Got a direct offer that seems super shady, where do I report this client?

[sheilakc1]

Client seems like the same one (changed his name slightly) who made me a direct offer 2 weeks ago at my hourly rate of $175 and then was removed from the platform (I got a message:  "does not currently have access to Upwork and will not receive messages until access is restored.")

Client claims to have revenue of $500K/ year but his website isn't functional (no way to buy anything there) and he has no retail location.  The address on his Facebook biz page says Miami, FL but that street address only exists in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. It's a condo or apt.  

I'm not gonna accept the offer and want this client investigated.

[egaruth]

Hi Sheila,

Thank you for reaching out to us and bringing this to our attention. I would like to clarify that I checked and it looks like our team already took appropriate actions on the client's account.

Additionally, I would like to clarify that you can let us know if a TOS violation has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

[sheilakc1]

Your link takes me to this main page:  https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-u

but I believe the flag is only for job posts, not direct offers, 

If your team already has taken action, does that mean someone else reported him?  Don't know if there were any TOS violations, just that his story doesn't add up.  Nobody has revenue of $500K per year without a working website or storefront.

[sheilakc1]

Actually, MR **Edited for Community Guidelines** has not been removed.  His offers still show under "My Jobs"

[egaruth]

Hi Sheila. 

You can still see the offer but you should not be able to accept it. You can confirm that the job post is removed by trying to access the job post by clicking here. 

We take every report of suspicious or inappropriate activity seriously, and every report goes directly to our Trust and Safety team for investigation. Please note that because of security and privacy concerns, we may also not be able to share the results or findings of our investigations with you. 

[sheilakc1]

There was no job post, it was a direct offer. I will file another report about MR **Edited for Community Guidelines**

[812dd08c]

Hi Sheila,

We certainly understand how you want this client reviewed thoroughly for legitimacy. I took a closer look at the offer you're referring to and can confirm that we are investigating a problem with the client's account. We cannot bill this client, and you cannot take further action on the contract until the issue is cleared.

As Nikola mentioned, we cannot disclose any information or action being taken on another user's account publicly here in the Community for security and privacy purposes.

In the meantime, we encourage you to let us know if you find anything suspicious has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

[sheilakc1]

What kind of action was taken? I'm concerned that others will be scammed by this guy.