What are some ways to full proof someone before having them booked? Asking fellow photographers. I'm you've had your fair share of "can you do cheque??" well what if they're schools?

If I get suspicious, I'll only ask for a direct ACH transfer or Zelle. I also now do a 65% upfront deposit, they pay the rest after.

It still doesn't protect me from what happened last time... I had a "client" and when meeting them, they were speaking with someone else they thought was working with me. SO I was never really speaking with the actual client, the scammer was the middleman, though they did set an appointment up and booked them with me, they pocketed the difference, says that they needed to pay the rest on the day of the event. So I only got my 50% upfront and not the full payment.

Now if I feel suspicious I straight up ask them to send an ID, even a photo of the venue, but there's not much I can do with this sort of scam. Or is there..?? How do you even know if you're talking to the actual client??