Too Good to be True?
A cheap deal could end up costing you much more. It might be fraud.
Be wary of freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer. Some unlicensed people create convincing profiles that falsely claim to offer licensed, professional engineering services.
Fraudsters are increasingly luring homeowners and consumers by selling fake engineering plans online. These plans often use stolen professional seals, license numbers or signatures. Appearances can be deceiving.
In many of these cases, the plans were not created by a licensed professional engineer. They might have been copy/pasted from another project or were created by AI. That means they could have serious mistakes, fail to meet code requirements, or even create safety risks.
Remember, they may:
- use stolen professional seals, signatures, or license numbers
- or have outright fake credentials
- deliver unsafe, poor-quality plans, or simply disappear after getting paid
Unfortunately, these scams are difficult to track and stop.
How can you protect yourself?
Before hiring anyone:
- search for a local, licensed professional engineer
- talk with them on the phone
- get their license number
- verify it through our License Lookup here
- Select “Advanced Search”
- Choose the license type “Professional Engineer”
- Search by the person’s name or license number
Most important, by talking with them, it can help you avoid fraud and make sure your project is in the hands of a qualified professional.