Need clarification

[#1]

Hello team Upwork,

Greetings!

A client approached me to write an article, he claimed himself to be an agent (middle-man). We ended up on terms that after receiving my share I have to transfer rest of the amount through Payoneer to him. As per him it is all because he has to show his client as a proof through upwork about the rates he is getting that job done.

All went alright. I did provide him work, he sent me complete amount. I have taken my share and send him his through payoneer.

Right after this, he has posted another contract of the same amount for another article. 

My intution blinks to take an advice before proceeding with the second contract on same terms with the client, as I have tried searching in ToS and haven't found any such scenario. 

So, as a matter of advice, can someone from Upwork guide me about the same? Since I am a law abiding citizen of this globe, I don't want to do anything which is against any rules or regulations. I neither want any problem with my Upwork profile in future since the reputation is hard-earned.

Thanks

[#2]

Hi Syed,

Your client is a scammer. You also violated the terms of services by paying him through Payoneer because sending or taking payment outside of Upwork is a strict violation of TOS. It can get your account suspended, so please keep this in mind going forward. Stop working with this client and flag one of their (inappropriate/rule-abusing) messages and their job posting as inappropriate.

I strongly suggest you read the TOS before getting any further on Upwork.

Thank You.

[#3]

Hi Syed,

Thank you for your message. Please note that we do not encourage freelancers to send funds or money as registration or security fees or get involved in an activity that may be considered inappropriate as it may lead to possible fraud. I will forward your report to the relevant team to review the client's activity and take action if it is considered inappropriate.

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[#4]

Thank you very much Pradeep for your kind response. I would be much obliged if you check client's activity as you suggested; it would be much relief if your team may provide me with the feedback, since everything as per Upwork rules seems alright till the job is done. I hope I am able to set-out my point right here.

Thank you again for your reply.

Regards

[#5 · Accepted solution]

Hi Syed,

Thank you for your message. This is already forwarded to the relevant team to review. We are unable to share the outcome of our investigation and the action taken on the other user's account. The team may reach you if they need more information from you.

Thank you,

Pradeep

Thank you,

Pradeep