My suggestions to avoid scammers.

[debi-f]

Hi Freelancers!

We all know that the scammers are a serious problem now, and that the Upwork Team is not solving it, even when we flag, comment, etc. So, we have to try to help each other in such a way that they will not be anymore a risk for us, as independent workers. 

So, I'm trying (as an experienced freelancer working here for 13 years!) to find ways to avoid the scammers, as I don't find that Upwork is helping me/us. I flagged scammers, commented here, but nothing worked. And, I would like to see Upwork return to being the reliable site it once was.

Please, I ask you to reply adding any idea, advice, comment that could help. 🙏 

My basic suggestions: 

• Don't search only directly at "Find Work".
• Go to the bar "Search for job" and apply Filters.
• One of them is "Payment verified" (although today there are scammers with payment verified and Upwork is not checking it, it could help).
• Other Filter is "Client history". I suggest to check "1 to 9 hires" and  "10+ hires". At least, you are sure that the client really hired freelancers.  
• Check the Date since the client is a member. Usually the scammers are members from the same day they post their jobs, and they didn't hire anyone. 
• DON'T BID for jobs that ask for +20, +40 languages translation, or they publish a list of 15 languages, even when they have their payment verified. They verify their payment from different countries every day. 
• Don't bid and don't connect if they publish a link (telegram, mail, etc.). 
• DON'T BUY CONNECTS, and DON'T BOOST YOUR BIDS. If you do it, you are paying to Upwork for finding a job instead of earning money from your work. Serious clients will find the best options according to your skills and not the amount of bids you use. I only buy 10 connects if I used my 10 free connects, and if I find a real job that is a good fit for me. 

This is my modest contribution.

I hope everyone will make their contribution to improve our chances to find good clients and serious jobs in different areas of jobs. 

If you don't complain, don't complain

Best!

Debi

[spectralua]

My proposal very easy: is necessary identification. Scamming once - never reregistered. Thats all.

ID no problem for legal clients\freelancers. We are identificated at Google, Amazon, Ebay.. anywhere. So it is normal.

It allow drop an 99% of scammers. But im sure that Upwork won't do it.

[debi-f]

Mykola

This is the reason of my Post. As Upwork is not doing it, let's help us each other, suggesting real and simple ways to do it. 

[b4c15981]

What is your thinking about not buying connects? This would make it difficult to submit proposals to legitimate job postings as well. I agree about not boosting, as I have not observed a meaningful impact to my hire rate from boosting, but for freelancers just getting established, it seems unrealistic to wait for invitations only. 

[debi-f]

Nicole,

I suggest using the connects only for jobs you know they are real and that really fit your skills/interests. And if you need to buy, just buy 10 connects ($1.5) only when you need them to bid.

When you buy connects, you are paying to Upwork instead of earning money.  

[b4c15981]

It doesn't make a difference whether you buy connects in sets of 10 or 100. They're the same price. 

When I buy connects, I pay to participate in the marketplace. Until I started receiving occasional invitations, it's required to pay to play. I don't think it's a significant enough amount of money to be a deterrent to submtitting proposals even if there's a possibility some of the jobs are scams. 

[debi-f]

Your decision!

Good luck! 

[tlsanders]

So that bit was unrelated to avoiding scams? 

Or are you suggesting that Upwork charging for connects IS a scam?

[alessandrolupini]

This is all well and good, but the problem is that the people who are here are more advanced users, and they know already all this. I doubt that the people who fall for these scams post on this forum, honestly...

[debi-f]

Alessandro,

What do you suggest? How can you help? 

[tlsanders]

They tend to show up AFTER they fall for a scam. At least then they can get some guidance to minimize the chance that it happens again.

[the-right-writer]

As Tiffany said, they come here after being scammed. Despite Upwork's efforts and the efforts of dedicated volunteers who keep the forum accurate and solve problems, people seem intent on being scammed. It isn't a matter of not knowing, many do know the rules and decide to break them anyway. They think they are unique, or so darned good, someone is going to pay them a huge amount of money for nonsense work, like typing from one format to another. Or they buy/sell/trade illegally, like in crypto moving from country to country. It is rare that after talking to a scammed freelancer that they didn't know it was a violation or they had bad feelings, but in every case, they went outside the platform.

No matter how hard we try, there are people willing and ready to be scammed. They believe the propaganda that anyone can come here and get rich. That's fine, but you have to follow the rules. Every freelancer who accepts a scam, not only hurts themselves, but the other freelancers and the platform. If freelancers stop knowingly breaking the rules, the problem would virtually disappear.

[6bfcdaf8]

How about the good old common sense and due dilligence? When you meet a potential client on upwork, just be genuinely curious to get to know them.

Meet them through a zoom call where both parties reveal their faces, ask them about their business, see if they have a company web page or online presence.

How do they make the money to pay you? How is your output goıing to benefit them?

I believe knowing the answer to these are very important and i try to collect them before i start working with someone.

[debi-f]

You will meet a scammer? You will accept to share your personal data and connect with a scammer? You will waste connects to meet a scammer?  

This is not a solution. You will be part of the problem. 

[6bfcdaf8]

Scammers job posts will eventually be removed, your connects are returned in that case. I would advise against filtering out first time upworker clients. I have made considerable amount of money working with first time upworkers. They are not all scammers.

[fd1a3637]

If everyone refused to work for new clients that have never had the opportunity to hire anyone, that doesn't really bode well for the platform.

[debi-f]

ok

[fd1a3637]

What?

[the-right-writer]

New clients are not necessarily bad. Freelancers need to stop going off platform and follow the rules. If they did, they wouldn't need to worry about new clients.

I've had new clients with no Upwork experience, using fixed hours, and never been scammed. Unverified, too. It doesn't matter, as long as they are funded before work starts.

[fd1a3637]

You're right. I never suggested that they were. Everyone has to start somewhere.

[the-right-writer]

I was agreeing with you.

[debi-f]

Is 1 of the filters you can use to avoid scammers.

Good luck

Be happy!!! 😁

[b4c15981]

Agreed, I've had many lovely clients who had 0 history on the site, joined very recently, and were payment unverified when I submitted a proposal. 

[debi-f]

I didn't say you don't have to accept a client that has 0 hires.

I suggested 1 (ONE) of the things to take into account, among others. 

Good luck! 😁

[tlsanders]

The funny thing is it's often the same freelancers who wail that it's "not fair" clients won't give new freelancers a chance who steadfastly refuse to work with new clients and advise others to avoid them. 

Personally, I generally avoid clients who have a huge number of hires on the platform and love to connect with a brand new client when they first arrive.  

[alessandrolupini]

It's pretty obvious when a job is a scam job. Like you said 0 hires, poor/broken English, unrealistic budgets, one million languages needed...

But the moment the clients asks you to communicate through telegram, or outside Upwork, that's the proof that it's a scam. I still can't believe that 

1 Upwork is basically doing nothing about it

2 how many people fall for these scams

[tlsanders]

What you're actually saying here is that SOME scam jobs are obvious. The ones you describe certainly are to most people. Perhaps less so to someone who is totally new to freelancing or has limited English skills. But, there are plenty of more sophisticated scammers--ones with verified payment methods, ones with hiring histories, ones who can write a convincing job post...

[the-right-writer]

I want the scammers gone, too. All that is necessary is for freelancers to stop breaking the Terms of Service. If they stop going outside of Upwork because, "it was too good to turn down" or "I knew I wasn't supposed to do it, but I needed my first job," there would be few scammers.

You talk about filters and payment verified, but then you acknowledge that payment verified doesn't mean you won't be scammed. Scam clients return over and over.

It's very simple. All freelancers need to do is stop going off platform. As long as there are 50+ people applying for every single scam job, the scammers will never leave.

[fe9b8d82]

This X1000.

The only thing I'd add are the people who seem to believe that they must pay for "verification" or whatever other term a scammer uses to get freelancers to pay for the privilege of supposedly getting a job.

As long as people aren't going to understand the ToS, scammers are going to exist.

[debi-f]

Good!

[tlsanders]

So, your advice should be accepted with thanks, but others who have differing views should refrain from sharing their own advice or qualifications if it isn't identical to yours? That sure doesn't make it sound like helping people is your goal.