Client sending viruses ?

[english2french]

Hello everyone,

I don't know if you already got that experience, but I answered to a job post and got this message from a client:

"I'd like to assign you the first paid French script as a test before I send you regular work for translation. I have attached it on our website alongside the Payment Rates. Are you able to send it within 12hrs? Let me know so I can setup a milestone.
Please find it here:
[ulr].com
You should get a download.
Password for script: abc"

The .zip file was automatically downloaded... and I suspected a virus. I let my antivirus scan it and nothing was detecte. But inside the .zip folder, I only found a MSDOS program (I did not open it nor unzip it and I deleted the .zip file immediatly).

I am pretty sure it was a virus, but I was confident that the client was safe, because I saw that line in my chat window:

"Laurie Grove does not currently have access to Upwork and will not receive messages until access is restored

Laurie Grove joined the room"

The fact that the client was again allowed to join the chat room and that her access was restored was reassuring for me... but apparently, it was not a safe client.
Why don't we have a more secure chat or some sort of warning signal with people that can be harmful ? Also, when will I get my connects refunded ?

😞

[yitwail]

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Christine G wrote:

Hello everyone,

I don't know if you already got that experience, but I answered to a job post and got this message from a client:

"I'd like to assign you the first paid French script as a test before I send you regular work for translation. I have attached it on our website alongside the Payment Rates. Are you able to send it within 12hrs? Let me know so I can setup a milestone.

---

Christine, you should be getting connects back soon, but you might flag the job to expedite that, if you haven't already done so. I'm not writing this to be critical, but to be helpful to others who might receive similar client messages. It sounds to me like you were expected to provide them a work sample in order to have set up a milestone, in which case calling it a 'paid' script seems deceptive and likely to be an attempt to get free work. In this particular case, however, it was most probably a trick to make you download malware.

[english2french]

I could not click to warn people, as the job post had been deleted before I could do anything. Someone flaged before probably.

And I don't accept free work as well - the client was proposing to set up a first milestone for the test. As many freelancer I guess, I have to see the work before to begin it (especially for translation) to see if there is any problem with the formatting of the document, or any difficulties that have to be taken into account for the rate. This does not mean that the first script is free :-))

[BojanS · Accepted solution]

Hi Christine,

I've checked, and the action has been taken on the client account due to a violation of Upwork TOS. Also, the connects were refunded to you, you can check this under the Connects History (page).

We encourage you to review this article for tips about general electronic security.

Thank you!

[english2french]

many thanks 🙂

But just to say that I have been less suspicious about this fake client, because it was said that the client joined the room after she/he has been suspended...