Unfortunately you don't really know they're legit until their first check clears. With new clients, I'll only do a small amount of work before I see the first c

Unfortunately you don't really know they're legit until their first check clears. With new clients, I'll only do a small amount of work before I see the first check (2-3 hours of setup, just to show good faith on my end). Once payments start coming in then I feel more and more comfortable making progress on their project. You can get all the contracts you want... but if you're not prepared to enforce them in court, they're not worth anything. And even if you are prepared to sue, good luck getting any money from someone who doesn't have any. Go with your gut. Don't work with anyone you have a bad feeling about. And most importantly: be prepared to walk away at any moment if something goes bad.