-
Is this a scam?
Posted by on December 10, 2025 at 11:02 amHi, I am a new business owner only 1 site to manage. I have encountered this email about a guest post for $800, and i feel it is too good to be true. Can I get your help to verify this?
Email context:
Thanks for reaching out. we're currently charging $800 for a guest post and link insertion on Forbes dot com.Links will be followed, and articles will be published under admin accounts.
Content Guidelines:Length: Approximately 500 to 800+ words
May include links to resources
Please Read the answer of the FAQs.
The price for guest posts is $800.
The fee for article writing is 10$.
All links provided are do-follow.
Links are permanent.
A maximum of three outbound links is allowed per article.
We offer link insertion and niche edits on existing posts.
First order will be processed after receiving 50% advance payment.
Only accepted payment methods: USDT, Payoneer, Bank Transfer,
Please send us your article as soon as you have it and we will review it.Let us know if you have any questions?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you -
1 Reply
-
I’ve seen forbes cheaper…and frankly I wouldn’t engage with anyone who emailed me about paying them for guest posts. I don’t know if this specific one is a scam, but yes, you can buy an article on Forbes…or at least an article buried somewhere deep on their website.
-
So Forbes sells backlinks and Google does nothing about it?
-
If a link is easily accessible, it probably isn’t very effective. I understand it’s $800 and it’s Forbes, but typically when a link is THIS accessible or public – it’s not going to be the silver bullet you want it to be. Or worse – you get scammed and/or penalized.
Also, looks like they replied to you? Or did they contact you first? How did you hear about them?
> First order will be processed after receiving 50% advance payment.
$400 for a “trust me bro” from someone you don’t even know is a massive red flag to me.
Unless that is getting you on a high traffic page on Forbes for a banger of an anchor text AND you can figure out if it’s BS or not before paying them – I wouldn’t touch this with a ten foot pole.
-
Forbes have been doing this for ages, pretty low quality but you can say seen on Forbes!
If you do go direct.
-
The bots see the filter pop up and go “aww cute” then immediately write stuff like this
-
It is impossible to say in general terms whether it is fraud. For a single guest post, I think it’s easy money for the agency and way too overpriced for you.
Especially if you don’t know anything about this area, it’s easy to find yourself contacted by agencies who will take massive advantage of it financially to your detriment.
A single guest post will have minimal, if any, relevance to improving your website’s visibility. Naturalness and relevance also play a big role in where they are then published.
You should think in advance about what goal you are pursuing with your website.
I would recommend that you either do a little bit of search engine optimization yourself or look for an agency, even on a recommendation, who can make suitable suggestions for you and tailor a good cost-performance package to your needs.
-
This is a scam. You can buy a backlink on Forbes only through press releases, not guest posts. Forbes does not sell guest posts with followed links.
“$10 article writing for Forbes” is another red flag. Real Forbes contributors spend days or weeks on one piece to meet editorial standards.
There are no “admin accounts” that sell links. Link insertions into existing Forbes articles are also not possible. Any real update requires a full editorial rewrite and approval.
I would not engage with these guys.
-
Run
-
Don’t go for black hat SEO.
If done wrongly, the entire site will be gone.
and you have to restart in a much worst position than from scratch.
Don’t.
Go for white hat SEO strategy.
You will not go wrong. Effort has an accumulating effect and not gone to waste.
Log in to reply.