There's a reason why I often remind people NOT to pre-pay for work.
You should pay for a test task, but once you hire someone, don't pre-pay for the work they'll do.
If they ask you to pre-pay for work, that's usually a red flag.
Instead, you should pay them every week, at least at the beginning. This allows you to build trust without having to pay them in advance.
Let's talk more about this in this episode.