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54a08b7e
Community Member

Premium Id Card

Hi, I'm new to upwork and someone wants to work for them converting jpg. to word file. But when I'm ready to start, the client says it is compulsory to buy their premium Id card to start working with them. I feel something's fishy about it. Should I get it? and how to report that kind of client?

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

40 REPLIES 40
g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member
Retired Team Member

Hi Mark,

 

Our team will review the client further for violations of our TOS and will take proper actions. I would like to clarify that in order to work on Upwork you don't need to pay anything.
Also, please keep in mind that communicating outside of Upwork before you're hired on an official contract is a violation of our TOS. 
You can also check out this Post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

Hi Goran, 

I also have some encounters with this one,**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

They're asking for payment for the premium ID as well. 

 

Thank you,

Darryl

Hi Darryl,

 

Thank you for reporting this as well. Please know, you can report any suspicious activity directly to the team by flagging the job post or message in question. Here's how.

 

~Andrea
Upwork
048e0a9b
Community Member

I am also new to the business here and I received an offer to accept the job and I need a premium ID card, I did not accept the job.


Web W wrote:

I am also new to the business here and I received an offer to accept the job and I need a premium ID card, I did not accept the job.


Yeah it's gotten pretty crazy. People are using all kinds of fake identification, so be careful. 

Hi Goran,

 

I also encounter this at the moment. This is my first time to try freelance here at Upwork but the client ask me to have this Premium ID Card. I am confused, then I try to research here on google if that was really required and I found out some of complaints here. Thank you for reporting this. I am fully aware now. 

I have the same experience. I't feels like he's harrassing me when to pay $40 for the premium id card.

Hi Mary Troy,

 

Please know that to start working, you do not have to pay anything to the client. If you see a job or a profile that seems suspicious, you can report it to us using the flagging option. 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

wow, i just had the same experience a while ago. i didn't know it was illegal. I even proposed suggestions in order for me to pay for the premium id. 

 


Alicia B wrote:

wow, i just had the same experience a while ago. i didn't know it was illegal. I even proposed suggestions in order for me to pay for the premium id. 

 


Two simple rules: 1. You are not allowed to communicate with clients off of the Upwork platform before you are hired on an official Upwork contract. 2. You are not allowed to exchange any payments off of Upwork - not to clients, and not from clients. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a scammer who is trying to steal your money.

 

Also, why on earth would you need an ID card to work remotely with a client? (Answer: You don't.)

There are plenty of clients trying to get people to do this and I was actually scammed myself by one.

**Edited for community guidelines**

petra_r
Community Member


Dailan W wrote:

There are plenty of clients trying to get people to do this and I was actually scammed myself by one.


If you didn't violate Upwork's terms of service by communicating with a prospective client outside the platform, you wouldn't have been scammed.

 

DO NOT communicate outside of Upwork until a contract is in place and you'll be safe from the vast majority of scams AND from having your account suspended for violating the terms of service.

Hi Dailan,

 

Please feel free to flag these jobs so that our team can review them and take appropriate action. 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

I have a group as well that is trying to sell this membership to work. They posted as Data entry but also yanked their job offer off of upwork. They want PDF's converted into MS Word documents. Inital posters name was **Edited for Community Guidelines**. 

54a08b7e
Community Member

Thank you sir. I just want to work as a freelancer in a good community. And I think upwork will help me with that. Thank you for further evaluations.

fc9a5b42
Community Member

Thanks for reporting. I had encountered the same scenario with 3 clients as well

So how do you deal with that? I also encountered the same probelms. 

43b79ef8
Community Member

I started on the UpWork platform just a week ago and since then all my service contacts are only offering service with this ID card payment. All contractors so far only offer ID card, but offer the service without the fee, on the contrary, you can't work with them.

so you buy their id? how was it?
AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Athila, 

 

I highly recommend that you read up on the "Safety First!" section of the freelancer resources we have compiled and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs for more information about working safely through Upwork.

 

As a gentle reminder, please note that users cannot communicate off Upwork until a contract has been set up on your account (the client sent an offer, and you accepted it). Clients are also not allowed to ask freelancers to pay a fee before a contract starts as this goes again Upwork's Terms of Service. It would be best to visit these articles for more information on how you can keep in line with Upwork's Terms of Service when engaging on the website:

If you haven't already, kindly report these clients and future clients who request the same by following the steps here. 


~ Avery
Upwork
13afd00e
Community Member

Hi Mark,

 

I've encountered the same scenario. What did you do? Did you get it and pay? 

Hi Princess, 

 

As advised by Goran and Avery earlier, freelancers do not need to buy any memberships or schemes from Upwork clients to get hired on the jobs. Also, taking communication outside of Upwork before accepting a contract is considered a TOS violation. Check out the tips in this post to make sure you stay safe and protected while working on Upwork. Also, please check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option to report any inappropriate content.

 

Thank you

Pradeep

Upwork
pgiambalvo
Community Member

Wow, maybe Upwork should do more to stop these posts from showing up in our feeds.

8f46ce62
Community Member

I got the same thing, unfortunately. I admit, the payment plans they sent are so enticing but I got suspicious too so I researched and thankfully I found this thread. **Edited for Community Guidelines** & **Edited for Community Guidelines** are the ones they asked me to message on Whatsapp to get more details. I just want to work for an extra income and there are these kind of people ...

So , do you get the final payment?

lubelle13
Community Member

Same thing happens to me just now. There was this client (**Edited for Community Guidelines**) who happens to ask me to pay for the premium id card prior to the start of my project. I found it suspicious and ended up not getting the project anymore. All I want is a decent job but these people keep on fooling freelancers from Upwork. This is sad. 

5406d1ab
Community Member

I am also new and I am experiencing the same too. That I should pay 40USD to get a premium card

Hi Charity,

 

I'd like to confirm the information shared here by Pradeep. This isn't how it works. Freelancers do not have to purchase any premium cards to be able to start working. If you see a job or a profile that seems suspicious, you can report it to us using the flagging option. 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
df69481a
Community Member

Same here from a guy named **Edited for Community Guidelines**. He submitted a phone number to speak to a project manager named **Edited for Community Guidelines**. The name of the company is **Edited for Community Guidelines**, he said. And after declaring that the company does not pay through the UPWORK network, they ask me for a transfer of $40 to buy a company card. This is the phone numbre and the file with "the offer" . 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

Do we get our connects back?

 

Hi Virginia,

 

We will return Connects when a client closes their job without hiring or we find a job post has violated our Terms of Service.

 

~Andrea
Upwork

f8deecb7
Community Member

Can you please tell the company name, I have the same problem from the same task and I want be sure that only this company is trying to manipulate people.

 

Hi Syuzanna,

the name of the company is not important as scammers sometines take legit company names.

Keep in mind that:

-Communicating outside Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service

-Sending money to a client or receiving money from a client outside Upwork is also a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service

-You need to have a contract on Upwork before starting to work

 

Here are some ressources

List of red flags for scams - Upwork Community

Report Suspicious User Activity – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

Tips to Avoid Questionable Jobs - Upwork Community

Get Started – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

2f3b0ac9
Community Member

Once I applied for few data entry jobs through Upwork, I got emails to contact them via telegram. I joined and they provided one jepg file to translate it to word or pdf in seven minutes. Afer completion they asked to wait for evaluation and after review they told Im selected and shared an excel which had work detals and asking for 30 USD from one chat and other person asked for 40 USD for the premium ID Card. And I asked if they could deduct it from my payment they refused Please find the attachements for details.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

These were the two companies mentioned. I think they might be misusing teh company manes

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

Freelancers should know that communicating outside the platform is a violation of the Terms of Service. Of course, the names are fake. These ads are to scam freelancers. Upwork is a jobs platform and no one should ever buy anything. There are particular fields that may require purchases, but it is calculated into the project.

 

Every freelancer should read and follow this advice from Wes

aeb684f8
Community Member

YES, me too I'm new, and I have been working on 3 projects and they said Premium Membership ID
card. I want to report too. please help

ef632400
Community Member

 

**Edited for Community Guidelinescontacted me and I completed the translation project. They asked me for $100 so I could get paid. I tried for 2 days and all my efforts were in vain.

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Do not pay anything. Real clients will never ask you to pay so you can get your payment.

 

You were not hired on Upwork by this client (scammer). You worked for free.

Communicating outside Upwork before a contract is in place and accepting payment outside Upwork are serious violations of Terms of Service you agreed to when you signed up.

 

Please review the Terms of Service and look at the Academy courses before sending/accepting proposals.

If you don't follow Sophie's advice and read this from Wes you will be scammed.

 

If you are serious about freelancing, you have work to do. First, unless your cat is the freelancer, change your photo. Then create an introduction. The clients want to know what your skills are and how you will complete their project. No one cares about your personal history. I would leave your profile after reading the first line, "Working part time at Mc'Donalds in 2008" (you misspelled your workplace). With basic skills in both languages you list, you will not be getting translations jobs, and the same is true for book editing. There are many, many excellent translators and a bunch who aren't very good. There is a lot of competition. You will not likely receive any legitimate job offers.

 

You will need to build a portfolio of work you want to showcase. If you have Photoshop skills, then put some work in your portfolio. Especially being new, clients want to see the kind of work they will receive. Freelancing is not just put up a photo and make money. It takes work, and you will likely spend a lot of connects and proposals before you land a real job.

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