OK, short story.  A company located in Chicago, contacts me a week ago to shoot the property at a local strip mall here, which has a lot of empty buildings.  I do, and send them the RAW files.  So far, so good.

Now, they want me to go to https://www.bill.com/ which looks like some web interface to move monies.

First page personal info.  Name, Address, Phone, etc..
Second page, Bank Routing numbers, Bank Account Numbers, SS Number, etc...  So I stop there.  According to the bottom of this page, it mentions dialogue about BankCorp South, which they work with, and also who is my bank.

I call the bank and run it by them.  They've never heard of Bill.com, but that doesn't surprise me.  We're a small small small town, and I wouldn't think they deal with a lot of electronic transfers all over the US.

The company name is

https://www.lcp360.com/

Knowing this info above, what ya think?

I'm thinking of requesting a check for the first job.  If other work comes from the, then I'll go on line and sign up.  Of course, there is nothing on the on-line form stating they are authorized to withdraw any monies.  The girl at the bank tells me if they do, they can lock the account, and then fill out a dispute, which will get passed on to their corporate offices that handles banking resolutions..

One other option I thought of, was to open a 2nd account with 25.00 in it.  Provide that account number and roll with it.

Bill.com appears to be legitimate, at least based on PC Mag's online review / ratings of their online accounts payable / receivable services.  That doesn't mean that I'd be comfortable giving out that level of private information, nor that someone else (the client) might possibly be able to misuse the bill.com intermediate services???

Sorry I couldn't be of more help than that...

No worries LD.

I'm going to the bank tomorrow, to get a 2nd account, and fund it with a few dollars.  I'll use this account for dealings with folks out of state.  I'm still kind of leery about throwing my SS out there though.  May just request a check, and see how that fly's, or, PayPal...

I wonder if the generic name of bill.com's 'umbrella company' isn't because they deal with a lot of adult content. Usually the parent company is what shows up on a charge, and a generic name is a lot easier to explain than something that sounds dirty.


I'm not telling you that you should or shouldn't give out your SS number - but these days, you're as likely to get scammed by a generic site as by HelpingSeniors.com. And if these guys really are with YOUR bank, that doesn't hurt any.

It is a great strategy to have a second account and debit card for business and internet purchases to keep your finances more protected from fraud.

Update:  The check is in the mail

It might be they are going to 1099 you, but if that's the case, why not just
cut and check?

They are mailing a "check".

If the bill is over $600, they would need either a SS number or a Federal Taxpayer ID in order to issue the IRS Form 1099 at the end of the year, and I don't blame them for demanding that number before cutting you a check. The IRS gets very testy about it if they don't issue one, and it's amazing how many people become unresponsive when you ask for the number AFTER they have gotten their money.

nope! they want way to much info. pay me via cash or gold... a check will do.

they shouldnt need that much info to pay you for your work.

Payment details should have been discussed prior to the shoot.
I would tell them to use Paypal.

I just use PayPal.  It is fast, safe and their fees are reasonable compared to all services
that I checked out.