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florydev
Community Member

I want to understand the grift here

So there was this post yesterday where this woman wanting to close her account and get her money and she can't because she doesn't want to do video verification.  When she started she was a pale skinned lady from Parker, Colorado and is now a less pale skinned lady from Nairobi, Kenya.  

 

I understand that accounts are being bought online and maybe that is all this is, but she managed to rack up some quick work in a competitive arena very quickly.  Did she actually do that or is there something else going on here?

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lysis10
Community Member


Mark F wrote:

Interesting.  But in this case it was fixed price.   My only thought was some kind of money laundering...or she legitimately won the projects.  Only the first couple have actual feedback so maybe somebody had the account, sold it over, and she managed to get a couple of projects funded?

 

I would link the profile but I am pretty sure that would not go over well with the mods.

 

I have seen reference to the Aussie Voice thing and I thought it was just a bunch of people from all over copying this dude's profile.

 


People booohooo about the 5 day security hold, but with fixed price it's possible for both client and freelancer to be in cahoots with each other. Client has stolen credit card, freelancer submits for work, unloads money from the account, and the owner of the card doesn't notice until funds are dumped.

 

Don't even get me started on all the "I accidentally put USA as country plz change." or all the people who can't seem to remember how to spell their names when they sign up or the ones who don't have access to the email that they used 3 days ago when they got auto accepted by the system.

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versailles
Community Member

If it is hourly, it may be a scam playing with the hourly protection. I hire you, you start the tracker and do random stuff on your computer. Either I use a stolen bank card or something in that vein and the payment to you bounces. Upwork steps in and they cover the payment.

 

We go to the bars together and drink the money that we stole from Upwork. Once sober again, we open new fake accounts by using the Aussie Voice trick for instance and we're back in the game.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

 

We go to the bars together and drink the money that we stole from Upwork. Once sober again, we open new fake accounts by using the Aussie Voice trick for instance and we're back in the game.


Then we steal the profile picture of a scientist in Wales and invent a long and impossible academic career in Canada and despite being reported with absolute proof to Upwork many many times by many different people, we get to cheerfully carry on.

And this is pure transparency.  Hearts  to Rene and Petra


Rene K wrote:

If it is hourly, it may be a scam playing with the hourly protection. I hire you, you start the tracker and do random stuff on your computer. Either I use a stolen bank card or something in that vein and the payment to you bounces. Upwork steps in and they cover the payment.

 

We go to the bars together and drink the money that we stole from Upwork. Once sober again, we open new fake accounts by using the Aussie Voice trick for instance and we're back in the game.

 

 


Clever. Never thought of that. What about these cases when the client's credit card falls through and the freelancer is never paid? We seem to have some of those in the forum posts...

Interesting.  But in this case it was fixed price.   My only thought was some kind of money laundering...or she legitimately won the projects.  Only the first couple have actual feedback so maybe somebody had the account, sold it over, and she managed to get a couple of projects funded?

 

I would link the profile but I am pretty sure that would not go over well with the mods.

 

I have seen reference to the Aussie Voice thing and I thought it was just a bunch of people from all over copying this dude's profile.

 

lysis10
Community Member


Mark F wrote:

Interesting.  But in this case it was fixed price.   My only thought was some kind of money laundering...or she legitimately won the projects.  Only the first couple have actual feedback so maybe somebody had the account, sold it over, and she managed to get a couple of projects funded?

 

I would link the profile but I am pretty sure that would not go over well with the mods.

 

I have seen reference to the Aussie Voice thing and I thought it was just a bunch of people from all over copying this dude's profile.

 


People booohooo about the 5 day security hold, but with fixed price it's possible for both client and freelancer to be in cahoots with each other. Client has stolen credit card, freelancer submits for work, unloads money from the account, and the owner of the card doesn't notice until funds are dumped.

 

Don't even get me started on all the "I accidentally put USA as country plz change." or all the people who can't seem to remember how to spell their names when they sign up or the ones who don't have access to the email that they used 3 days ago when they got auto accepted by the system.

florydev
Community Member

AHHHHHH of course.

 

I am just proving that I am not devious enough for a life of crime.  Still I find it fascinating!

mtngigi
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Mark F wrote:

Interesting.  But in this case it was fixed price.   My only thought was some kind of money laundering...or she legitimately won the projects.  Only the first couple have actual feedback so maybe somebody had the account, sold it over, and she managed to get a couple of projects funded?

 

I would link the profile but I am pretty sure that would not go over well with the mods.

 

I have seen reference to the Aussie Voice thing and I thought it was just a bunch of people from all over copying this dude's profile.

 


People booohooo about the 5 day security hold, but with fixed price it's possible for both client and freelancer to be in cahoots with each other. Client has stolen credit card, freelancer submits for work, unloads money from the account, and the owner of the card doesn't notice until funds are dumped.

 

Don't even get me started on all the "I accidentally put USA as country plz change." or all the people who can't seem to remember how to spell their names when they sign up or the ones who don't have access to the email that they used 3 days ago when they got auto accepted by the system.


 

Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name (or anything else they supposedly set up) when asked to answer a security question.

lysis10
Community Member


Virginia F wrote:


 

Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name (or anything else they supposedly set up) when asked to answer a security question.


There certainly has been a uptick on all of that, hasn't there?

re: "Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name (or anything else they supposedly set up) when asked to answer a security question."

 

Yeah... This always baffles me.

 

I have never commented on it before.


But people forgetting the security question.


Isn't that like... Internet 101?

If you are asked to give an answer to a security question, it is supposed to be something you know. If you don't think you will remember it, then write it down.

 

Or don't pick such a hard question.


Preston H wrote:

re: "Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name (or anything else they supposedly set up) when asked to answer a security question."

 

Yeah... This always baffles me.


I get that wrong frequently because there are three ways to write her maiden name, because of the Umlaut which I sometimes write as an ü, sometimes as an u and sometimes as ue.

 

Sometimes they don't know their mother's maiden name because the person who sold them the account forgot to tell them.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

Sometimes they don't know their mother's maiden name because the person who sold them the account forgot to tell them.

 

 


Jeez, in that case I would ask for my money back!

oscaralende
Community Member

Interesting thread 🤔

 

I had no idea there was so many ways to trick the system, not nice.


Virginia F wrote:

Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name


What if they were raised by a single dad? Cat LOL


Sergio S wrote:

Virginia F wrote:

Don't forget the ones who don't know their mother's maiden name


What if they were raised by a single dad? Cat LOL


Then they (!) would not set their mother's maiden name as their security question, would they...

ravi_iitian
Community Member


Mark F wrote:

 When she started she was a pale skinned lady from Parker, Colorado and is now a less pale skinned lady from Nairobi, Kenya.  

 


Haha!

 

"Certa bonum certamen"

re: "When she started she was a pale skinned lady from Parker, Colorado and is now a less pale skinned lady from Nairobi, Kenya."

 

People change.


For example: I used to have more hair.

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