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39890bec
Community Member

Potential Scams on Upwork

Hi All

I'm relatively new to upwork but enjoying it so far. What I have been noticing over the last few days is an increase in numbers of potential scams. It's usually a request to retype English documents from a picture onto a word document and they offer quite large amounts for a very easy task. I applied to one as I was intrigued. I then got asked to start messaging via telegraph. Which I didn't. They then proceeded to send me a link to a video demo which lasted 12 minutes and it was a very basic retyping task. I then said I was interested. They then sent me a PDF document with a list of projects saying I had to pay upfront (almost $120) as they needed to ensure they can trust me. Immediately I knew it was a scam and did not part with any hard earned cash, therefore I reported them immediately.

I just wanted to share my experience to my fellow freelancers to alert this is going on. If you see these types of jobs please flag them as inappropriate immediately as I wouldn't like anyone to waste their connects on even applying for these jobs. I've reported at least 20 in the last 2 days! Would be good if upwork could perhaps fund a project for someone to do a daily purge of these types of jobs. 

43 REPLIES 43
pgiambalvo
Community Member

Hi, Elizabeth. Yes, the scam post problem is STILL getting worse. I see 40 plus every day just in my own very limited search parameters. I agree that "Would be good if upwork could perhaps fund a project for someone to do a daily purge of these types of jobs." Not gonna happen. Why not? Just my opinion, but besides other reasons you will hear, money. But if 9 scam posts get blocked for every 1 legitimate one that mistakenly gets blocked, that's fine by me.

Absolutely Peter!

You can usually tell the scammers as it has more or less the exact same text with ludicrous amounts of money and they've just became a client that same day! I've actually started reaching out to the companies who they are claiming to be and also reporting them. Every one of them have come back and said nope that's not how we do business. Unfortunately the issue is not exclusive to upwork either 

And what's doubly frustrating is how many of them are repeats, and are "Featured" and from "Upwork Plus" clients. To me at least, that type of promotion adds legitimacy to them, making more freelancers apply to them. But then that's why those designations exist, isn't it?


Peter G wrote:

...how many of them are repeats, and are "Featured" and from "Upwork Plus" clients.


They're most unlikely to be featured as that would require payment and as such a trace to the scammer.

Scammers don't pay, their purpose is to get paid.

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Elizabeth, 

 

I've read news articles that scams and fraudulent actors have been more active since the pandemic started. And I've seen some of this happen to people in my network (outside of work).

As for your concern on scams on Upwork, I want to note that we do have teams and systems that help identify red flags if a user or a job post is fraudulent. However, I would like to clarify that there are cases where we cannot foresee a violation based on a client's job post itself or their initial communications with the freelancer. We usually receive flags when the interview stage has already commenced, where the client explicitly communicates this (ToS violation) with a freelancer. In cases like these, the teams involved take action immediately against the client's job post and account based on the report.


~ Avery
Upwork
tagrendy
Community Member

Please, look at this - 4 jobs in a row of scams in my feed. All have contact information in the job, all have the same text, all were posted within minutes of each other. I am an average developer at best, but even I could implement something to auto-flag these. It's just getting worse and worse. When will more be done? When 90% posts are scam? 

 

Sorry for throwing frustrations at you, I understand you are not in control of Upwork.

**Edited for community guidelines**

 

Tatevik, I know I'd like an answer as to when more will be done and am sure many others do as well.

The answer has been loud, clear, and consistent, and it's "never." 

The real question is when freelancers will recognize that they can't control Upwork and begin to make decisions about their own careers--including whether and how they use Upwork--based on reality.

The answer to "When will more be done?" Insert crickets chirping here. But maybe I'm being too impatient as I'm sure Upwork is on it.

39890bec
Community Member

Thank you Avery

 

My concern also is some individuals have actually sent proposals for these jobs which cost connects (myself included). I appreciate what you are saying in terms of can't check every single job, however, when people apply for these jobs and it turns out to be some sort of scamming activity then surely the least upwork could do is give connects back to that individual? Some cost 6 connects! 


Elizabeth M wrote:

Thank you Avery

 

My concern also is some individuals have actually sent proposals for these jobs which cost connects (myself included). I appreciate what you are saying in terms of can't check every single job, however, when people apply for these jobs and it turns out to be some sort of scamming activity then surely the least upwork could do is give connects back to that individual? Some cost 6 connects! 


When upwork takes down a job post for a violation you get your connects back. 

f9031f81
Community Member

Yes, This is really helpful thanks for sharing it.

Hi Avery, how do we report a scam post and provide more details, other than just flagging the post? I'd like to share my experience with someone who can take action to address this issue. 

Hi Katrina,

 

When you flag something that looks suspicious or inappropriate, you’ll have options to describe the reason you’re flagging. You can also share additional details about your report. We take every report of suspicious or inappropriate activity seriously, and every report goes directly to our Trust and Safety team for investigation. 

 

You may check this help article for more details.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork
colettelewis
Community Member

Well, it is my turn to report exactly the same thing. A spate of scam jobs - mostly translation - in my feed. I have reported them, but there is also one (maybe more - I'm still only on the first of the latest ten jobs) that is marked as  "no access private invitation only".  Here it is.http://prntscr.com/26jtg2c

 

I don't see any active mods at the moment.  So I know this is not allowed and I know that it will be edited. However, I think Upwork's job offer system, is about to get seriously jammed by these scams. So something does need to be done. 

 

Yeah nichola I've noticed all of those as well and reported. It's gotten increasingly worse over the last couple of days. Very frustrating when looking for genuine contracts! 

imisskbear
Community Member

Thank you for sharing this.  You're a savior. I almost applied to this kind of job. 

00137e0a
Community Member

Yes, it's incredibly annoying to browse for good job opportunities among so many scams. 

 

Honestly, I'm baffled by the fact that Upwork apparently can't see how detrimental this overwhelming surge of scams is to their platform. 

 

 

tamaragaspar
Community Member

Hi Elizabeth. I saw a post like that, applied, and got a message similar to what you described. They said I needed to text somebody via Telegram which I did. The person I was talking to on Telegram then proceeded to tell me that the document is 200 pages long and pays $18 per page that need to be retyped in 4 days. He sent me his website and a form that I naively filled. In around five minutes, I received an email saying that I am hired and I got sent the 200 jpg files that need to be retyped. So far it seems legit, but seeing your post, I am worried that I am being scammed. What should I do?

It is not legit. It is a scam and you won't get paid. First off, you need a formal Upwork contract in place. Second it is a violation of Upwork's rules and regs to communicate with any client off the platform until you do have  a formal contract. Third this is what scammers do - lure freelancers off site. Report the client and move on. 

And the biggest red flag is the budget. There is no way you would get paid over $3000 for the job described. 

Hi Tamara,

 

Please share the job post link you're referring to via PM so I can have this reviewed by our team. I'd like to remind you also that it is a violation of Upwork TOS to communicate outside the platform before a contract is placed. You can read more on this help article and also, please check out Tips to avoid questionable jobs. You might also want to check out the information here to learn more about staying safe on Upwork. 

~ Joanne
Upwork
eddie_kee
Community Member

i actually applied something simliar and i was very suspicious when i was asked to contact another person either through Whatsapp or Telegram to get more information.  I contacted one and was informed they are a recruitment agency and asked me to provide my full name, my email address, contact no .  Thank god i saw this post as my gut feeling was telling me it's a scam.  Anyway I have the title of the jobs so perhaps someone from Upwork can look into it and remove them?

 

Typing documents on MS word (client name: **Edited for Community Guidelines** 

retype a PDF into Word **Edited for Community Guidelines** 

diego-rodrigo
Community Member

Upwork will not protect you from scammers, even when you report a client, Upwork won't do **Edited for Community Guidelines** about it, be advised, better find another freelancer platform, I'm doing that because I've just got scammed by a client and Upwork did nothing..

which platform is better than Upwork?

Any platform for freelancers will have good and bad. You have to protect yourself because no one will do it for you.

bscvetkova
Community Member

Dear admins and moderators,

I have not been working here for some time, because the website is full of scams posted. It is the same in another platform starting with Revo... which is quite new.

I have read all of your answers and they are not helpful at all. I have seen those scams going on for a year or two, and still, the platform doesn't even have someone to report to. I have chatted with your bot that didn't understand me.. how could he?

Why didn't you do something to prevent those scams?? For example, use manual approval for each new job posting, get normal support from a person behind... We are losing bids over such scams and nothing has changed since last January when you obviously discussed the matter.

I have won a dispute before and I know that you have the capacity to assist with some problems, but can't do anything about those scams till now. I will also copy here my messages to the chatbot so you can read them all and see screenshots of such scams.

 

"Your website is full of scam postings!
It is the same in Revo******, another platform.
Everyday postings for someone that needs retyped documents or something like that. People have informed you in January 2022 and this scams are still going on!!!! They always ask to chat in telegram or whatsapp. It is forbidden! How do you even approve those jobs??
How can we work like this? It doesnt make sense. Please please do something to review them!!!!
 **Edited for Community Guidelines**


and the list goes on!"

 

I reported one of these jobs to Upwork, they removed it and gave me my connects back,

Use manual approval for each new job posting? 

 

So, you would like all of our fees to increase dramatically so that Upwork can hire a huge staff to vet job postings, and then to have all quick turnaround jobs eliminated because the client cannot get them live in time to get the job done, and then a bunch of posts being approved a day or two later and you spending your connects on them after the client has already hired on another platform that doesn't have a delay in posting, all so you don't have to learn some very basic red flags and assess your own clients like every other business owner on the planet needs to? 

Sorry Tiffany, but I cannot agree with you. This problem has been ongoing since 2017 you can check by yourself in older topics in the community forum.  I have enough work outside of Upwork, but getting some email notifications from the platform and decided to take a look if it is the same. Also, I am well aware of this type of scam and I am disappointed that no one looks after this problem for so many years.

The taxes that Upwork holds are enough, so they can hire a few people that will check the jobs or we will keep seeing this spam everywhere because no one wants to invest in a better working environment. You could also inform yourself about the financial results of the platform, which are very well explained here. It looks like they have the opportunity to do more if they decide to. 

https://investors.upwork.com/news-releases/news-release-details/upwork-reports-first-quarter-2021-fi... 

So you think that when we report those jobs they do not have to take time to review and delete them? Think again! If you think you are better business owner than me and you are still here discussing, something seems wrong, isn't it? 

"The taxes that Upwork holds are enough, so they can hire a few people that will check the jobs or we will keep seeing this spam everywhere because no one wants to invest in a better working environment."

 

I have no idea what you mean by Upwork's taxes. You do not understand how the platform works. I do hope you are paying the legal tax on your income because Upwork is not in the tax collecting business.

 

You have no concept of how many jobs are posted or the human hours required to go through every single job post. The obvious ones are simple, but freelancers jump on them anyway. Yes, I have no sympathy for freelancers who don't bother to follow the rules, and decide they can get away with it or deserve huge amounts of money for illegal or unethical activities.

 

If you really want to know about Upwork, don't read Upwork's stuff. Research, as some of us have, on all the facts. If you want to bring up success on the platform, you might check other's profiles before commenting.

It looks like they have the opportunity to do more if they decide to. 

What do you mean specifically? Upwork has never shown a profit, do you mean they should incur further losses?

juwel121
Community Member

Yes, right. 

nicole_v_
Community Member

This is a very common scam on UpWork. I've encountered those exact job listings on a daily basis. They continue to post them over and over again. And, yes, it's always just a one sentence, poorly constructed job listing that states something to the effect of "Retype a screenshot" or "Convert PDF to Word." I also feel like when you see the word "simple" or "quick" in the job listing, it's a very good indication of a scam. If it was so easy and quick, then they wouldn't be asking someone else to do it. And anyone that asks to use Telegram is a scammer, just by default. No real client asks to use Telegram. 

bingiart
Community Member

According to my experience...

Scammers target freshers and post jobs where they get more proposals. For example Data Entry Jobs, Typing Jobs etc. Be careful if you do this kind of jobs.

 

So, how to find these scammers?

  • They post jobs, but never Hire.
  • They share contact information on job posts. Sometimes there is a contact Number/Email ID in the attached document or image. 
  • They fix huge amount for simple job.
  • If you go under job posting, you will see many jobs like the one above. Sometimes only the title is changed.
  • With the help of VPN, similar jobs are posted from different countries.


Why are they here?

  • Traffic has increased here for the last 3-4 years.
  • They are looking for loopholes. The biggest loophole here is that most people don't know about freelancing.


Know about freelance sites before starting work. Visit the UpWork blog. There are many good articles available there.

 

This is just my opinion.

 

Be Aware, Be Safe.

tlsanders
Community Member

Upwork doesn't fund anything--your fees do. How much extra would you like to pay so Upwork can hire an army of people to vet your clients for you? 

 

One easy alternative way to avoid this particular scam is to follow the TOS and not communicate with someone via Telegram when you don't have a contract with them. 

janibsoomro
Community Member

These scammers also steam your personal details and they send a ton of odd promotional emails.

brewer-teralisa
Community Member

Oh, maaaaannnn, aargh. I just got hit by a scammer. At first, I thought, yay, this is great. Then as a previous community member mentioned, they sent me an offer letter. When I saw the letter, bells started ringing before I read it. As I began to read, my spidey senses started kicking in. Then I came across a section in its "offer letter" that I realized I had been hoodwinked. The writing in the letter started bunching up (I knew Iwasdonethen). Notice the example? I said, Aw man, not again! Come on now! Dude. Really! It is so disheartening, especially for those sincerely searching for work. I'm angry, frustrated, and disappointed with myself. I attached the "offer letter" they sent me so you can see what I mean about the words bunching together. Now, if I am supposed to be hired as an assistant proofreader, this letter is an excellent example of botched work. Sorry, everyone; I just needed to vent my anger and frustration a little bit.

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Teralisa Jackson Brewer

Do they send the offer letter through Upwork message?

No, they sent it through the email I listed on my application.

Teralisa Jackson Brewer
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