Am I being scammed?

[yang1989]

A client paid me a bonus $ 2500 on upwork and asked me to transfer money $ 1850 to a WeChat account in China. I don't know if this is a scam. I have already accepted the offer, and now I don't know what to do.

**edited for Community Guidelines**

[AveryO]

Hi Yang, 

Please refrain from sending money to anyone off the platform. Offering to pay and accepting money outside of Upwork is not allowed. Asking freelancers to pay for work is also a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service. Since you are new, it would be best if you read up on the "Safety First!" section of the freelancer resources we have compiled, these tips for avoiding questionable jobs, and this article for more information about working safely through Upwork. 

In the future, please don't hesitate to flag suspicious activity by following the steps here.

[yang1989]

Hi, Avery.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Now I really want to return the money to him and end the contract, but I don't know if it will affect my job success score. Could you please help me with that?

[AveryO · Accepted solution]

Hi Yang, 

I can see that the contract is suspended, and actions have been taken against the client's account for violating the Upwork Terms of Service. Feedback from clients whose accounts were actioned on for violating the Upwork Terms of Service will not affect your Job Success Score. You may learn more about how your score is calculated by visiting this article.

[petra_r]

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Yang Y wrote:

Now I really want to return the money to him

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There is no money, That's the whole point.

[yang1989]

A client paid me a bonus $2500 on upwork and asked me to transfer money to a WeChat account in China for $1850. I don't know if this is a scam. I have already accepted the offer, and now I don't know what to do...

[yang1989]

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[PradeepH]

Hi Yang,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your experience with the client. I checked and I see that we have already taken action on the flagged client for TOS violation and your contract is already paused by Upwork. We do not encourage freelancers in making any payment to the client or a third party on the client's behalf. Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

Thank you

Pradeep

[petra_r]

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Yang Y wrote:

 I don't know if this is a scam.

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Think about it logically. Why would anyone pay $2500 to get $1850?

So yes, OF COURSE it is a scam. And the client never "paid a bonus". The transaction never went through, and never will.

[yang1989]

You are right, that is the point😥