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robcortex
Community Member

Is it normal to get a full-time job offer on Upwork?

I've been looking for freelance data entry clerk jobs on Upwork, but I'm very new to it all.

 

On one of them, I seemed to have lucked out and gotten a job offer from**Edited for community guidelines**. They even sent me an official letter and everything to sign, and now I'm just waiting for them to process sending me some check to buy some equipment to work on.

 

So at first I thought, "Oh lucky me!" But out of curiosity and to pass time while working with them, I decided to try out for some one-off projects to help my income while waiting for the job to start.

 

As luck would have it, I found yet another job from an employer who hasn't offered me much info about them, and they TOO, want me to actually work for them and accept a check so I can buy the equipment thye need to do their work.

 

So now I'm suspicious, and really, I just want to find some remote work.

 

Does anyone know much about this?

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Justin,

Beware of any client who wants to send you a check for equipment. Freelancers are supposed to have the appropriate equipment, software, etc., to do the work they are applying for. Also, consider it a red flag whenever a potential client asks to correspond with you off the platform (not allowed unless there is a contract in place). I just had a clash with a client who sent me an invitation to apply and wanted me to send them an email for "further correspondence." They replied by saying they have "their own protocol." I told them their protocol violates Upwork rules and can get freelancers booted off the platform...then I cut and pasted their responses to me in a  "flag as inappropriate" message to Upwork.

 

Sadly, these people are like ants at a picnic; they keep coming. You'll learn to recognize them: Ads full of misspellings, incorrect capitalization and punctuation, and grammar errors...ads you've seen before, even though it says the client just joined Upwork that day (a sign they are signing up under different names), no hiring history, seeking entry level freelancers and offering good hourly rates (which no one does; entry level means low rates).

 

Good luck to you.

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
prestonhunter
Community Member

Justin:

This is a scam.

Scammers simply copied the name of a major company and are pretending to be from that company.

These people are trying to steal about $3000 from your bank account. That's what the check is for. It's a fake check that they use to steal money from freelancers.

jaycrutcher
Community Member

No, no, no , no! You are caught in the middle of a common scam. They mostly go after new freelancers. Do not attempt to use those checks, and report those people.

Sorry that last thing was a reaction. I appreciate both of your responses.

 

So, if I found a data entry job on Indeed, and they also required me to take certain equipment, would it be just as likely to be a scam, or is it more likely to be legitimate?


Justin R wrote:

required me to take certain equipment, would it be just as likely to be a scam, or is it more likely to be legitimate?


101% scam.

Justin,

Beware of any client who wants to send you a check for equipment. Freelancers are supposed to have the appropriate equipment, software, etc., to do the work they are applying for. Also, consider it a red flag whenever a potential client asks to correspond with you off the platform (not allowed unless there is a contract in place). I just had a clash with a client who sent me an invitation to apply and wanted me to send them an email for "further correspondence." They replied by saying they have "their own protocol." I told them their protocol violates Upwork rules and can get freelancers booted off the platform...then I cut and pasted their responses to me in a  "flag as inappropriate" message to Upwork.

 

Sadly, these people are like ants at a picnic; they keep coming. You'll learn to recognize them: Ads full of misspellings, incorrect capitalization and punctuation, and grammar errors...ads you've seen before, even though it says the client just joined Upwork that day (a sign they are signing up under different names), no hiring history, seeking entry level freelancers and offering good hourly rates (which no one does; entry level means low rates).

 

Good luck to you.

JoanneP
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Justin,

 

Please know that for you to have an active contract, the client sends you an offer via Upwork and you have to accept it. All payments should be done on Upwork. I'd also like to note that communication outside of Upwork before a contract is placed is a violation of Upwork TOS. This is just another step we are taking to better ensure Upwork is a safe environment and our users are protected by our programs, such as Upwork Payment Protection. We find that when users communicate outside of Upwork there is an increased risk of fraud, scam, and other harmful behaviors. When communications (and work) stay on our platform we can better track, verify, and help address any issues that emerge, and as a result, the potential for these behaviors to cause harm decreases dramatically. For example, the vast majority of scammers that successfully take advantage of talent do so by going off the platform. 

 

If you see a job 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. 

~ Joanne
Upwork
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