I think I have been scammed by Upwork and its not fair, My account should be reviewed

[#1]

Now I saw a post from a client saying he needs a cryptocurrency expert the client is from the UK and he said he is into real estate and wants to explore the crypto world but they have some bans on crypto in their country. I actually Sent a proposal and it was accepted before we started this discussion.

Now he said he would pay me hourly for teaching him, and also I would help him buy some crypto because he cant in his country and he has tried a lot of things I did some research and found out that it was true.

So finally we had a zoom meeting he could not share his screen and so he sent screenshots of his binance not having a p2p section so I believed he could not really buy.

So he said I should send him crypto and he would pay me on upwork.

Firstly we spent an hour or more on our first contract and he paid me. He even sent the invoice and I researched and found out that it takes a 5 day security period for the payment to reflect in my earnings.

Wow, I was happy just made my first earning I went ahead to verify my account, it was also successful.

After that, the client gave me lots of bonuses and requested that I send him crypto and that he is eager to buy so he can show his friend that has been having the same challenges as him.

I sent Crypto and he gave me bonuses. To cut the long story short.

I checked my transactions and am seeing some return transactions of all the funds I was paid by the client, upwork suspended our contract (the new one we had for hourly training), and I already did all the client said to do and trusted upwork to deliver my funds cause I taught they were reputable but it seems not so.

On top of that, they gave me a certificate of earning 0$ and I cant still make my profile visible.

I think I have been treated badly by upwork and it's not fair something should be done.

My account was also blocked from withdrawal.

Now it seems like I lost my crypto and upwork ran away with my money, I never knew upwork was a scam also. Am disappointed.

To resolve this issue I need my crypto back, I can leave my hours of work and teaching to waste I followed the rules but still got scammed.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#2]

OK I GET THAT

[#3]

How is it ever plausible that a UK person can't buy crypto? 

[#4]

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Martina P wrote:

How is it ever plausible that a UK person can't buy crypto? 

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Or doesn't have a street address and a postcode in the wrong format that does not exist.

[#5]

I did my research on that and what I found is that there was a ban

[#6]

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Collins K wrote:

I did my research on that and what I found is that there was a ban

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There isn't! People in the UK can OF COURSE buy crypto. And even if there was some ban in the UK (which is nonsense), there are literally ENDLESS ways how people can buy crypto without paying crazily over the actual value via Upwork. Nobody would ever do that.

[#7]

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Collins K wrote:

I did my research on that and what I found is that there was a ban

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IF there was a ban on buying something in the UK, then there would be a good reason for it, so you were helping somebody to do something that they weren't supposed to do. If a person wants to pay you a lot of money for a small amount of simple work, it's either something illegal, or they want to scam you. If you want to work on Upwork, set reasonable fees and do honest, actual work - don't expect that this is an easy way to get rich quickly. It's not.

And stop blaming Upwork. They didn't scam you, the "client" did, and you happily went along with it out of greed.

[#8]

Hey ma'am hold it there I didn't even tell him a quote I tried to help him buy it was to no avail we did a test and he confirmed I was genuine, then all of a sudden he said he has made a payment I asked that I refunded it but said not to worry I should send him crypto and keep the money. I did not ask for a quote or tell him a price, he knew the price he even said someone else asked for 1000$ for $4000 that it was too high, I was trying to help a dude that was seemingly low on crypto knowledge.

So don't bring all these stories of greed here because you don't know me and don't assume **Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#9]

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Collins K wrote:

I did my research on that and what I found is that there was a ban

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Binance (which you mentioned in your first post) has been banned in the UK. Cryptocurrency itself has not.

[#10]

There are also special cases where individuals have challenges buying even if its accepted in their Country or Location

[#11]

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Collins K wrote:

There are also special cases where individuals have challenges buying even if its accepted in their Country or Location

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If there were such a case, the individual could have their pick of tens of thousands of freelancers on Upwork who are delighted to perform small, simple tasks for very little money - the individual wouldn't have to pay hundreds in order to get this done. And if you had been charging the client a fair price for the work yourself, instead of trying to take advantage of them, you wouldn't be in this situation.

[#12]

Hey ma'am hold it there I didn't even tell him a quote I tried to help him buy it was to no avail we did a test and he confirmed I was genuine, then all of a sudden he said he has made a payment I asked that I refunded it but said not to worry I should send him crypto and keep the money. I did not ask for a quote or tell him a price, he knew the price he even said someone else asked for 1000$ for $4000 that it was to high, i was trying to help a dude that was seemedly low on crypto knowledge.

So don't bring all this stories of greed here cause you don't know me and don't assume **Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#13]

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Collins K wrote:

Hey ma'am hold it there I didn't even tell him a quote I tried to help him buy it was to no avail we did a test and he confirmed I was genuine, then all of a sudden he said he has made a payment I asked that I refunded it but said not to worry I should send him crypto and keep the money. I did not ask for a quote or tell him a price, he knew the price he even said someone else asked for 1000$ for $4000 that it was to high, i was trying to help a dude that was seemedly low on crypto knowledge.

So don't bring all this stories of greed here cause you don't know me and don't assume **Edited for Community Guidelines**

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It is not so difficult to understand.
Let's see, you've kept the conversation going on Upwork, right?
If so, this part is fine.
You had a contract, still good.
You have bought crypto for a client and sent it to them, correct?
If so, wrong, you have violated the TOS. You run out of money.
Easy, right?

[#14]

Ok before i violated TOS, i was paid for a contract teaching for an hour what happen there

[#15]

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Collins K wrote:

Ok before i violated TOS, i was paid for a contract teaching for an hour what happen there

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There are very specific conditions to qualify for Upwork's hourly payment protection, and it's clear that this job breaks at least one of them. So, no, even that is gone.

I'm sorry you got hit this way, but it's a very common scam (though the scammer seems to have put a bit more effort into it than most). I think one of the mods linked to this, but I'll do it again here: read this post before you continue. It will help you recognize other scams.

What I'm seeing in your post is something I see a lot in other new freelancers' posts after they've been scammed: a basic, but very incorrect, assumption that Upwork will protect you and that if the job is posted on Upwork the client has been vetted and the job is safe. None of that is true.

[#16]

OH I SEE, Thank you sir

[#17]

It not but someone should not come here saying I am greedy and taking advantage of people that's wrong

[#18]

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Collins K wrote:

Hey ma'am hold it there I didn't even tell him a quote I tried to help him buy it was to no avail we did a test and he confirmed I was genuine, then all of a sudden he said he has made a payment I asked that I refunded it but said not to worry I should send him crypto and keep the money. I did not ask for a quote or tell him a price, he knew the price he even said someone else asked for 1000$ for $4000 that it was to high, i was trying to help a dude that was seemedly low on crypto knowledge.

So don't bring all this stories of greed here cause you don't know me and don't assume **Edited for Community Guidelines**

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Just for future reference:

If you are in a situation where you want/need to refund a client, be aware that you refund from your ACCOUNT. For example, you can't refund this specific bonus at all, it goes against your account balance. 

So if you had refunded it, you would have refunded your own money, because the bonus wasn't real. Refunding does not mean the bonus is reversed, it means you pay from your account balance, which obviously can become negative. 

There were some people who reported the scam, with the twist that the client asked them to refund because they overpaid, and they did that too. These people also didn't get the fictional bonus, bought crypto with their own money, and then "refunded" their own money. 

[#19]

I see

[#20]

I was not taking advantage of anyone instead I was taken advantage of so cut it.

[#21]

Hi All,

A few posts have been removed or edited from this thread for Community Guidelines. We encourage our Community members to be professional and respectful to one another when posting here. Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines and avoid making personal attacks.

Collins,

I shared your report with the team handling your case and they will follow up with you on your support ticket as soon as possible. If you have any further questions feel free to follow up on your ticket and our team will be happy to assist you. You can access your ticket on this page.

Please know that a real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. You should never get paid or pay someone outside of Upwork. You may open yourself up to scams or fraud, and lose Upwork Payment Protection. For more information about Upwork's Terms of Service please check this page.

You may want to check this thread and this help article to help you stay safe on Upwork. 

Thank you,

[#22 · Accepted solution]

So I just stumbled upon this job post about buying crypto where the client is recently registered, payment verified, and having 2 scams in progress already: The crypto is job #3.

The jobs:

1. I need a basic website for my business. it needs to be clean and basic! all my products are sunglasses for men and women. you can make the website with whatever you want but not WIX. with that said i will also need you to add products, their descritpion , the prices. make and about of page, faqs page, privacy, return policy, terms and condition. i need this done in 2 days if possible. $500
   
   
2. Hi, i need someone that can connect a theme to a shopify account and edit some small things. $100
   
   
3. Hello, i need someone to guide me through how to buy crypto coins $75

How to tell freelancers in job #1 & #2 about this? 😑 

And how to not fall into this? If the scammer is like the one described in this thread, experienced freelancers can be tricked as well (into "working" on Job #1 & #2).

Upwork must be really confused right now.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#23]

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Radia L wrote:

And how to not fall into this?

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VERY simple! By NOT violating Upwork's Terms of Service. And having a modicum of common sense.

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experienced freelancers can be tricked as well

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Not really. You have to be willing to violate the Terms of Service and not think very clearly because obviously, no real client would ever dream of really paying vastly more than three crypto costs by paying via Upwork. It doesn't make sense at any level.

When something doesn't make sense, anyone with any sense takes a step back and starts to think...

[#24]

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Petra R wrote:

VERY simple!

I'm talking about job #1 and #2 which is already in progress and even I can fall into it if nothing suspicious in the job description and the milestone is properly funded.

I might be able to smell something during interview. But not really sure if the scammer is so nice as described in this thread.

[#25]

It did not make sense really but you only see what you see.

I did not offer to sell crypto at escalated prices on upwork, as I said I tried to help him buy for hours through our call but it was to no avail and then he sent funds which I did not request for, been a newbie on upwork I taught it was real and legit.

Upwork sent me a notification, pending payment and an invoice confirmed and it was a bonus something done out of free will not compulsion or mistake from the client so he couldn't, therefore, reverse it. So I believed it as true.

I requested a refund but he said I should hold it and send crypto.

And the deal was good, I was even offering to create projects for him in our discussion. 

Dont say it like am a fool not knowing what am doing.

I trusted the invoice and payment thinking it was done and verified, like every normal card payment would be on any platform.

And I assumed I was blessed and has met an angel cause I had been in a bad situation the past few days and been despiriatly seeking for help and funds.

[#26]

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Collins K wrote:

Dont say it like am a fool not knowing what am doing.

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Nobody used the word fool, but yes, you don't know what you are doing, you said it yourself. 

You did not know that bonuses are not protected. You did not know that Upwork only protects you if you follow the rules. You did not know the rules. So, you did not know what you were doing.

Now, you do. Next time, do not pay anything for a job. Do not accept bonuses as a method of payment (bonuses are that, bonuses). In general, read the ToS. If you know and follow the rules and use some common sense, these things will be less likely to happen.