Receiving an offer out of the blue from an unknown client raised red flags for me, as it appeared highly dubious from the start.
The client was 1 hour behind me according to Upwork, and his location is United States of America. I'm based in Portugal so that's basically impossible.
Then the client sent me the message:
"Hey,
We have recently hired a Remote full-stack app development team based in Portugal. To ensure compliance with all regulations, I am seeking an individual who can handle payroll reimbursements on a weekly basis.
Your role would be to reimburse our app development team based in the Portugal via banking on a weekly basis of approximately $2500. To ensure timely payment, I will deposit $12000 on Upwork each month.
To accomplish these tasks, you will be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week for project management, payment record-keeping, and progress tracking. As a bonus, you will receive a $400 commission for your work each week, in addition to the 20 hours you will work.
I believe this is an excellent opportunity for someone who is detail-oriented, organized, and enjoys working with a team"
The client proceeded:
"As we got today due to pay them 700$ , let's say If I deposit you on Upwork 1120$, Could you remit our team via Wise or Payoneer 700$ for kickstart purpose today.
-Your main task to finance & reimburse our app development team & keeping their payment records & progress over Googlesheet or MS excelsheet.
- I got 8 app developers based in Portugal as above I mentioned I would need you to reimburse their payrolls weekly basis."
After a while, the client insisted again:
"If I deposit on Upwork as assurance 1120$, would you use your own funds to remit them 700$ now?
is that something doable for you?"
I suspect the plan is to make use of the security period to place money on escrow for the freelancer, asking the freelancer to advance money using wire transfer apps, like Wise or Payoneer, and then never release the funds or approve the hours that must be inserted as manual time.
I really hope no one falls for this.
I've been on Upwork working daily for more than 10 years, and previously I was doing it on Odesk. I never saw support absolutely nonexistent. Every time I try to reach support by chat no matter the hours, it's never available, and when the ticket is created, I jump from agent to agent by email until someone takes care of my request. It's sad and worrying to see that there's no quick reach to report serious issues like this one.
This client has a payment verified sign, which means he already made some movements or at least registered a payment method that was approved by Upwork.
It's really serious and concerning that clients can spoof their locations, and register illegitimate payment methods which is most likely what is happening here, and there is no way to contact support (or even start a ticket) to report this immediately and prevent others from being affected by this.
I also have to mention that there's no way of reporting the offer or the client anywhere.
I urge Upwork to take this issue seriously and provide a faster way to reach support, since the current system of waiting for days for a response and then being shuffled from agent to agent is clearly not working. AI bots are clearly not meant for this network.
Thank you for understanding the importance of this issue and taking the necessary action to protect freelancers. Your commitment to providing a secure platform is greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
João Zurzica
