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abdulr995
Community Member

Invitation of a Job where the Client wants me to contact via Whatsapp.

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.

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g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member
Retired Team Member

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.

~ Goran
Upwork

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30 REPLIES 30
hglewis
Community Member

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.

g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member
Retired Team Member

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.

~ Goran
Upwork

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.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

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".

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.

 

Thank you!  The only 2 responses from "employers" I have received since becoming an upwork member have been this way.  


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. 

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. 

 

Honestly..No.  That is why I posted here.  I wanted to have documentation incase what I suspected was accurate.


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. 

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.


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....


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. 


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;

  • Skype
  • email 
  • check
  • paying the opt-out fee
  • that the job posting will be taken down because of ... reasons (laughable)

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.... 

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.


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. 


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!


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. 

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.

Thank you.  I am working on it now.

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.

~ Goran
Upwork

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:

Content Writer

Proofreader & Editor for Blogs

Copywriting for website and content creation

We urgently need a Creative Proofreader

Proofreading and Editing

Freelance Content Editor

Proofreader Jobs Remote | Freelance Proofreading Work

A freelance editor/writer

Copyeditor for books for children

Service of a proofreader needed to complete and transform a manuscript

Content (Technical & Creative) Writer

Edit/Revamp Resume and write compelling cover letter

Proof Reader

And so much of this could be alleviated with a  meaningful test that freelancers must pass before profile approval.

Just sent you a message and shared the information. Thank you!

pgiambalvo
Community Member

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.

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.


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. 

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.


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. 

Lucky you.


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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