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11f7a755
Community Member

Are we allowed to Google clients to verify background check?

Since clients basically can just sign-up and start posting, are we permitted to search their name to verify background and see if everything checks out especially if they are new and the offer sounds too good to be true?  What is Upwork's prevention policy on protecting clients regarding this?

 

I understand it may work both ways. Clients can research us online.  But if an offer is lucrative, and while it may turn out to be an excellent prospect for a long-term relationship, is there an etiquette regarding this to safeguard that we are not falling for a trap?

 

Thank you.

 

P.S. I had to open this thread because I could not get in touch with customer support directly.

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prestonhunter
Community Member

You are 100% allowed to Google the names of clients and companies they work for.


I don't doubt that MANY freelancers do this.

 

Maybe MOST freelancers do this.

 

Personally, I have NEVER done this.

I never Google client names or company names.

 

I'm not telling other freelancers how to work or use Upwork. I'm just telling you what I personally do.

 

Clients come to me essentially with a clean slate.

So I'm like a doctor.

If you walk through my door and you're willing to pay my fee, I'll help you regardless of your Google status or Google history.

 

That doesn't mean I would be willing to work on every type of project. But if it is a type of project I'm willing to work on, then I'll do it no matter what a Google search might turn up about the name of the person hiring me... because I don't do the Google search. (Anyway: Are you SURE your Google search is ACTUALLY telling you something about a client based on his name? If you search for MY name on Google, you will find hundreds and thousands of references... most of which are NOT about me but are about other people.)

 

And I DO look at a client's Upwork history.

 

If that doesn't work for you or your job niche, then don't worry about it. You don't need to do things this way.


The one thing I strongly recommend is that newbies (people who don't know how Upwork works, and don't know about scams) should NOT be Googling client names. Because scammers target newbies, and the scammers use Google as one of the main ways they gain the confidence of the newbiews. The newbies use the names of real companies, knowing that the newbies will Google those names, and then the newbies think they are dealing with the actual company.

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prestonhunter
Community Member

You are 100% allowed to Google the names of clients and companies they work for.


I don't doubt that MANY freelancers do this.

 

Maybe MOST freelancers do this.

 

Personally, I have NEVER done this.

I never Google client names or company names.

 

I'm not telling other freelancers how to work or use Upwork. I'm just telling you what I personally do.

 

Clients come to me essentially with a clean slate.

So I'm like a doctor.

If you walk through my door and you're willing to pay my fee, I'll help you regardless of your Google status or Google history.

 

That doesn't mean I would be willing to work on every type of project. But if it is a type of project I'm willing to work on, then I'll do it no matter what a Google search might turn up about the name of the person hiring me... because I don't do the Google search. (Anyway: Are you SURE your Google search is ACTUALLY telling you something about a client based on his name? If you search for MY name on Google, you will find hundreds and thousands of references... most of which are NOT about me but are about other people.)

 

And I DO look at a client's Upwork history.

 

If that doesn't work for you or your job niche, then don't worry about it. You don't need to do things this way.


The one thing I strongly recommend is that newbies (people who don't know how Upwork works, and don't know about scams) should NOT be Googling client names. Because scammers target newbies, and the scammers use Google as one of the main ways they gain the confidence of the newbiews. The newbies use the names of real companies, knowing that the newbies will Google those names, and then the newbies think they are dealing with the actual company.

Thanks Preston. 

You are absolutely right that many people do research. I personally refrain from it unless the client has public profile or information or website links which they freely share during interviews.

 

My concern was:

1. Possible impersonation or misabuse of brand. I mean if I land an interview with a client representing Nike and Google and/or the budget tends to be grandiose, I would right-click and search. I won't lie. 

 

2. Possible negative reputation in some websites. 

 

I am still new and learning. And now that I have better information, I should really do these before accepting offer. 

 

Zeeshan:
I think you have given this some thought and I think you have already come up with some good ideas on your own.

 

Something you mentioned about impersonating... Yeah, that is one of my big concerns for newbies. They get taken in a lot by scammers who impersonate people at big companies, and those scammers WANT those newbies to Google.

 

I just don't need it.
I have enough experience using Upwork (as do all experienced users) to know the difference between scammers and non-scammers.

 

I don't need to look up a company or anything. Honestly, most of the people I work with don't have any kind of presence on the web at all for their company. That's why they're contacting me in the first place. I help them set up their first website for their nascent company.

 

But if I think about it philosophically... I could say that everbody deserves to have a well-designed database if they want one, just like everybody deserves medical care, even if they're a scoundrel.

 

So I'm not going to do a Google search and then think I know something about someone... and then decide to not work with that person. If they treat me right, then I want to treat them right.

As for posters reading this in posterity two millennia from now:

 

1. Always make sure if your work will be credited or not. I personally double check with my clients that the understanding is I will provide a ghostwritten work unless specifically mentioned. If I will be credited, I query where and how my name will appear as I will not be held liable for any advice given be it medical, technical, anything infringent of OSHA etc. Really CYA-ing here.

 

And of course,

 

2. Last thing I want is to make a chemical concoction given some preliminary formula for a 5 dollar gig with a chemical engineering background from Stanford to boast, which...which may invariably be misasued elsewhere.

 

Although the latter point may be in tongue-in-cheek (and an extreme form at that), but double, triple, quintiple...n-tiple checking details is best for us freelancers to protect ourselves from being held liable - legally or not. 

Protect y'all, freelancers.

LOL...

 

Yeah, I guess you are thinking about some things that I don't worry about.

 

Is your name identified as the writer of a piece?
I can see how that would be important.

 

Database designers?
We are anonymous.

The Death Star only worked because it had a really good database designer working behind the scenes. But nobody knows his name. They just remember Darth Vader.

Funny Death Star also brings up a **Edited for Community Guidelines** But the thread is being derailed at this curvature:

 

{\displaystyle r={\frac {C}{2\sin \left({\frac {D_{C}}{2}}\right)}}}

 

I really need to find some more contract. 😐

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