Potential Scammer

[amwenze]

New potential "client" offered an interview but took it off Upwork's messaging platform and wanted personal information (home addres, email address, phone number, etc.) and payment preference via a different messaging platform.

Other red flags aside, this individual claims to be from **Edited for community guidelines**, and all the reading I have done so far here and via a quick Google search has led me to believe this is likely a scam--anyone else have experience with this? Would a large firm like **Edited for community guidelines** hire freelancers via Upwork to begin with? I'm still a little new here and do not want to throw away an opportunity, but it seems too good to be true, especially considering they offered me $10 an hour MORE than what I asked for.

*Note: I have not provided any information on the other platform, and have asked for payment and exchange of information to be done here. They agreed, but have been silent since.  

Update: The job posting is gone. Scam, lesson learned!

[BojanS · Accepted solution]

Hi Alana,

Thank you for flagging this for us. I’ve escalated this report to the correct team for their review and the project has already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork TOS and action has been taken on the client account. 

Make sure to check our Stay Safe series and learn more on how to work safe online:

• Stay Safe Online: Preventing Fraud
• Stay Safe Online: what you need to know
• Stay Safe Online: How circumvention hurts the marketplace and your business
• Stay Safe Online: Paid and Leased Account Fraud

If you see a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service, we encourage you to use Report Suspicious User Activity feature.

[amwenze]

I know that there are a lot of scams floating around right now that start with a big red flag of being taken off-platform (i.e., to Telegram, Zoom, etc.) for an interview. Is going off-platform in itself always a scam red flag? I don't want to waste my time on these people but I'm also worried I might be missing out on jobs that could be legitimate. 

[prestonhunter]

re: "Interviewing Off-Platform"

"Interviewing off-platform is a violation of Upwork ToS, as of June 26, 2020.

As a freelancer, you could have your account suspended or terminated for interviewing off-platform. You could be sanctioned for DISCUSSING doing so.

re: "Is going off-platform in itself always a scam red flag?"

What do you mean "going off-platform"?

It is fine to use any communication tool you want with a client after you have been officially hired.

It is a violation to interview off-platform BEFORE being officially hired.

Does it mean that a prospective client is a scammer?

Usually, but not always.

It is possible for a new Upwork client to think that it is okay to interview off-platform.

You simply tell him that you can not do that, but that you can interview using the Upwork-provided Messages tool, which includes audio, chat, video, plus Upwork Zoom. Completely adequate for the purpose.

re: "I don't want to waste my time on these people but I'm also worried I might be missing out on jobs that could be legitimate. "

You are welcome to offer EVERY ONE of these prospective clients an opportunity to interview you using the Upwork tool. You don't need to worry about missing out on a legitimate job.

If they disappear or insist that you interview off-platform, then you know that they are a scammer.

[amwenze]

Thank you, I have not actually conducted an interview in this manner, but I have gotten a couple requests over the last two or three weeks. I wanted to think there weren't this many scammers on Upwork but they do seem to be everywhere. I appreciate your time!

[gilbert-phyllis]

When you are brand new to the platform, it's almost certain that any invitations you receive will be from scammers. They count on you being uncertain about the rules and eager to land some gigs.

I often have clients suggest holding our interview conversation by phone or via another platform. Many are unaware it's a no-no. It's very rare that they push back after I tell them we need to communicate only via UW until we have a contract in place.

No client should ever need your contact details prior to setting up a contract and not after, except if you mutually agree to use email to communicate during the project. BTW, I make it a practice to exchange contact info once I have a contract because there's always a chance the UW message center will have an outage at the most inconvenient moment. It doesn't happen often but redundancy is our friend.

The exception would be if you need to review proprietary material in order to scope the project and the client needs you to sign an NDA. Even then, mailing address should suffice.

Welcome to Upwork and good luck!

[pgiambalvo]

We all wish there weren't as many scammers as there are here, but there are indeed a ton of them. All we freelancers can do on our end is to flag them when we encounter them. That and follow the ToS and read Upwork's tips on spotting them. Unfortunatley, thinking that scam posts will somehow be vetted and prevented from being posted is completely unrealistic.

[alvinydp]

Respect earned, Mr. Preston.

I am sure the community is very happy to have you here.

[nishny]

Upwork is full of scammers.....and they do nothing to prevent this. This site is one of the worst what ever I have seen. Just stay away

[BojanS]

I'm sorry to hear that you had a negative experience on Upwork, Patricia.

Is there anything we can assist you with or something you'd like to report?