Fake client/recruiter payment processing request demanding W-9 + ACH banking details via cold email — real freelance payments use authenticated AP portals (Bill.com / Tipalti / Coupa); cold W-9 + bank request is credential harvest.
freelance-w9-payment-phish
What this tier means
High-confidence threat indicator — phishing, impersonation, BEC, or scam pattern. Strong contributor to the trash decision.
How Gorganizer detects this
Fake client or recruiter payment processing request demanding W-9 tax form and ACH banking details via cold email — credential/banking detail harvest targeting freelancers and contractors. Real freelance payment processing uses authenticated accounts payable platforms (Bill.com, Tipalti, Coupa, Gusto) with verified vendor onboarding flows. Cold email from unknown or unverified sender demanding W-9 plus bank routing number "to process your invoice" is a banking detail theft lure. Detection: W-9 form/tax form vocabulary + ACH details/banking information/process payment action + no List-Unsubscribe + no In-Reply-To + not protected sender. Trash score: +3. Source: GC1-R20; IRS W-9 scam advisory; FBI contractor BEC advisory 2025.
False-positive guard
Every signal in Gorganizer feeds a multi-module score — never a sole verdict. This is a threat-tier signal — it adds a strong contribution to the trash score. The full pipeline still requires convergence across multiple modules + a margin over the safety floor before deletion happens, and Gmail's trash (30-day recovery) is always used — never permanent delete.
About the scoring engine
Gorganizer's scoring engine emits over 1,800 signals across six modules — headers, sender, subject, body, attachments, and structural metadata. Every email is scored by every module independently; the final verdict requires multiple modules to agree and the trash score to beat the safety floor by a margin.
Sacred safety guards — never delete starred emails, replies, calendar invites, receipts/invoices, or attachments — apply unconditionally regardless of any signal.
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