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3e2f6401
Community Member

Potential Fraud

I need to speak with someone at Upwork as soon as possible regarding a potential fraud by a freelancer.  The freelancer's account seems to be suspended.

 

To avoid offending anyone unfairly, since I don't know the reasons behind the suspension, how can I speak with someone at Upwork directly?

11 REPLIES 11
LuiggiR
Moderator
Moderator

Hi there,

 

Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. I've shared your concern with the Customer Support team and one of their members will be reaching out to you via a support ticket to assist you further.

 

~ Luiggi
Upwork
3e2f6401
Community Member

Hi Luiggi,

 

Thanks for creating the support ticket.  I last heard from Upwork more than a week ago and sent an email four days ago requesting a status update.  I would just like to know what is happening.

 

Is there any way I can talk to someone about this?

 

Thanks.

Hi V,

 

Thank you for following up. I reached out to the team handling your case and one of our agents will follow up with you on your support ticket as soon as possible to assist you further. 

~ Nikola
Upwork
3e2f6401
Community Member

Hi Nikola,

 

I heard from a person from Upwork since my last message on this thread.  I since sent that person two email messages, one last Tuesday and the other yesterday, and haven't back.

 

While I understand Upwork wishes to protect the privacy of the freelancer and not disclose details of disciplinary actions, I'm hoping to speak to someone to know what is happening with my project.  The project has stopped all activities and there have been no interactions between the freelancer and me since almost three weeks ago when I opened this thread.    It would be helpful to know the status of my contract with the freelancer and the payments I made via Upwork to the freelancer.

 

There are additional matters related to this project that are sensitive that I would like to speak to someone about.  I would appreciate it if you can help me to determine the actual state of this project and that of the freelancer and, in light of their status, have someone at Upwork advise me on the appropriate next steps.

 

Thank you.

V A:

You are giving OTHER people control.

You are waiting on OTHER people.

 

I strongly recommend that you don't do that.

 

Do what I do as a client:

Take control.

Use the Upwork-provided tools.

 

I have hired over 150 freelancers.

 

I never need to talk to Customer Support. I never need to wait.

 

YOU don't need to talk to Customer Support either.

You don't need to wait.

 

You can manage your project, manage your contracts, manage your freelancers without ever talking to Customer Support.

 

You can move forward with your project and your goals right now.

 

You continue to post about some random freelancer who worked on your project in the past. That person is not part of the future of your project. Who cares about him? I don't. Stop caring about things that have nothing to do with the success of your project. Your duty to help others has already been fulfilled. Now focus on your own needs and the needs of your project, rather than focusing on the needs of that freelancer.

Hi V A,
Have you tried talking to Upwork Customer Support via Live Chat?

What I want to know is why he needs to talk to Upwork Customer Support at all about this matter? How will talking to them provide a benefit to him?

3e2f6401
Community Member

I'm hoping to get help from Upwork as my last message on this forum and emails sent have not received replies. How do I get a full refund for my project?

 

Despite assurances from Upwork that I have not received malware from the "suspended" freelancer, I have had three other developers look into the code and all three concluded that this freelancer was attempting to use ransomware. Moreover, the code I received from the freelancer may expire unusable and worthless after some unknown date that the freelancer set, as is a common case with ransomware.

 

This clearly wasn't what I was expecting from the freelancer and Upwork after working months on this project and working . I relied upon Upwork's assurances of safety and security (and even recommended it to others for this reason) and took what I thought were necessary steps to stay safe and within the bounds of Upwork.com's terms. There was no communication between me and the freelancer outside of Upwork.com.

 

It seems this freelancer was steps ahead of me and Upwork.

 

I've been defrauded.  How do I get a full refund for this project?

Refund thinking hurts clients.

 

I strongly advise clients to STOP PAYING MONEY to underperforming freelancers.

 

It is far safer to stop paying money to a freelancer than to continue paying money to the freelancer and then try to get that money back.

 

re: "How do I get a full refund for my project?"

 

It is not necessarily Upwork's intention that clients "get a full refund for their project" simply by asking for such.

 

There are specific rules that govern refunds. And one of the things that clients should understand is that the refund concept is primarily intended to be used by freelancers. Not clients.

 

V A:

So that we can assist you further, please answer these questions:

a) How much money in total did you pay to this freelancer?
b) How many freelancers were working on this project?
c) Did you hire the freelancer using an hourly or fixed-price contract?
d) When was the last time (the date) that this freelancer received money from you?

Hi V,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. A Customer Support Team member has reached out to you through this support ticket to assist you further with your concern.

~ Luiggi
Upwork
prestonhunter
Community Member

V A:
It is kind of you to think about others, and make an effort to report this.

 

But also:
Be sure to put yoursef and your project first.

 

If you don't love the work that a freelancer is doing for you, you can fire the freelancer for any reason, or no reason at all.

 

You are not actually required to report a freelancer or investigate a freelancer if you don't want to spend time doing so.


If you have suspicions, then the recommended way to report is fast and simple:

Use the "Flag as inappropriate" link option available on each freelancer's profile page.e

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