Hired myself then got my financial transactions limited

[ectomyhyster]

I was sad, depressed and disappointed by my job success rate (50%) which does not reflect how happy my clients are (feedback score 4.8). Some clients go after finishing the work without closing the contract and giving a feedback. I closed many of them; however, I do not know that this can lower my success rate.

I made many client accounts and hired myself to give me a better feedback. Upwork does not recognize this as violation of terms of service.

After 2 days, I got my financial transactions limited and a member from Upwork Trust & Safety Team asked me to upload screenshots of the product that I work on for those clients and how we communicate. I told the truth. After then, he has not contacted me again.

As a result I cannot withdraw my earnings nor can see my proposals nor stats. I fear that my account gets permanently closed. I am very sorry for that. I just wanted to have a better score that represents my actual performance helping me get more jobs!

I want to know what the fate of my account will be and whether I will be able to withdraw my earnings

[katrinabeaver]

In desperate times some people do desperate things.  But it is a big no no to do what you did.  We can't tell you what will happen to your account. Sometimes they just ask you to admit to the deed and say you will never do it again, and sometimes in extreme cases they will permanently ban you.  It's up to the team.  

[csjarmitage]

You cannot really believe this, right?

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I was sad, depressed and disappointed by my job success rate (50%) which does not reflect how happy my clients are (feedback score 4.8). Some clients go after finishing the work without closing the contract and giving a feedback. I closed many of them; however, I do not know that this can lower my success rate.

I made many client accounts and hired myself to give me a better feedback. Upwork does not recognize this as violation of terms of service.

After 2 days, I got my financial transactions limited and a member from Upwork Trust & Safety Team asked me to upload screenshots of the product that I work on for those clients and how we communicate. I told the truth. After then, he has not contacted me again.

As a result I cannot withdraw my earnings nor can see my proposals nor stats. I fear that my account gets permanently closed. I am very sorry for that. I just wanted to have a better score that represents my actual performance helping me get more jobs!

I want to know what the fate of my account will be and whether I will be able to withdraw my earnings

---

[lysis10]

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I was sad, depressed and disappointed by my job success rate (50%) which does not reflect how happy my clients are (feedback score 4.8). Some clients go after finishing the work without closing the contract and giving a feedback. I closed many of them; however, I do not know that this can lower my success rate.

I made many client accounts and hired myself to give me a better feedback. Upwork does not recognize this as violation of terms of service.

After 2 days, I got my financial transactions limited and a member from Upwork Trust & Safety Team asked me to upload screenshots of the product that I work on for those clients and how we communicate. I told the truth. After then, he has not contacted me again.

As a result I cannot withdraw my earnings nor can see my proposals nor stats. I fear that my account gets permanently closed. I am very sorry for that. I just wanted to have a better score that represents my actual performance helping me get more jobs!

I want to know what the fate of my account will be and whether I will be able to withdraw my earnings

---

lol 

[oquintela]

Unbelievable! Not that he has done it - but that he comes here and tells us about it...

[petra_r]

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I made many client accounts and hired myself to give me a better feedback.

---

 That is fraud.

Your account is probably dead and quite rightly so.

[mwiggenhorn]

I went to click on his profile and I can't even access it, as in it's disappeared.  LOL

[kevinkevin7_11]

hahahaha WHAT!!?  Dude, c'mon. 

[prestonhunter]

I think it is AWESOME that he came to the forum and told us about what he did.

This type of first-hand account of contractor's experiences is always helpful for other contractors.

And it is good for the original poster. Confession is good for the soul.

[lanwanman]

I have mentioned this before, once banned from the core site they should be banned from the Community as well. Still, some of these threads are good for a laugh....

ADDED: Hey, what happens to the money?

[prestonhunter]

re: "I have mentioned this before, once banned from the core site they should be banned from the Community as well."

But not at the expense of us getting to read about what happened.

[ectomyhyster]

I was not totally banned.
What a client would say when he sees someone with 50% success submitting a proposal to his job post? Propably they will say what a loser!

He would not think that other parameters also contribute to this success rate!

Most of my income comes only from this site.

I am an intern doctor with just 250 Egyptian pounds' salary per month (less than 25 dollars per month)!

I still have $157.5 pending in upwork.

I just want to fully restore my account and continue working in upwork.

I promise I will not do bad things again!

I do not post this message to be laughed at! I posted this message to get help!

[csjarmitage]

Honestly, I understand.  I apologize for being trite; it wasn't very kind.

I've been in that spot where you're desperate and even the worst ideas don't seem so bad. Now, you know it was a bad idea and maybe you can rebuild from this.

But a lot of users here will tell you that Upwork isn't the place to make money quickly.  And if you're struggling with a low JSS, it's going to be that much harder.  I think you have to look at ways to make money offline, there where you live, in order to get past this point.

Good luck.

[dataextract]

//less than 25 dollars per month//

Really?

[ectomyhyster]

It is not the main subject of this topic; however, yes less than $25 per month! I think you know about the political situation in Egypt.

[colettelewis]

Mohammed, you have made a bad, but understandable mistake, and I am sure you are not the only person ever to have done this, although you are probably one of the very few ever to have admitted it! I hope that Upwork will recognize this as being a genuine mistake, based on worry and reinstate your account.

Try to remember though, that a freelancer should not be dependent on a particular site. There are other sites and other opportunities. It takes ages to get traction, but if you persevere, with independent companies, and have a little faith in your own capabilities, you may not have to rely on Upwork at all.

[petra_r]

---

@Ronald T wrote:

ADDED: Hey, what happens to the money?

---

 It will probably go back to where it came from

[lanwanman]

He probably paid himself...lol....

[tlsanders]

---

@Ronald T wrote:

I have mentioned this before, once banned from the core site they should be banned from the Community as well. Still, some of these threads are good for a laugh....

---

Why? 

[lanwanman]

Hi Tiffany! Why? To prevent attempts at malicious acts or other negative actions.

[tlsanders]

---

@Ronald T wrote:

Hi Tiffany! Why? To prevent attempts at malicious acts or other negative actions.

---

What type of "malicious act" might one perform on a heavily moderated public forum?

The upsides, as I see them, are that people who are banned and legitimately confused can come to the forums for help, and people who have been banned and tell their stories give current users (especially new ones) clear informaton about what to expect.

I'm unable to see any risk at all. 

[lanwanman]

Tiffany, I understand your position, and I actually doubt most would do anything wrong given access to the Community. However, there are some that do indeed access the Community and successfully exploit the system.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I made many client accounts and hired myself to give me a better feedback. Upwork does not recognize this as violation of terms of service."

Mohammed:

I commend you for the honesty you exhibited regarding this matter when you were asked about it by Upwork's Trust and Safety team.

I think everybody here can sympathize with your feelings and frustration when confronted with a low job success score and dwindling work prospects.

I am certain that you did not know what would happen if you hired yourself. Rest assured that this is something that many other contractors have tried to do and Upwork always takes punitive measures against their accounts when they are caught. So this is definitely nothing personal.

I would like to suggest you reconsider your interpretation of Upwork's terms of service. Because I think Upwork and most of us here think that what you did is indeed a violation of Upwork's terms of service. Even if it's not a violation, it is clearly a dangerous thing to do, as you have learned from first-hand experience.

[katrinabeaver]

ATTN UPWORK:

This is one of the things that needs to go in the maybe New Freelancer education materials.  I know he is not the only one to do it and even though it is a big no-no.  I believe him when he said he didn't think he was doing anything wrong.  

[vdubeau]

While I sympathize with the misguided attempt, the term "Big Brass Ones" comes to mind.

[Anonymous User]

There are opportunities for fraud. I often see 5-star-ratings for a 1- or 5-dollar job, even with an avid review of the client. To hire oneself is not the most intelligent way but you can also be hired by a "good friend" (whom you have paid before).

Added later: Not to mention those freelancers who work for an agency here and have a company aside where they farm out their projects or large earnings appearing on a freelancer's profile for work that obviously never could have done by one person.

[researchediting]

Margarete,

Your observation, particularly in this context, surprises me. Whatever one "can" do on the site, or others have (perhaps) done, surely one does not want to give Mohammed an idea that would all but certainly result in a permaban were he to act on it.

Best,
Michael

[Anonymous User]

---

@Douglas Michael M wrote:

Margarete,

Your observation, particularly in this context, surprises me. Whatever one "can" do on the site, or others have (perhaps) done, surely one does not want to give Mohammed an idea that would all but certainly result in a permaban were he to act on it.

Best,
Michael

---

My interest was to point out how easy the system can be manipulated. I would not recommend anybody to do it.  

[prestonhunter]

Just for the record, for any newbies reading this thread:

You can't hire yourself.

You can't even hire a family member.

No, really. It doesn't matter what it says or doesn't say in the ToS. You can't hire a family member or somebody who lives in your household, no matter how you try to justify it.

Because Upwork has algorithms checking for this. And they'll block your accounts and cause all kinds of chaos in your life.

Don't even hire a friend from your neighborhood. I'm serious about this. It's not worth it.

If you want to work with a family member or a friend from your neighborhood who you met before you were even on Upwork, then just work together. Don't do it using Upwork.

[ectomyhyster]

I did not know that before; it was not clear in the terms of service. I know it is forbidden to have two accounts. I realize that I did a big mistake!

Is not there any way to fully restore my account?

[lysis10]

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I did not know that before; it was not clear in the terms of service. I know it is forbidden to have two accounts. I realize that I did a big mistake!

Is not there any way to fully restore my account?

---

Yeah but you said you made several not just one. You knew what you were doing and you already had 50% JSS, which means you were failng anyway.  They aren't going to put much effort into giving some 50% JSS freelancer much chance.

[anima9]

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I did not know that before; it was not clear in the terms of service. I know it is forbidden to have two accounts. I realize that I did a big mistake!

Is not there any way to fully restore my account?

---

It's called ethics. It's practically common sense. If you're looking for a stronger word, what you did was fraud.

I'm pretty sure you'll be banned unless they consider in which case I'm sure they won't because there are probably more than a few thousand freelancers willing to take your place. 

[lysis10]

Its' kinda interesting how some of these threads stay up and some get hidden. 

[versailles]

Mohammed I give you kudos for your honesty. What you did was not smart but I hope you'll get your money back. You should have come for advice before. People like Preston usually provide very good advice, maybe your profile or your approach had some flaws that could have been fixed. Unfortunately, it may be too late for this now.

[turbocro]

This is just brilliant, I know original poster feel sorry and all, but really Upwork should draw a line somewhere and start banning people who do this kind of things...

[Anonymous User]

Too much second chances here for doing bad things again or in a modified way. Moreover, I do not believe the OP's story at all. Poor intern doctor from Egypt who commits fraud on a freelance platform and admits this here???

[ectomyhyster]

I did not force anyone to believe me!

At first, I did not think it is a fraud! Upwork takes 10% from my money and I get a better feedback to continue working! 

You accused me of farud instead of trying to repair the calculation system used in job success rate  that gives excellent freelancers bad rates for conditions outside their control such as leaving the contract open without closing it and giving a feedback.

I admit that I did a big mistake and I want to repair what I did.

Egypt is a poor country and many of my colleague doctors work as biology teachers, builders and even taxi drivers.

Not all people have the good health; some like me work as medical writers and translators in home because of some health problems!

[turbocro]

It's not up to us to forgive you or not.. Upwork will decide what is the solution to this... but if they allow you to do this then each and every person with bad JSS can hire himself for few quick job and boost scores...

It's just not right and bad example... but hey, at least the money is flowing into your Upwork account...

[ectomyhyster]

I hope Upwork decides that soon! 

[tlsanders]

---

@Mohammed M wrote:

I did not force anyone to believe me!

At first, I did not think it is a fraud! Upwork takes 10% from my money and I get a better feedback to continue working! 

You accused me of farud instead of trying to repair the calculation system used in job success rate  that gives excellent freelancers bad rates for conditions outside their control such as leaving the contract open without closing it and giving a feedback.

I admit that I did a big mistake and I want to repair what I did.

Egypt is a poor country and many of my colleague doctors work as biology teachers, builders and even taxi drivers.

Not all people have the good health; some like me work as medical writers and translators in home because of some health problems!

---

I had some sympathy for you until this post, but it's beyond belief that you claim not to have realized that it was fraud to give yourself a bunch of fake reviews. Do you understand what fraud means?