Confused about a client faking location

[#1]

I am working with the client who I think is faking his/her location (I'm not sure) he has hired me at a good rate but I have started to have doubts about it. He says he is from the US but he can barely speak english and gives documents which tracks to location Lahore, Pakistan.

The reasons I feel he isn't from US:

- He can barely speak english

- He is asking me to purchase things (such as domains) which is registered to the name of same person in Pakistan

- He is aksing me to use my card for these purchases.

Can you please confirm his original location? Because it could be a scam using someone else's credit card as payment on Upwork.

Thanks.

[#2]

There is no need to confirm his location. Anybody getting you to buy something with your own money is 99% a scammer. You will not get paid. Don't buy anything, end contract, block. 

[#3]

Hi Martina, thank you for taking the time out. If I end the contract I will be getting a poor rating from that person, even if he is a scammer. And I find no way to reach the legal team of Upwork, or any representative.

[#4]

Farhad,

It's important to put your JSS rating in perspective. If the client is asking you to help him do something illegal, a bad rating might be the least of your worries. In any case, if you report the job to Upwork and they cancel it, the client won't have the opportunity to give you a rating.

The information in this article will help you to understand how to recognize questionable jobs on Upwork.
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

It's also a great idea to get to know the Upwork legal pages. The terms of use section is probably the easiest place to start. It tells you what clients can and can't ask for on Upwork.

https://www.upwork.com/legal

[#5]

If he has not paid you, then he can't give you any feedback. Upwork will also not punish you for not participating in a scam. End the contract, list the reason as "other", type in scam. Then, go to the original job post, report it as a scam as well, then it will get taken down. 

[#6 · Accepted solution]

Hi Fahad,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I shared your report with our team to investigate and take action based on our internal processes. In the future, feel free to use "Flag as Inappropriate" option throughout the site to report any suspicious activity.

Thank you,

Pradeep