Do Employers Send You Checks to Purchase Equipment? I think I'm being scammed.

[msputsey]

I applied for a job today and just had an interview via Skype.  I was hired and sent a check to deposit for over $2000 to pay for my equipment.  Is this legit?  I got took on something like this last week after working for the guy 6 weeks.  This new guy said something about the job would soon disappear off of UpWork

[prestonhunter]

No, clients don't send you checks. That is a scammer who is trying to steal money from your bank account.

Also: It is a serious violation of Upwork TOS to exchange funds outside of the established Upwork payment protocol. If you were caught accepting a check - real or fake - your Upwork account could be suspended.

Also, you are not allowed to do an interview using Skype. You must use Upwork to communicate with prospective clients. You may use Skype after you have been officially hired.

re: "I got took on something like this last week after working for the guy 6 weeks."

Tell us more about that job. How much money did you earn? What type of work did you do during those six weeks?

[JoanneP]

Hi Patricia,

Could you please send me a PM with more information so I can check this for you? You can click on my name to send me a PM. Thanks!

[a_lipsey]

---

Patricia N wrote:

I applied for a job today and just had an interview via Skype.  I was hired and sent a check to deposit for over $2000 to pay for my equipment.  Is this legit?  I got took on something like this last week after working for the guy 6 weeks.  This new guy said something about the job would soon disappear off of UpWork

---

Patricia, before you do any more work or accept any more jobs on Upwork, please re-read the terms of service. You have broken several. Read through all the Help articles so you don't get scammed and/or get your account suspended. 

[f807542b]

Hi Patricia. 
I was wondering what was the outcome of this job? 
Was it legit or was it a scam? 

[yofazza]

Scam, please read this one:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

And btw, this particular scam although mentioned as one of the oldest scam, is one that I only found out from that Post. Because, that is the kind of scam that will never work here in my surroundings, my country, our banks, our stores, etc. The scam doesn't makes sense. The crooks also think it doesn't makes sense. I know about n******n scam before most of you ever heard about it I'm sure, but I know about this particular scam only from Wes' post.

So what  I wanted to say is, people becoming victims because they didn't know,  because you (in this little specific case) has a little more experience than them. It's not related with common sense.

And I'm not directing this towards a particular person and also not specifically about this thread, but about "blaming the victim" in general. They just lost hundreds or even thousands because they didn't know, and we put salt to the wounds. Especially on some countries, $500 is almost double the monthly minimum wage in our capital city. People with kids can live with that amount for more than a month. Losing that much money and then got blamed, is bad.

[feed_my_eyes]

If you have to ask, you're not ready to send proposals. Please read everything about how to use Upwork before you continue.