Employer took our chat offline and wants to pay me though paypal

[chouck09]

Hey everyone.
I'm newer to Upwork and got my first job. However the employer took our concersation offline. From messaging to texting. Our entire interview was via text not over the phone. That struck me as odd. After the interview process the employer raised the hourly from $18 to $25 and said they would be payong me through paypal. I'm unclear if this is supposed to be through upwork or not but I just have a weird gut feeling about this. I don't want to get my profile removed or banned. Looking for advice, has anyone ever had this happen if so what did you do?

[a_lipsey]

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Christina H wrote:
Hey everyone.
I'm newer to Upwork and got my first job. However the employer took our concersation offline. From messaging to texting. Our entire interview was via text not over the phone. That struck me as odd. After the interview process the employer raised the hourly from $18 to $25 and said they would be payong me through paypal. I'm unclear if this is supposed to be through upwork or not but I just have a weird gut feeling about this. I don't want to get my profile removed or banned. Looking for advice, has anyone ever had this happen if so what did you do?

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THis is a scam. It's a violation of the TOS to communicate with the client off platform before you have a contract on Upwork. It's also a violation of TOS to accept payment outside of Upwork, which is what they are suggesting. Report the job post and block them. It is a scam. 

[JoanneP]

Hi Christina,

Amanda is right. It is a violation of Upwork TOS to communicate outside of Upwork before a contract is placed. I encourage you to to read this post to learn more. You can read more on this help article and also, please check out Tips to avoid questionable jobs. You can also send me a PM with the link to this job post so I can check with the team.