Is this client trying to get me to download a virus on my phone?

[hamz-suren]

Got 2 skype interviews today.

One asked me to write the articles and that she'll pay me weekly outside of upwork. Reported her.

Second one looks too good to be true ($3500 budget) and she wants to hire 30 freelancers. She is currently interviewing over 20 and I was one of them. 

However, the second one sent a zip attachment (job instructions) in our skype chat and I can't get it to open at all. She hasn't replied after that and I'm getting really anxious now. 

Did she just get me to download some hacking software of any sort?

[mwiggenhorn]

I would be distrustful of anyone interviewing that many for a single job.  Run your virus scan, block the client, flag the job post and move on.  You don't need to deal with anything you aren't comfortable with.

[charles_kozierok]

It's a scam and that is malware. Run an antivirus, block and report the client.

[lysis10]

is it really a zip file or something like something.zip.exe?

[charles_kozierok]

I've seen this one before. It's a zip file usually containing a Word document and something else.

[lysis10]

yeah but she says she can't open the zip file, which makes me wonder if it's not really a zip file.

The best thing to do with thist type of stuff is upload to G drive and open it there. That's what I do when they give me attachments.

[aocumen]

Hi Hamz, 

I'm very glad that you know how to spot red flags, and immediately reported these clients to the support team. I can see that they are requesting for more details on your support ticket. If you have any other information to include, like screengrabs of your conversations with the client, please send them in via the support ticket. 

[hamz-suren]

Thanks, Avery. I've sent in the print screen images. 

Client 1, the one hiring people outside of upwork has a fishy payment system. She wants to make weekly payments but she expects work to be started right away and needs a 500+ words article every 2 hours. 

She's also interviewing a bunch of people. 

[hamz-suren]

Thank you so much guys for the helpful replies.  This is what I got every time I tried to open it and it couldn't be opened via the other options available such as Gmail, WhatsApp, notepad, etc.

She said this document had the payment/job guidelines, so yeah I clicked several times like Scrat trying to get hold of his acorn in Ice Age. 

What freaked me out is the fact she almost gave me the job and stopped replying after she sent the attachment. 

[hamz-suren]

I accidentally clicked on the "Accept" button here, sorry.