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Roman's avatar
Roman D Community Member

Potential Scam Posting

Hey fellow freelancers. 

 

There was a posting on the Upwork feed. I submitted a proposal and recevied a message back. 

The "scammers" sent me a document stating I was being hire for the position. 

 

As a designer I thought their letterhead and documents were terribly designed so that threw some red flags up, especially since you need to have some established design whren presenting to investors for the industry they're supposed to be in. 

 

I just wanted to post this as a heads up to other designers. 

Stay safe out there! People are desperate for money. 

 

 

Here is the job posting

**edited for Community Guidelines**

 

 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Avery's avatar
Avery O Community Manager

Thank you for flagging the job post, Roman. 

I had to edit your post because including names of persons or companies (or other identifying information) in an accusation of misconduct, incompetence, or other wrongdoing is not allowed as per our Community Guidelines. In the future, please be mindful of the Community Guidelines when posting in the Community. 

I'd also like to share that the project and the client that you are referring to has been actioned on as it was found they have violated the Upwork Terms of Service. 

Let me know if I can assist you further with anything!



~ Avery

View solution in original post

7 REPLIES 7
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

A client's behavior determines whether or not they are a scammer.

 

The quality of their letterhead or logo is not a valid basis for determining if they are a scammer.

 

The job post you linked to was a post to hire graphic designers. Maybe they are trying to improve their logo and letterhead.

Roman's avatar
Roman D Community Member

The behavior they exhibited was enough for me to consider the post and position to be a scam. I asked them to provide a valid business name (for state registry lookup) or license to ensure they were legitimate and they could not. 

 

It was not a professional document. It was not password protected nor did it have any confidentiality clauses in it. They also sent a fradulent check for me to deposit into a bank account for "startup costs".

 

They were not interested in improving their branding, and were very persistent that I deposit the check ASAP. 

 

I don't believe I am wrong for flagging this. 

 

 

Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

re: "I don't believe I am wrong for flagging this."

 

You were right to flag this job posting.

You were observant and wise.

They were indeed scammers.


But in your initial post you did not describe all of the behaviours that you mentioned in your later post. You posted their letterhead and talked about their design.

 

I work with a lot of people who are in the early stages of creating a business. A large number of my clients do not have logos, design, letterhead, business licenses, state registry, etc.

Roman's avatar
Roman D Community Member

Thank you Preston. 

 

re: "But in your initial post you did not describe all of the behaviours that you mentioned in your later post. You posted their letterhead and talked about their design."

 

And yes. I see how the inital post was vague, I apologize for that. In the event of another instance I'll be more clear moving forward. 

 

I too work with many clients that are "startups" if you will, but they were impersonating a larger more established business that should've had expert designed stationery. That is all. 

 

I appreciate your time, words, and support!

Mary's avatar
Mary W Community Member

Flag the job posting.  (Actually, they have plagiarized a job listing from a real company that is all over the internet)

Avery's avatar
Avery O Community Manager

Thank you for flagging the job post, Roman. 

I had to edit your post because including names of persons or companies (or other identifying information) in an accusation of misconduct, incompetence, or other wrongdoing is not allowed as per our Community Guidelines. In the future, please be mindful of the Community Guidelines when posting in the Community. 

I'd also like to share that the project and the client that you are referring to has been actioned on as it was found they have violated the Upwork Terms of Service. 

Let me know if I can assist you further with anything!



~ Avery
Roman's avatar
Roman D Community Member

Thank you Avery. 

 

I apologize for violating any guidelines. 

 

I would like to make sure that no freelancer/agency is scammed here as I enjoy working on this site, and it is very reputable and safe to work. 

 

Thank you for looking into this! I appreciate the support.

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