Bonus pending, and contract suspended

[lyamani]

Hello,

i had been hired by a client on hourly contract, but he paid me "650" as bonus which has in left status "pending", and 5hrs later, i saw the contract is suspended.

i really don't know what happens with my contract, or what will happen!

someone can help me please 

thanks

[d_samuel_udokpok]

Hmm. How long have you been working with the client?

[lyamani]

First time, and the work take few hours, since it is virtual assistance, however i cant even contact the client now. 😔

[d_samuel_udokpok]

So the client sent you a bonus payment when you have not started working with them. This is so suspicious. There are several reasons why a contract can be suspended. Typically would include additional verification on the client. The client billing method needs additional proof.  And finally the big one, the client is not whom they claimed to be e.g. they're fraud. Finally, you're probably a victim of a scammer. I just help you didn't pay any money to them after they sent you a bonus payment. E.g. they ask you to send them funds via Paypal or any other means. I think the Moderators in here can help further

[feed_my_eyes]

Why did you think that a client would pay you so much money for doing virutal assistance work? Your profile says that you're a math and physics tutor. Experienced admin assistants can be hired for $3/hour through Upwork.

[pgiambalvo]

Like many others, you have been scammed. You're never going to see a dime. Hope you didn't have to spend any of your own money. Please read this to keep yourself safe in the future: https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/List-of-red-flags-for-scams/m-p/1017044/highlight/true...

[lyamani]

So wven i got a message from upwork "xxxx sent u a bonus", i won't be paid !? And the status of pending will still there forever!?

[sofia2008]

Isn't being paid $650 for a few hours of basic work sounds suspiscious?

[pgiambalvo]

You will not be paid and the pending will disappear. The money was never really there. Upwork just sent a message, that's it. They don't check whether a client is legit or not. Bonus money is not the same as escrow money, which a client actually has to deposit with Upwork.

[lyamani]

But i got a message from upwork saying that u received a bonus, so why? And always people send me bonus, and i got my money . I don't know what is the difference between this bonus and this one! 

[d_samuel_udokpok · Accepted solution]

The reality is you've been scammed

[79d60ffc]

I got a job today and worked 4~5hours and cliemt want to finish the job today and asking the result. but contract is suspended. he wanted to use his friend's account but it is new created in 2nd June. $0 spent. 

he said to upwork support and it takes 5 days to fix the contract issue.

what can I do?

[79d60ffc]

more infor: he asked to talk on skype and I accpeted the offer and shared skype. he sent $200 as bonus but the account is suspened now. so he sent another new offer with "his friend account" and paid $100 as bonus.
I asked him to make a milestone and pay but he says his bonus don't allow milestone.

[sofia2008]

-Communicating outside of Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service.

-If the contract is suspended, you should stop working and not deliver anything.

-You should not accept an other offer from this client.

-Bonus payment should be used as a bonus, not as the main payment.

[79d60ffc]

Thanks for your reply.
I went outside after get hired. it is not against upwork's Terms, right ?

I won't do more work but I already spent time for him and I don't need the result now.
I got scammed once in the past(+$800), so I am very carefuly for new clients.

Is there anyway to be protected from this kind of Scammers?

[sofia2008]

He sent the bonus before you started working?

What kind of job?

[79d60ffc]

Development login feature with Laravel.
he wanted to finish today so he sent bonus to show some trust.
I also tracked some time but the original contract is suspended. 

The tracked hourly time is safe and proteted by Upwork, if not, how can I avoid this kind of client in the future for hourly contract?

[79d60ffc]

He sent the bonus after working 2 hours

[sofia2008]

You will need to wait and see if the contract resumes and learn from the outcome. Do not accept other offers from that same client. Urgency can be a red flag in some cases.

[79d60ffc]

Thanks for your help today.
I will see and be more careful in the future.

[pgiambalvo]

The difference is that you were to only be paid through a bonus. This is how some scammers work. Legit bonuses come after a regular payment method, not as the sole payment method.

[tlbp]

"Received" doesn't necessarily mean that when the payment is processed, funds will be transferred to you. It just means someone clicked a button saying they'll give you something. 

If the initial payment you received turns out to be fraudulent, you may lose that as well. 

What were the circumstances that led the client to offer you the bonus? (Perhaps we can identify what the scam was.) 

[lyamani]

Oh ok then, so no the pending will be there, forever, and i will never got the money.

[sofia2008]

The amount will be removed from pending status.

[lyamani]

Thank u for ur reply, 😞😞😞