Scam artists on UpWork.

[mason-smith]

Obvious scam artists. The message seemed to come from a legit company, but the "h.r. person" had a gmail email address, and the fractured English was a giveaway. I came pretty close to falling for a similar scam in the past -- not this time, and I hope no one else does, either.

[colettelewis]

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Mason S wrote:

Obvious scam artists. The message seemed to come from a legit company, but the "h.r. person" had a gmail email address, and the fractured English was a giveaway. I came pretty close to falling for a similar scam in the past -- not this time, and I hope no one else does, either.

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You dodged the bullet! But I hope you reported or flagged the "client". 

[sergio-soria]

Scam artists? What do you mean? Like pick up artists but specialized in fraudulent job posts?

[mason-smith]

Claiming to represent a legitimate business. Promising a lucrative
project, but requesting I send a payment to purchase the required
software they'll provide. I've seen this before. The easiest giveaway is
the fractured English.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Mason,

I checked and I believe I found the job you are referring to. Upwork team has already taken action against the account in question. Check out this post for more information on how to work safely on Upwork and avoid questionable jobs..

Thanks for reporting!

[prestonhunter]

I prefer to call them "scammers."

Not "scam artists."

There is little or not art to what they do. They are essentially drones who are following scripts created by others.

You weren't talking to these guys:

[joel_stolinsky]

I’m very new to Upwork. I just read a message request (with attached PDf instructions) from a job post that there was interest in a project proposal and they would like to do an interview. I was told to set up a Telegram account on Telegram.org. They needed a graphic designer that will work for the long term and will be paid directly. I could also use an email to contact them instead of using the app. Isn’t that against Upwork rules? They replied I would not be violating the rules as we have it on contract with Upwork. Is this possible or a scam? I flagged the message response as suspicious. Or is it legit?

[prestonhunter]

Joel:
Yes, these people are just scammers.

They want you to violate Upwork ToS, which could lead to your account being suspended or terminated.

And they want to steal your money.

Flag them and move on.

[joel_stolinsky]

Thanks Preston! I'll withdraw proposal my proposal.

[AleksandarD]

Hi Joel,

I checked the job post you were referring to and it seems that it's already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork ToS and action has been taken on the client account. 

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

Thank you.