My hard earned 3000$ got refunded to client because there was "some issue" with his account.

[#1]

Hi, I had recently done a job and while the 3000$ I earned were still in 7 days lockup I had received an email that due to some issues with my clients account, the contract is terminated and all the money is refunded to the client. Can you believe this **Edited for Community Guidelines**? The issue was with the client's account and he got all the job done and plus all his mont also came back. Upwork support team is not supporting me on this. What should I do ? Can I file a complaint in SEC ?

[#2 · Accepted solution]

The rule of the thumb is, on Upwork on IRL, if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is not! 

This client most likely offered you more than the market value of the crypto, why do you think that happened? Why would anyone pay more than the market value of the Crypto to you? 

It is really sad Saad, $3000 is a big amount for anyone especially in Pakistan or India. Trust me there is nothing that can be done you were a victim of fraud! 

There were many such reports on the Forums last month, interesting observation is all the victims I read about were from Pakistan! Not sure if they are targeting freelancers from Pakistan or if Freelancers from Pakistan are falling for it more often! 

Although, it is already mentioned in Upwork ToS not to do any financial transaction out of the platform. They may need to run an awareness campaign or sent few emailers to inform freelancers about this new "modus operandi" on their platform! 

[#3]

re: "Can I file a complaint in SEC?"

The SEC has no interest in talking to you about this.

Read more here:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Clients/problem-solve-here-no-FTC-BBC-FBI-PD-etc/td-p/678783

[#4]

Hi Saad,

I'm sorry to hear about this. I can see our team has reached out to you regarding this situation, you can check the information they shared with you here and reply directly to them if you have any questions. 

Only approved payment options should be used or received for payment. Additionally, talent should not send payment in any currency to clients off the platform for any reason, even in exchange for payment on the platform. Be cautious of requests to buy, sell, or transfer currencies of any kind (regular or crypto). Being asked to buy, sell, trade, or transfer any form of currency, even for a fee on Upwork, is prohibited and should be reported. For example, purchasing or transferring Bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrency on behalf of a client is a violation of Upwork’s Terms of Service and a common scam.

Please check out this help article for information on Fixed-Price Payment Protection and this post for some more Tips to Avoid Questionable Jobs.

[#5]

I think cryptocurrency and Bitcoin are awesome in the same way that I think mixed martial arts (MMA) and free solo climbing are awesome.

[#6]

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Preston H wrote:

I think cryptocurrency and Bitcoin are awesome in the same way that I think mixed martial arts (MMA) and free solo climbing are awesome.

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Oh don't tease us, Preston. Explain that last bit. 

[#7]

I really do think it's cool.

I don't want to see it banned or anything.

But you shouldn't be doing this unless you know what you're doing.

And you shouldn't be doing this unless you accept the fact that you might get hurt.

There are a lot of things that I think are awesome, but which I wouldn't do personally.

And some very cool things have an appropriate place... but you can't do them everywhere.

[#8]

But presumably a freelancer who is hired to "get" crypto for someone knows that there are already plenty of exchanges where one can buy crypto. And if one doesn't want to deal with a KYC site, he/she can go to any number of anonymous crypto exchanges on the net. So, you should know better. You lost this one; move on and learn from it.

[#9]

I saw a week ago someone got hired and got paid the same day, $4300.

Is this you? (Probably not as you are compaining about a $3000 earning)

[#10]

Thanks for the support. Yes I got scammed and nothing could be done now. End of story

[#11]

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Renante V wrote:

I saw a week ago someone got hired and got paid the same day, $4300.

Is this you? (Probably not as you are compaining about a $3000 earning)

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That could very well have been him. The client promises a huge commission, 30% sounds about right. It has to be enough for a freelancer to lose all common sense and only see $$$  blinking in front of his eyes.