How to know if legit or scam?

[jaeangelina]

Hi team, please help me with my concern. I recently had an interview only through skype chat and the google docs they sent me. No audio/video call. I also just passed and was asked to sign a job offer/contract but I am confused if i should get the payment through upwork or depending on the client?  I was asked my prefered payment method if direct deposit or paypal and what my bank was. How do i know if the company is legit or scam. 

[prestonhunter]

Jae:

This person is trying to scam you.

re: "I am confused if i should get the payment through Upwork or depending on the client?"

Payment ONLY goes through Upwork.

re: "I was asked my prefered payment method if direct deposit or paypal and what my bank was."

A real client does not ask these questions.

[wlyonsatl]

Never believe you have a contract with a client if the terms are not clearly spelled out on Upwork and you have accepted the client's offer via Upwork. And never accept any arrangment for client payments to you through any channel other than Upwork.

What you describe is a client who has no idea how Upwork works or a client who knows how Upwork works to protect freelancers and wants to use an arrangement Upwork really has nothing to do with (so the client won't have to pay you for your work).

Tell the client to set up the contract on Upwork. If they do that, they will also have to register their means of payment with Upwork and Upwork will then be able to transfer to your bank or other account all funds it receives from the client (minus Upwork's fees) weekly (for hourly jobs) or periodically (for fixed price projects).

[prestonhunter]

Will is right. This might be a new user who has no idea how to use Upwork properly.

Do NOT share bank information. To answer their question about preferred payment method, tell them: "I will be paid through Upwork."

And tell them:

"I look forward to working on this project. I will accept the contract offer and get started as soon as you click the 'Hire' button."

Then ONLY do any work for this client if you see the job listed here:

Upwork -> My Jobs -> My Jobs

[jaeangelina]

Hi thank you for this! I really had a feeling it was a scam because i was applying for a customer service role for **edited for Community Guidelines** and they never did a phone interview and all of a sudden i passed.

[AveryO]

I'm sorry to learn about your experience with Upwork, Jae. 

I highly recommend that you read up on the freelancer resources we have compiled for great tips and insights on how you can work successfully on the platform. Please don’t forget to read the "Safety First!" section of the resources, and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs for more information about working safely through Upwork.

I hope this helps you identify red flags, and work safely on Upwork moving forward. 

[rustammir]

 I am having a similar issue. Even after completing and submitting the work (article) properly through upwork, the employer is threatening to cancel the contract if I don't send her the article privately. I clearly told her that I will not do that, but she has gone quiet after that. How much should I wait before I report the issue?

[petra_r]

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Rustam Abbas M wrote:

 I am having a similar issue. Even after completing and submitting the job properly through upwork, the employer is threatening to cancel the contract if I don't send her the article privately. I clearly told her that I will not do that

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Why not? If you are hired and have a contract, why don't you want to send the work in the way the client asks? (If you don't have a contract and aren't hired, you shouldn't have done the work in the first place.)

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Rustam Abbas M wrote:

 How much should I wait before I report the issue?

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Report what? That a client is asking for the work to be sent to them? 

[rustammir]

Hi Petra,

I did send the work by uploading it via Upwork. It is there for approval. She wants me to send it privately, where I can't contest if she doesn't pay me and uses my work anyway. Just to be sure, I "did" complete and send the work through proper channel.

[petra_r]

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Rustam wrote:

I did send the work by uploading it via Upwork. It is there for approval. She wants me to send it privately, where I can't contest if she doesn't pay me and uses my work anyway. Just to be sure, I "did" complete and send the work through proper channel.

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Just to make sure: You have a contract, and it is funded and you submitted using the "submit for payment function" on the contract, yes? If so, I am at a complete loss as to why you should refuse such a simple request so aggressively. If you have already requested payment for the submitted work, there is no single sensible reason why you should refuse to also send it otherwise. 

It makes no difference. It also makes no sense. At all. All it does is irritate and upset the client, leading to a poor outcome of the contract. 

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1) I should also add that no where in the contract was it mentioned that I will have to send her the work any other way than uploading it the correct way.

2) If she had asked me to, I would never have agreed to it.

1) Why would something so obvious have to be mentioned in the contract?

2) I'm sorry, I am at a loss to even begin to understand why a freelancer would be so dead set on upsetting a client for no reason at all and refuse such a perfectly normal request.

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[rustammir]

I see, I must admit that being new on the platform, I might not know certain things. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am sorry to bother you again but I need to be sure. If the employer wants me to upload the work to "her" google docs account, is it completely safe for me to do that? It sounded shady to me that when there is a proper way given by upwork, why is there this need to do things any other way. It is not my intention to cause irritation of any kind.

[petra_r]

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Rustam Abbas M wrote:

I see, I must admit that being new on the platform, I might not know certain things. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am sorry to bother you again but I need to be sure. If the employer wants me to upload the work to "her" google docs account, is it completely safe for me to do that? It sounded shady to me that when there is a proper way given by upwork, why is there this need to do things any other way. It is not my intention to cause irritation of any kind.

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Again: Do you have a funded contract? (In other words, When you go to your My Jobs Page, can you see the contract there?)

Did you use the "Submit work for payment" function on the contract to submit the work?

Have you gone to the contract and clicked on a button called "Submit work for Payment" to upload the work?

If yes, then there is no reason not to send the work in any way the client wants. 

If you do not have a proper contract (check your My Jobs Page) then you shouldn't have done any work anyway and not sent anything in any way.

But if you have the contract and submitted properly already, there is no reason not to send it to the client via whatever suits the client.

[rustammir]

Thank you Petra, much obliged.

[rustammir]

Like I said, I am new to Upwork. (even though I have an old account, I never used it before). I did not know that it is normal practice to upload the article to someone else's google docs account.

[wescowley]

Rustam -

As Petra pointed out, it's perfectly fine to do send the doc to the client's Google Drive account or however else they want it delivered. I deliver work through several different channels, based on what the client wants. 

One thing to make sure to do is to either also send it thru the Submit Work page, or (what I usually do) clearly state on the Submit Work dialog that the work was delivered through Google Drive/Overleaf/email/whatever. 

[trdavid]

Your payment is secured by upwork if you signed the contract on upwork. Just send the work whichever way the client wants. Remember they paid before they hired you

[rustammir]

Thank you so much for clearing the matter up for me.

[pgiambalvo]

Onkwani, his payment is NOT secure unless he used the time tracker. If he didn't, it's pretty much on the honor system whether the client pays or not as Upwork will not force them to. Sure, he can dispute it if they don't, but again, no matter the outcome, Upwork will not make the client pay him.

[rustammir]

I should also add that no where in the contract was it mentioned that I will have to send her the work any other way than uploading it the correct way. If she had asked me to, I would never have agreed to it.

[susanwinlowmedia]

Hi,

I'm new too, and I just went through this last week. It is more than likely a scam. There are some on here, and they target new people. I learned quickly that you should rarely interview off the Upwork site (I guess there are some exceptions), and send/receive on Upwork only. Payment should only be through Upwork. They don't want to send you a laptop and a check, by any chance? Mine was a message interview on Skype too; when he wanted my bank name, I got suspicious. He wanted all communication through email. It was shady - turns out it was a scam. Yesterday I noticed an ad just like the one I responded to, and I reported it. It was another roofing company. 

Someone else with much more experience will give you some better guidance. I just wanted to let you know  that you're not alone in this!

[allisonwilliams8]

Was this for a proofreading/editing job for **edited for Community Guidelines** Because this same thing just happened to me and I've been wondering the same thing. I'm not sure if it is a scam or not. I went through the whole skype interview (chat only), they sent me a google doc "contract," and then asked me what bank I use

[susanwinlowmedia]

Allison,

It's a scam. Last week they were another roofing company. And yes, editing/proofreading job. I reported this job yesterday because it was the exact same thing as the one I applied to last week. 

[n_sritharan]

Hi There,

I need a little bit of help with regardsto one of the company reached out to me for a job invite. The client is new to upwork, no payment mthod is verified. It is an Insurance based company, the hirng manager interviewed me via google hangout chat, so she said they do offer both full time and part time positions, $35 per hour, will be providing training 1 week and pay $25 per hour for training. Also they asked me if I prefer to get paid via credit card / cheque or Direct Deposit to my bank account. 

They said they are also sending a free Apple laptop installed the softwares that I need to use in order to protect company's confidentiality. Also they are sendin $100 bonus along with the first pay cheque. Can someone please assiste me to make sure if this is legit job or a scam? Seeking a help. 

Thanks

[aitringo]

As long as they offer a payment outside the platform, it is a violation of the terms and conditions of the platform.

In other words, you must force the customer to pay you via the platform. Otherwise, you risk being banned for life. 

You risk everything, they risk nothing!

[n_sritharan]

Thank you for the response! 

[JoanneP]

Hi Nisha,

If you see a job or a profile that seems suspicious, you can report it to us using the flagging option. You can read more on this help article and also, please check out Tips to avoid questionable jobs. You might also want to check out the information here to learn more about staying safe on Upwork. Please feel free to send me a PM with more information so I can check. Thank you!

[n_sritharan]

Hi Joanne,

thank you for your reply. I have already marked the job posting as flagged and I also sent you a personal message attached a screenshot of the job posting as well. 

[PradeepH]

Hi Nisha,

Thanks for flagging the job. Our team will review your report and appropriate action will be taken as defined in our TOS.

Thank you

Pradeep