Is this a scam?

[827d2f62]

Here is the message I received from a potential client. 

Hello Jaime,

Thank you for your interest in contributing to our project.
The project invitation is attached to this message.
Please review and take the appropriate measures.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Regards,
Bryan

how do I know if it's safe to click on the link?

[martina_plaschka]

You don't. But the wording is off. You don't need a project invitation, whatever that might be, to be hired. 

Just for fun, tell them to hire you first. You will never hear from them again. 

Did they send this outside of upwork's communication tools? Don't do that again either. 

[feed_my_eyes]

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Martina P wrote:

Did they send this outside of upwork's communication tools?

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I think that the scammers are getting ever-so-slightly smarter and are now attaching documents saying, "contact me on Skype/Whats App," instead of saying this directly in the messages. 

[martina_plaschka]

Right. This is probably what is going on. Whatever happened to the pop-ups in messages? There used to be one when typing in a number with some warning. Nothing happens when I input skype or telegram. They should still flag those. 

Maybe I turned them off, don't know. 

[feed_my_eyes]

That sounds like scam. I would try asking the client a few relevant questions about the job using Upwork messaging, and see if they respond.

[prestonhunter]

A real client can post a real job by posting pertinent information in the job post that appears on the Upwork website.

As a freelancer, if I think that a client may be a legitimate client, but simply is not accustomed to how jobs are posted on Upwork, I can ask the client to paste the information into Upwork Messages.

If a client is not willing to explain anything about their job within the Upwork system, then I am not going to waste my time chasing after that information elsewhere. I am going to assume that person is a scammer who is trying to avoid getting caught by Upwork.

If a client has confidential information that they don't want to be transmitted through the Upwork system, that is fine. They can explain that this is the case, and then they can HIRE ME, and we can exchange information using secure non-Upwork methods. As a database designer who works with confidential information, patient medical information, HIPAA data, credit card data, etc., I am accustomed to doing that. Real clients HIRE me first and then we use any tools they want to use.