Nov 4, 2021 09:12:29 AM by Abdul R
I am getting a lot of invitations from someone who posts jobs about Online posting saying Contact me on WhatsApp for more information. I have declined his invitation but he has invited me again probably using a new account. And sometimes when I click on the invitation link the job post looks to be unavailable. It may impact my score or my response rate. Please help what should I do.
Solved! Go to Solution.
Nov 4, 2021 10:01:58 AM by Goran V
Hi Abdul,
Could you share more details with me via PM (click on my name) so that our team can investigate this further and take proper actions? Thank you.
Nov 4, 2021 09:31:54 AM by Woodrow Q
Hello Abdul!
Abdul R wrote:I am getting a lot of invitations from someone who posts jobs about Online posting saying Contact me on WhatsApp for more information. I have declined his invitation but he has invited me again probably using a new account. And sometimes when I click on the invitation link the job post looks to be unavailable. It may impact my score or my response rate. Please help what should I do.
Remember this simple rule for your protection. Communicating outside of Upwork before a contract is in place is against the Terms of Service. But after you've been hired, you are free to use WhatsApp or other methods to communicate with your client.
Also, when you decline an invitation, you do have the option to block the client from sending you future invitations. If you suspect this client or their company is using different accounts to reach out to you, I recommend flagging the job or jobs. If you have additional information then let Upwork know when you flag the job.
Nov 4, 2021 10:01:58 AM by Goran V
Hi Abdul,
Could you share more details with me via PM (click on my name) so that our team can investigate this further and take proper actions? Thank you.
Nov 4, 2021 12:02:08 PM Edited Nov 4, 2021 12:14:05 PM by Goran V
Hello,
I am having the same issue. I received an invitation about 2 hours ago that was sent to my messages on Upwork. I had to download Skype to go through the interview process. I am also new to Upwork. Is this typically how the process goes? The Client has sent me a contract to sign which came to my Gmail. They also advised that I would be paid through paper check although I informed them that I am set up through Upwork to be paid via Direct Deposit.
This is the 2nd time I have felt very put off by an interview though Upwork.
I have attached the "invite" I received. It did not show up as an invite, only came in a message.
I have also attached a copy of said "employment contract".
Nov 4, 2021 12:07:31 PM by Mary W
Elizabeth, total scam. According to the TOS, all communication before a contract is signed MUST go through Upwork. Payment MUST go through Upwork. Contract MUST come through Upwork. Any violations will cause you to be permanently banned from the platform.
Please, please don't reply to any job posts until you understand the TOS. You are at risk of losing your account. There is plenty of information on the website to help you understand how it works.
Nov 4, 2021 12:11:17 PM by Elizabeth M
Thank you! The only 2 responses from "employers" I have received since becoming an upwork member have been this way.
Nov 4, 2021 12:14:46 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:Thank you! The only 2 responses from "employers" I have received since becoming an upwork member have been this way.
Next red flag: employer. There are no employers on upwork. You are not and will not become an employee.
Nov 4, 2021 12:09:36 PM by Piotr O
I don't know how THIS particular scam works but did you believe that UpWork's employee (since it looks like UpWork is recruiting) would use an email in a @hotmail.com domain? Plus some typos (ok, this can happen to anyone).
No communication outside UW before a contract is set and confirmed. It works.
Nov 4, 2021 12:12:52 PM by Elizabeth M
Honestly..No. That is why I posted here. I wanted to have documentation incase what I suspected was accurate.
Nov 4, 2021 12:16:30 PM Edited Nov 4, 2021 12:21:32 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:Honestly..No. That is why I posted here. I wanted to have documentation incase what I suspected was accurate.
No. You don't post here for documentation. This is a public forum of mostly other freelancers. We don't need to see that stuff and we are not interested in documenting anything. What you reported here can cost you your profile, since you violated ToS. You did document that extensively. Well.
What you do is flag the job posting or contact customer support to report it.
If you are serious about freelancing on upwork, you need to do your homework. Nothing in your profile tells a potential client that he should hire you or which skill you possess. Any response to any proposal you send at this time is a scammer. No serious client will contact you.
Nov 4, 2021 12:41:01 PM by Elizabeth M
I will just say thank you for your response and leave it at that. If Upwork has an issue with what I have posted they will reach out to me for any Violations I have committed. Also, posting the attachments I posted may possibly help out another Freelancer. Good Luck in all your future endevors Karen.
Nov 4, 2021 12:54:25 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:I will just say thank you for your response and leave it at that. If Upwork has an issue with what I have posted they will reach out to me for any Violations I have committed. Also, posting the attachments I posted may possibly help out another Freelancer. Good Luck in all your future endevors Karen.
The attachments have been deleted because that's also not allowed... jus' sayin....
Nov 4, 2021 12:13:58 PM by Martina P
Piotr O wrote:I don't know how THIS particular scam works but did you believe that UpWork's employee (since it looks like UpWork is recruiting) would use an email in a @hotmail.com domain? Plus some typos (ok, this can happen to anyone).
No communication outside UW before a contract is set and confirmed. It works.
It's the check cashing scam.
Nov 4, 2021 12:10:55 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:Hello,
I am having the same issue. I received an invitation about 2 hours ago that was sent to my messages on Upwork. I had to download Skype to go through the interview process. I am also new to Upwork. Is this typically how the process goes? The Client has sent me a contract to sign which came to my Gmail. They also advised that I would be paid through paper check although I informed them that I am set up through Upwork to be paid via Direct Deposit.
This is the 2nd time I have felt very put off by an interview though Upwork.
I have attached the "invite" I received. It did not show up as an invite, only came in a message.
These are the red flags;
Yes, this is pretty typical how the process goes when you have been targeted by a scammer. Your fault in this? You didn't read the ToS and have no clue what you are allowed to do and what not.
To explain: No communication outside of upwork is allowed before hire. When you adhere to this, scammers can't get to you.
Further: nobody, least of all a serious client, will pay thousands of dollars of opt-out fee to hire an inexperienced newbie, instead of simply finding an experienced freelancer.
They will take the job posting down? Right... usually upwork does that once it's flagged for a violation....
Nov 4, 2021 12:17:31 PM by Elizabeth M
Thank you. And just to be clear, I did read the terms of service. That being said, Both "invites" I received came in this way and started in my Upwork messages so I was not 100% sure.
I do appreciate everyones input and responses to my issue. Each response has been noted and I will be WAY more diligent in the future.
Thank you again.
Nov 4, 2021 12:25:43 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:Thank you. And just to be clear, I did read the terms of service. That being said, Both "invites" I received came in this way and started in my Upwork messages so I was not 100% sure.
I do appreciate everyones input and responses to my issue. Each response has been noted and I will be WAY more diligent in the future.
Thank you again.
You communicated outside of upwork, so you missed a very important part. Don't even read any invites you get until your profile is much improved. Only people with a good upwork history get invitations from real clients.
Nov 4, 2021 12:27:55 PM Edited Nov 4, 2021 12:28:41 PM by Piotr O
Elizabeth M wrote:Thank you. And just to be clear, I did read the terms of service. That being said, Both "invites" I received came in this way and started in my Upwork messages so I was not 100% sure.
I do appreciate everyones input and responses to my issue. Each response has been noted and I will be WAY more diligent in the future.
Thank you again.
You are welcome - we all face scams, some more frequently than others. I was being lured by one today (they wanted to be contacted via email provided in the attachment to the posting) and also lost two connects sending a proposal to the posting that appeared again twice, slightly re-written.
BTW - put some work in your profile. Are you not a native EN speaker? And the "about" is empty as a shop with fireworks after New Years Eve. Brag a bit there 🙂
Good luck!
Nov 4, 2021 12:37:21 PM by Martina P
Piotr O wrote:
Elizabeth M wrote:Thank you. And just to be clear, I did read the terms of service. That being said, Both "invites" I received came in this way and started in my Upwork messages so I was not 100% sure.
I do appreciate everyones input and responses to my issue. Each response has been noted and I will be WAY more diligent in the future.
Thank you again.
You are welcome - we all face scams, some more frequently than others. I was being lured by one today (they wanted to be contacted via email provided in the attachment to the posting) and also lost two connects sending a proposal to the posting that appeared again twice, slightly re-written.
BTW - put some work in your profile. Are you not a native EN speaker? And the "about" is empty as a shop with fireworks after New Years Eve. Brag a bit there 🙂
Good luck!
Disagree. I've never been targeted by a scammer. Granted, I don't live in the US and nobody will send me a fake check. Haven't been asked to buy crypto either, to share my profile, haven't been promised a huge commission for sending someone's uncle money... my life is rather boring, as I now realize. Oh well.
Nov 4, 2021 12:41:25 PM by Preston H
re: "my life is rather boring, as I now realize. Oh well."
We should be able to sign up to be scam-tested.
We would go to a page where we click a button to opt in. Then during the following year, we receive an invite from a scammer.
Nov 4, 2021 12:13:31 PM by Goran V
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for flagging this. Our team will investigate it further and will take proper action. Check out this Post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs. You can also check out our resources Here and learn more about how to protect yourself and about getting started on Upwork. Thank you.
Nov 4, 2021 02:14:25 PM by Peter G
And if this helps for jobs to watch out for, here are the the ones I've flagged in the past couple of hours today:
Nov 4, 2021 02:34:32 PM by Mary W
And so much of this could be alleviated with a meaningful test that freelancers must pass before profile approval.
Nov 4, 2021 12:20:28 PM by Peter G
Yep, these scammers are all over the site recently, MUCH MUCH MORE than I have ever seen before. I don't know what changed on Upwork's end, if anything, to allow this to happen, but IT IS happening, despite what some others may say. Upwork will do nothing more than they already do to stop them from posting. All you can do is flag them and then they may or may not take them down. And, of course, never ever ever communicate with someone outside of Upwork until a contract has been set up.
Nov 4, 2021 12:35:37 PM by Elizabeth M
Thank you sir! It is frustrating to say the least. I appreciate your feedback, and in the future I will not be responding to any invite unless it shows up under the "invite" section. It is not my perogative to do things outside of Upwork terms. I am thankful for this site. I just hope they can figure out a way to lessen the scams that show up.
Nov 4, 2021 12:42:31 PM by Martina P
Elizabeth M wrote:Thank you sir! It is frustrating to say the least. I appreciate your feedback, and in the future I will not be responding to any invite unless it shows up under the "invite" section. It is not my perogative to do things outside of Upwork terms. I am thankful for this site. I just hope they can figure out a way to lessen the scams that show up.
They are hard to spot since the job postings themselves don't contain any wording that would pop up. The scammy wording starts as soon as communication is taken outside of upwork. It is unfortunately up to us freelancers to spot them, flag them, and always follow ToS.
What you could do now is research other profiles and learn from them. Take a good few hours, or a whole weekend, and craft a profile that pops. Then start applying for jobs.
Nov 4, 2021 12:58:42 PM by Peter G
Martina, I respectfully disagree. They are incredibly easy to spot. They use the same few job titles, very similar verbiage in the job description, show that they are a very recent or new member with no history or hires, payment is not verified, and usually no city listed for their location, just United States.
Nov 4, 2021 01:01:16 PM by Martina P
Peter G wrote:Martina, I respectfully disagree. They are incredibly easy to spot. They use the same few job titles, very similar verbiage in the job description, show that they are a very recent or new member with no history or hires, payment is not verified, and usually no city listed for their location, just United States.
Yep, thing is, I probably never come across any in my feed. They might be US only jobs, which I can never see.
Nov 4, 2021 03:01:12 PM by Piotr O
Martina P wrote:
Peter G wrote:Martina, I respectfully disagree. They are incredibly easy to spot. They use the same few job titles, very similar verbiage in the job description, show that they are a very recent or new member with no history or hires, payment is not verified, and usually no city listed for their location, just United States.
Yep, thing is, I probably never come across any in my feed. They might be US only jobs, which I can never see.
Nope. I'm in Europe and am privileged to face these scams every day - just learned to pass on on most of them, not all though.
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