Opt-Out Fee

[#1]

Hi, I had an online interview earlier and they mentioned an opt-out fee that they had already paid. I felt a bit concerned about that. I'm seeing others posts stating this might be a scam. They spefically stated, "The payment will be bi-weekly and we won't pay via Upwork because we charged them an opt-out fee. The reasoning is that we are simply moving the work to an extended period and attempting to deliver a long-term deal as an independent contractor".

Can somebody comment if this is legitiamate? Thanks.

[#2]

I have never heard of Upwork accepting prepayments from clients, so I'd guess your potential client is trying to convince you to accept payments outside of Upwork's payment system, which is a major violation of Upwork's Terms of Service.

Insiders here will confirm whether this is a scam.

[#3]

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Christopher S wrote:

Hi, I had an online interview earlier and they mentioned an opt-out fee that they had already paid. I felt a bit concerned about that. I'm seeing others posts stating this might be a scam. They spefically stated, "The payment will be bi-weekly and we won't pay via Upwork because we charged them an opt-out fee. The reasoning is that we are simply moving the work to an extended period and attempting to deliver a long-term deal as an independent contractor".

Can somebody comment if this is legitiamate? Thanks.

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This is almost certainly a scam. It's highly unlikely a client would pay that to take a freelancer they haven't worked with off the platform. The fee is based on your hourly rate and in your case would run over $6K.

(edited to correct math)

[#4]

Christopher: The "clients" who say they paid an "opt-out fee" are lying to you. This tactic emerged as a new element in Upwork scams during the past one to two years.

It is clever, but it is a lie. These people are simply trying to steal your money.

[#5]

Hi Christopher,

Could you please send me a PM by clicking on my name and kindly share more information so I can check this for you? 

[#6]

Wow, I'm so glad that I found this forum! I was in an interview recently where they said that their company paid the opt-out fee. They then said that I would get an email from Upwork saying that I violated their company policy but not to worry about it. I looked for information about Upwork's opt-out fee and found this forum. I turned them down once I knew it was a scam. While they didn't get any money out of me, I hope that they don't deceive anyone else!

This is is the second time I've run into a scam on Upwork. I figured out the last interview was a scam when they wanted me to buy really expensive equipment to do the job. Both happened during Skype interviews. Not sure if that means employers wanting to interview with Skype is a red flag or not. In any case, everyone should check the forums to keep up to date on the kinds of scams popping up in Upwork. 

[#7]

Not sure if that means employers wanting to interview with Skype is a red flag or not.

It's not only a red flag, it is forbidden by upwork before hire, and you can get suspended for it, meaning you can lose your profile. Don't do that again.  

[#8]

Total scam.