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76e8d260
Community Member

How to know fake freelancer?

I am new client on upwork and finding developer.
I have interview with a few of developers on upwork and skype chatting.
At that time I prefer video calling and require to verify id, but many freelances didn't agree or avoid.
I think they are fake so I wasted my time. I don't hope to have interview with fake developer. It means to waste my time.
What is the characters of fake accounts?

16 REPLIES 16
stencil_media
Community Member

Although some of them may be 'fake freelancers', a lot of freelancers have the same security and privacy concerns that you do... so it might not be that they don't have ID, or that their screen name doesn't match their ID etc... it's just that they don't want to send copies of an important personal document to a complete stranger. 

"Welcome, humans. I'm ready for you!"
- Box, Logan's Run (1976)
gbalint
Community Member

I prefer video calling - everything is discussed much faster like that.

 

Asking for personal documents is a no-no though. Also I work with people who speak English as perfect as possible so 'I am new client on upwork and finding developer' is a no.

versailles
Community Member

There are so many scams on Upwork with fraudsters posing as clients trying to get people's ID & bank data, that you will never find anyone who would show you any ID.

 

And you do not need it actually. Upwork has measures in place to protect you as a client. You need to read the help section to get familiar with those measures and learn how to use them.

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"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless
sam-sly
Community Member

I think a lot of freelancers would do a video chat. UpWork requires us to use an actual picture of ourselves as our profile. I am sure quite a few still get away with posting false pictures, but in a video chat might confirm it is the person in the picture in most cases. UpWork does have a video chat option built into the chat/interview page. It doesn't work with Safari, but it seems to work with other browsers. You could suggest using that so it is still on this platform.

 

I would never submit my ID to an UpWork client. There are a lot if fraudsters posing as clients and really there is no need to show our ID since the client is not paying us directly. Many of the fraudsters are collecting information for identity fraud scams. So I would say you probably should not even consider hiring a freelancer naive enough to trust you (a stranger online) with their ID. As a freelancer, I would probably report you and block you in response to that request. So I am not surprised other have not agreed.

Samantha, you're right.  Unlike Elance, Upwork doesn't require identity verification of every freelancer.  My profile was migrated over from Elance, and I thought Upwork had the same requirement.

 

 

lysis10
Community Member

Why don't you just chat with them? Nobody is gonna give you their ID. lol But you can kinda get the idea of how they are through a quick chat.

davidd1008
Community Member

I agree I would never show my ID to anyone on Upwork. And the OP should realize that a freelancer refusing to do that might actually be an indication that they're a good freelancer. We've heard stories in the Freelancer thread about inexperienced newbies giving away personal information only to get scammed. 

 

In short, Bon, no freelancer who knows what they're doing is going to give you a copy of their identification.

 

However, since there's a bit of a language barrier, I think it's possible Bon was saying they wanted to video chat in order to verify their identification. If that's the case then I can understand wanting to do that. 

 

I generally am not a huge fan of moving off of Upwork to Skype or Hangouts or anything until I'm more comfortable with a client. However, I can understand wanting to verify your freelancer through some other channel if possible. I've skyped, phoned, etc with clients. It's not my preferred way to do things but I don't really mind it. I think most "good" freelancers welcome that sort of thorough diligence. 

 

Or they should, at least. 

bruce_dodds
Community Member

Hi Bon - some freelancers like me just don't like videoconferencing.  That's not necessarily an indication that they are  frauds.  But if it's important to your peace of mind to see the person who will be working for you, go ahead and make that request. 

 

Upwork requires freelancers to verify their photos via Skype to Upwork, so I don't think that you need to worry about the photo matching the person.  As for demanding other ID prior to the project, IMO that's unreasonable.


@Bruce D wrote:

Hi Bon - some freelancers like me just don't like videoconferencing.  That's not necessarily an indication that they are  frauds.  But if it's important to your peace of mind to see the person who will be working for you, go ahead and make that request. 

 

Upwork requires freelancers to verify their photos via Skype to Upwork, so I don't think that you need to worry about the photo matching the person.  As for demanding other ID prior to the project, IMO that's unreasonable.


I agree about the ID, as I said I would never agree to that.

 

About the picture. There are people on this site who use fake profile pictures. Sometimes they are using stock images and sometimes pictures of other people that they stole. Sometimes people say they are from a different country than they are as well. I saw a freelancer in the forum change from a male profile picture one day to a female profile picture the next day. People also change their profiles once accepted. Also, I have been here almost three months and did not have to skype to get my profile approved. I did link my Twitter,  Facebook, G+, and LinkedIn accounts to UpWork and there are pictures of me on all those platforms. So perhaps they are now, in some cases, using these accounts as a means of verification. They don't link them publicly so I am guessing they have an internal use. 

 

I have a client who told me that a freelancer who refused to video chat turned out to have been using someone else's picture taken from LinkedIn. Well, there were multiple LinkedIn accounts using the same picture so the client was not sure who was real, but that combined with refusing to do video chat was too suspicious. I don't prefer video chat since I work at home I am not always camera ready. However, I get why some clients want to, and usually will if I have a good rapport with the client. Saying that, some people just don't like to video chat, they are not necessarily fake.  

I have done Skype messaging, but I have never, ever been asked to do a video chat, nor would I ever agree to it. I even find video chatting with friends and family immensely distracting with bobbing heads, sudden disappearances, and overloud, stilted. conversation.

 

Edited: OT

Well this is just my two cents worth, but I would'nt even do the video chat with you.

 

Im sorry, but you kind of come off as being overly controlling and even a little creepy making such a request. And on top of that, I'll bet a lot folks are like me. I only video chat with someone I know and am comfortable with... not total strangers... potential client or not. I would actually consider a request like that invasive and yes, I would probably report you too.

 

My guess is that you inadvertly scared or creeped those freelancers out, weither you realized it or not.

 

As far as making a determination of a freelancer, well thats what portfolios, test results, and feedback are for. If all of those look good, then odds are the freelancer is fine. Yes, there are scammers around... there always are. However I have yet to see one of those profiles that actually has a number of positive feedback remarks on it. They usually dont have any. I have yet to see one that has a great rating. They usually dont have one at all. And has pointed out already, a simple phone conversation will usually tell you all you need to know.

 

Upwork isn't perfect by any means. But they are pretty at good weeding those guys out and do on a regular basis.

kat303
Community Member

The best way to protect yourself is, not to pay a contractor unless they've completed the specifications for the milestones or entire job (however it's set up.) And to make sure all the financial transactions are done on site.  Sure you might waste your find by finding a contractor who is taking way too long to complete a job, or who stops communicating and disappears, but at least you'll still have your funds.

7bd0d548
Community Member

check for rtheir reviews ?

pay deposit ?

re: "How to know fake freelancer?"

 

I'm still laughing about a profile I saw from somebody in another thread.

 

He claimed to be form "Newark, India" and claimed to have a Masters degree from "XYZ".

 

Things like that are pretty good signs you might be dealing with a fake freelancer.

b7e0f416
Community Member

I have a similar issue. I can't really request an ID so a Zoom usually makes it.


If I don't find the Freelancer on LinkedIn, that triggers an alarm bell. 

I have to identify clearly the Freelancer as I'm not eager to give access to our Droplets without questions asked.

 


Stephan P wrote:

I have a similar issue. I can't really request an ID so a Zoom usually makes it.


If I don't find the Freelancer on LinkedIn, that triggers an alarm bell. 

I have to identify clearly the Freelancer as I'm not eager to give access to our Droplets without questions asked.

 


______________________________

There are fake profiles on LinkedIn too! Just because someone does not have a profile on LinkedIn, doesn't make them suspect. 

 

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