Heads up: Be wary of of freelancers copying y...

bethlausin · ‎10-16-2014

*Just a heads up for everyone. This is really happening and please check your profiles from time to time.* I've been in oDesk for almost 4 years. I recently found this user who copied my profile while looking for some quick work here. I already reported her and glad they took immediate action on the said account (I also did a bit of research and it turns out she also copied bits of profile from 3 other accounts). The account was not suspended but she edited it a bit (which is a progress because she copied the whole thing when I first saw it.) So she removed some of it that she obviously doesn't do and added a few ones, and I'm fine with that. I think she has been in oDesk for almost 2 years now and I don't know if she has been using that profile since she started... I logged to my Elance account and thought of searching if she also has an account in Elance... AND SHE DOES! She's also using my profile in Elance. Reported to Elance as well. I thought this isn't a be a big deal, but I think it is. I created that profile when I started and just add bits of info from time time. It's not perfect! I don't get it. Why do people do this. I won't link her profile here, I don't think that's appropriate. PS: I also found a bunch (I mean 10+) of users who has the same profile.. Looks spam/fake/duplicate but they are all active users. Reported that to oDesk as well. PSS: If you want to check if someone copied your profile, the search bar up there works the same as Google's search bar. Copy a phrase, add quotation marks, hit search.

g_nembhard · ‎10-16-2014

This happened to me on Elance. This lady blatantly used all of my phrasing, style and everything. She just simply edited it a little ie put her name in place of my name etc. If a client would have compared the profiles they wouldn't be able to see who copied who. She didn't even make an effort to disguise it. I happened to stumble across her page because we both applied for the same role, so I wanted to look at the competition. I reported her and then she changed it. It took a long time to build my profile, people should take the time to create their own. If they're not sure how to build a page, then get a template from Google or something.

bethlausin · ‎10-16-2014

That's unfortunate. I wonder home many profiles are copied here.. :( The only thing good here, is that we now know oDesk and Elance take this matter seriously, *when reported.

bethlausin · ‎10-17-2014

That sucks. I'm actually close to contacting the person who copied my profile here and in Elance.. I found her Skype and some other details [evil laugh], but I didn't. Lol. And wow, LinkedIn is a different thing. Why do they do that. 😞

g_nembhard · ‎10-17-2014

Hi Lilibeth, After I sent a reply to you, I decided to do another search on Elance. I found that another lady copied my entire overview. I reported her. Awaiting an answer from customer support.

bethlausin · ‎10-19-2014

Hi Gillian! Did you hear back from them? I filed a report a week ago, but I haven't received feedback.

kochubei_valeria · ‎10-20-2014

Hi Lilibeth, I apologize for the delay. I have followed up with our Marketplace Quality Team about your report. They should update you about the issue as soon as they can. Thank you very much for your patience.

~ Valeria

bethlausin · ‎10-20-2014

Hi Valeria! I was pertaining to Elance. 🙂 But I also haven't received any feedback here in oDesk though I've been monitoring this freelancer's account since I filed the report and there were changes on her account so I suppose that means they already contacted her.

g_nembhard · ‎10-20-2014

Elance support says that they can't update me as to whether or not she has removed the text. Something about the terms and conditions on the site. All I can do is keep checking the freelancer's profile page.

bennett-kathrin · ‎10-20-2014

oDesk chat support also told me that they will probably not get back to me on this issue but will take "appropriate action" - whatever that is. I would really appreciate knowing what exactly they do about this kind of thing.

junelle · ‎10-20-2014

somebody copied my overview once, and i did report the guy. support told me they'd alert him, but there's no way they're going to suspend him for simply copying another provider's overview, as it's an issue of plagiarism which isn't exactly a violation under the site's TOS. so i guess, that's "appropriate action" for you. now, copying profiles isn't really a *new* thing around here. during oDesk's early years, there was this provider who was unfortunate enough to have her profile/overview copied repeatedly by different freelancers, and even then, these erring freelancers were never removed or suspended. so yeah, it pays to check every now and then. the only person to protect yourself around here is you.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou
Try harder, or care less.

bennett-kathrin · ‎10-20-2014

Having just read this thread, I decided to check for people copying my profile, and sure enough, there is a gentleman who has copied big chunks of my profile overview, word for word. How do I report this?

bethlausin · ‎10-20-2014

Oh snap! I saw his profile. A live chat support will do: https://support.odesk.com/home

g_nembhard · ‎10-20-2014

It's so annoying, Kathrin. I don't know why people don't just take the time to write something original. Report him by raising a ticket (the tab at the top right hand side of your screen)

Heads up: Be wary of of freelancers copying your profile!