Seems like 1/3 of the posts are about people getting scammed, ripped off, or paying for work to get done that never does.
Dealing with this type of nonsense for years, here is a helpful tip
Unless you know the person IRL or they live within a few miles of your residence (and they are not bigger than you), then ONLY pay with a credit card (i.e. Visa/MC or Amex) preferably Amex. Don't transfer money from your bank account or pay with epass... ONLY a credit card.
Why? Because if you pay for a design, some programming or advertising and they do not deliver within 60 days (90 days with Amex) then you call your credit card company and dispute the charge. If the project will take longer, then require that you get updates every 30 days and they fit your needs. Never pay for anything in full upfront unless you are looking to donate the money.
IMPORTANT: Even if you have paid with paypal, call your credit card company, NOT paypal, they will do nothing for you.
At the same time, if the person you hired did a shitty job on something and refuses to fix it, then you can call and dispute the charge, but you don't have to do the whole amount. Say your script is 75% working and you paid $1,000, then you can dispute $250.
The secret is when calling to dispute the charge with the credit card company, do NOT say its an unknown/unauthorized charge, this is just shady and will through up red flags. There are about a dozen or so reasons, such as "service not provided" or "service/goods not received" and even "service/goods provided are different than ordered." Just tell the rep on the phone what happened and they will make the proper choice for you in most cases.
Finally, keep it professional and make sure to give the person/company who you hired a fair chance to resolve the issue, but make sure to keep it within your 60 day window. Most companies and shady individuals know this and will stretch it out for more than 60 days. Inform them "if you do not resolve to satisfactory within x days, I am calling my credit card company and disputing the charge."
Unfortunately some people are just slackers or wont finish a job so you have to be able to protect yourself. I've even worked with many mainstream people who require 100% up front then you dont hear from them for over a month... I guess there is a business model to ripping people off.