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lernice-parker
Community Member

*Edited* - I've been scammed

I am relatively new to Upwork and received a project from the above asking me to convert and type a document from PDF to Word. Being desperate for money, I quickly said yes and typed out a 100 page document for these fools only to get to the end and complete it within their timeframe for them to ask me for $100 afterwards.

 

When I mentioned I don't have the money, the person I was speaking to started getting aggravated and angry. Blocked me now on Telegram. 

 

How do I report this to Upwork?

Will I get paid for this project or is this just a lost cause?

 

How do I move forward and can I? 

107 REPLIES 107
bobafett999
Community Member

You can't report it to upwork.  You did everything outside of them.  Blame it on yourself and move on.

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "How do I report this to Upwork?"

 

Honestly, I would not worry about that. Upwork personnel already know all about this scam and have probably already removed this job post and client.

 

But the answer to your question is: We can report fraud clients by clicking on "Flag as inappropriate" on the job posting page.

 

re: "Will I get paid for this project or is this just a lost cause?"

 

No, you will not get paid for this.

 

re: "How do I move forward and can I?"

 

Yes, you can move forward.

 

You need to accept the fact that what happened was your fault, because you broke the rules and used Upwork incorrectly. Once you accept that, you will gain power.

 

YOU have the power to change how things work out in the future.

What is the right way to get a work from upwork?are they going to contact.me on the upwork not outside of it like email and telegram?

Hi Kalkidan,

 

Please note that sharing contact info prior to a contract starting is against ToS and one of the most common scams is when the client wants to take your conversation to Telegram.

 

We highly suggest reviewing our ToS, reading these tips on how to avoid questionable jobs, and this post from our Community member, Wes, about top red flags for scams for you to keep yourself safe in the marketplace. Should you also encounter any suspicious user activity again in the future, please send us a flag so the dedicated team can review it and take action as soon as possible.


~ AJ
Upwork
3239b7c5
Community Member

I also had been scammed with the same 100 pictures project. I did everything and they want 200 USD from me.

i was just scammed with the same 100 images, all my sleepless nights, time, energy .. all gone 

Don't stop trying keep on trying

i am also

debi-f
Community Member

My basic suggestions: 

 

  • Don't search only directly at "Find Work".
  • Go to the bar "Search for job" and apply Filters.
  • One of them is "Payment verified" (although today there are scammers with payment verified and Upwork is not checking it, it could help).
  • Other Filter is "Client history". Check if he posted other jobs, if he hired other freelancers, feedbacks, etc.   
  • Check the Date since the client is a member. Usually the scammers are members from the same day they post their jobs, and they didn't hire anyone. 
  • DON'T BID for jobs that ask for +20, +40 languages translation, or they publish a list of 15 languages, even when they have their payment verified. They verify their payment from different countries every day. 
  • Don't bid and don't connect if they publish a link (telegram, mail, etc.). 
  • DON'T BUY CONNECTS, and DON'T BOOST YOUR BIDS. If you do it, you are paying to Upwork for finding a job instead of earning money from your work. Serious clients will find the best options according to your skills and not the amount of bids you use. I only buy 10 connects if I used my 10 free connects, and if I find a real job that is a good fit for me. 
611dba32
Community Member

Thanks, this is the most valuable suggestion, to a new freelancer in upwork platform.

OMG SAME! I ALMOST BELIEVED THEM!

bingiart
Community Member

Hi Lernice P.,

 

Before starting the work...

Know what not to do here.

For Example...

  • Don't go outside UpWork no matter who calls you. Do the work in UpWork.
  • Do not share any of your personal contact information.
  • Don't ask for money/5 star rating in message box. and etc.

If you need an answer to any question, search your question first in the community. If you don't get an answer, post your question. Because you will get late reply when you post.

 

Take some time and check out these courses

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Learning-Paths/ct-p/LearningPaths

You will understand more after completing these courses.

 

Important:

Check this Expert talk

Identifying & Avoiding Scams : https://community.upwork.com/t5/Videos/Identifying-amp-Avoiding-Scams/ta-p/1088711

 

Check out these articles:

Top Red Flags for Scams

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

9 Tips to Help You Create a Freelancer Profile That Stands Out

https://www.upwork.com/resources/9-tips-create-freelancer-profile-stands-out

 

This is my opinion. I hope this message helps you.

966c0343
Community Member

thank all you guys,today I also got **Edited for Community Guidelines** software response they want me to contact with telegram,I did but I found they type the company name **Edited for Community Guidelines**,Becuse I am new and recently I submitted many proposals.some friends once reminded no outside contact.

97052219
Community Member

They tried to scam me too. I was not fooled tho 

Scammers target freshers and post jobs where they get more proposals. For example Data Entry Jobs, Typing Jobs etc. Be careful if you do this kind of jobs.

debi-f
Community Member

The Translation category is full of scammers! It doesn't help to flag, to complain, to post topics here... 

Maybe Upwork gets money from connects that people buy to boost bids?

this **Edited for Community Guidelines**? they email me and they told me to reached them via telegram. should I just ignore them?

 

Edited today 18/11

When I asked them how the payment terms, they said they gonna direct transfer to my paypal/bitcoin/bank account. I was like convinced that, yeah, this is frikin scam. And then I refuse the job and I blocked them. Never work outside UW again anymore. Oh and just like the case above me, they told me to translate picture image, like 100 pictures and the payment gonna wired after I finished all the job, heck, it's $2500 and feels like bs to me. how can it could be so much money.

Hi Nisca A.,

Don't go outside UpWork. It's not safe. Also, it's against the UpWork rules.

Scammers target freshers and post jobs where they get more proposals. For example Data Entry Jobs, Typing Jobs etc. Be careful if you do this kind of jobs.

 

Check out this article:

Staying Safe on Upwork

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211067668-Staying-Safe-on-Upwork

Samething happened to me my 2days with out sleeping typing 100pictures into pdf  this people are witched  

5d0920ce
Community Member

Actually it's the same as mine, when I was at page 10 my curiosity hit me and decided to search the company and it's reputation and to my surprise, it's **Edited for Community Guidelines**. decided to message again that person through TG and he blocked me lol

 

i'll now strictly do work inside UW only

6bfcdaf8
Community Member

I think its an important psychology lesson. They get you to invest many hours and in the end rather than accepting that you were a fool, you'd rather pay 100 dollars and believe it was all legitimate. They could even ask for another 100 and many would fall for the second trap too because you're now too deep. Same works with gambling.

Got the same job offer.

But I'm rather interested in how they reason it for YOU to give THEM money? 

47c155c3
Community Member

What's the company's name so that the rest of us can be on the alert

 

Doesn't matter. Obviously scammers use fake names or pretend to work for real companies. For that reason, no company can be named in the forum. 

exactly

cc90751a
Community Member

What's the company's name? The one who scammed you. 

re: "What's the company's name? The one who scammed you."

 

The names don't matter.

If you are asking for the name, it means you don't understand how this works.

I applied for 2 jobs and both turned out to be **Edited for Community Guidelines**. Same MO, advised to contact a 3rd party outside of the platform on Telegram. Asked to convert 100 images to Pdf in 2 or 3 days at $25 an image and was told they couldn't pay via the platform because of an ad dispute. Luckily I followed my intuition, searched for **Edited for Community Guidelines** scam and found this post. 

Following your intuition is a good start, but keep in mind scammers use real company names and a google search might not be conclusive. Scammers are always finding new ways to succeed because many freelancers do not follow the rules, just because they do not read them.

 

Communicating outside Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation ot their Terms of Service all freelancers agree to when they create an account.

 

Please read the main article and click the links in this post To all freelancers looking for help - Upwork Community

 

I fell for this and it's infuriating how they try to convince you why you need to pay them refundable linking fee so they can proceed with your payment. I refused and stopped contact with them. Will continue to do work in UW only. I'll be wise after this.

29b2457a
Community Member

I also have been scamed by the same one who said he is from "marine software" but u was onto when he asked a payment. 

My suggestiin to upwork. 

When someone press a link and gows outsude uowork dont just warn, guve a link ti the forum to looj for scams. 

I have

76952b8f
Community Member

They've just ask me earlier to message them to telegram. That action made me think twice. I'm from philippines actually. But before doing what they are asking i actually researched about the company as well regarding the post using the marine software to upwork and directs me here. My last message to them is "No thanks. I'm uninstalling telegram now. Bye"

veraokojie
Community Member

You're not supposed to work outside upwork. A potential client telling you to contact them outside the platform is a sure sign of scam. Run!

duramon
Community Member

I am currently talking with said company in Telegram. Was interested in the job at first but then I saw a couple more job postings with similar description and it immediately spark my curiosity. What made me suspect them even more is after a reply in Upwork messages, the message is deleted, as if to erase any trace to them.

 

A quick look in Google for the company name brought me to this discussion, and I'm glad I suspect them in the first place. Always be careful my friends.

66eb94f9
Community Member

I fell for it, too. We've come to the point where I have to pay them. 

47c155c3
Community Member

I've managed to find the guy behind this scam.

He is actually from Ghana. Fortunately, I am also from Ghana. I've reported the case to the police and I'm hoping they arrest him and the bank reverse all monies back to me.

 

I'll keep y'all posted

Well... Good luck with that.

 

For everyone else:

If you participate in a scam on Upwork, police will not help you. Nobody can help you get money back if you send money to a fake client.

d_holschbach
Community Member

I fell for it too. This is called "advanced-fee scam". Anything has been said here already. I didn't give him the requested 200usd. But I wasted 3 working days ☹️  Lesson learned. Move on 🙂

85c5564a
Community Member

I am new uowork and I got this same project of 100 images to convert into images. I have spent my time, labor and completed the project and sumitted. When I have asked for payment, they have asked $150 as linking fee to be linked with their company payment server. I said; i am not afford to pay it. Then they asked me to pay $50... 

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