Good point on the oDesk clone. Its interesting to think that the main drive behind this would have to be the developers themselves - and if they are good enough on their own they won't need the service, or if they're the real 'problem,'they will avoid being in the system at all costs. Any idea on how to build an accountability system without it becoming just a 'Black list'?

... On second thought, a 'Black List' might not be the worst idea - two of these guys were total snakes. Without going into too much detail, they they boldly lied for a couple of months, until they stopped responding to calls altogether. This is what makes me think this could be a decently large issue for startups/small businesses. My company wasn't overly aggressive or pushy - the project was a simple signup wizard with very good compensation in a contract-to-hire relationship, so I'm not convinced these types of people don't do this more often.

That being said, most HN freelancers are probably more reputable, but there are other mediums out there that people are getting tech jobs through, and all you have to look back on is their own LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.

+1 for the employer being the end judge on these things. Unfortunately we just didn't know enough at the time to pull that off, nor did we really know where to ask for a consultant.