in finding a genuine mobile development company in future.
