I would like to start by saying that I’ve never had the need to post a question since this forum is full of great answers. But this is the first time I hit a wall.
So, my profile was plagiarized. This isn’t the first time it happens, but usually everything sorts itself out whether because I flag them or due to the freelancer’s inability to land a job. This time, however, I contacted CS (also not the first time) because I found two profiles: a noob who “only” copied a couple of paragraphs, and another guy who decided to lift my entire overview and is already earning money.
I was kind of expecting the same outcome as with the last ticket--the standard “we won’t be able to share any details” and the removal of both profiles. But no! While the noob’s profile was removed promptly, I was told that they found no violation on the second one and he’s had his ID verified(!).
I told CS this was unacceptable and asked them to escalate the issue to someone who could actually solve it. Well, today I was hit with their resolution: We conducted a thorough review, there is no violation, have some connects as a consolation prize (paraphrased, of course).
To add insult to injury I was told that Upwork is aware that some copying might occur since they share the profiles of successful freelancers as examples for writing your overview(!!).
Which leads me to huge concerns:
1. The fact that my plagiarist had his ID verified only highlights the flaws in the verification process
2. If the first profile I reported (the one who copied two paragraphs) was found in the wrong, then why the other one (who copied the whole enchilada) wasn’t? Is it because he added some stuff that’s not on my profile and that makes it OK?
3. My last concern is that Upwork just turned me into a conspiracy nut: Was the guy not removed because he’s already making money? Or is it because he’s paying for a Plus plan?
So yeah, there was no “thorough review”. It’s very simple, anyone who can read English will see that his overview is copied from mine (you can see with your own eyes if you do a specific search on google for the first sentence of the last paragraph on my profile).
Please, I’d appreciate any advice, or at least point me to the part of the TOS where it says that plagiarists are welcome on Upwork.
