Scam or Not?

[7a6da846]

Hi all. I'm fairly new at UpWork.

I was recently offered a job where the client stated that he'd like for me to give him my email ID so that he could create a Dropbox account for me. I was asked to submit my work in the Dropbox account once the trial job posted on UpWork was complete. He said that communication and payment would take place through UpWork.

Something about this offer didn't sit well with me and I ended up rejecting the offer. Was I right to do so? Feedback will be much appreciated.

[wescowley]

Following your instincts on potential scams is almost always going to be the right decision - so in that regard, yes, you did the right thing. Always trust your instincts.

The only potential red flag that I see here, and maybe I'm misreading it, is that it sounds like he was asking you to do a trial job before the contract. He's not allowed to ask that under the TOS. If he's asking enough people to do that, he gets his job done for free.

There's nothing wrong with submitting work through Dropbox or sharing an email address with your client. It is odd that he'd "create a Dropbox account" for you - perhaps that means he's giving you access to a folder on his Dropbox account. As a freelance writer, you probably should already have your own Dropbox account. They have free ones.

[petra_r]

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Kauser T wrote:

I was recently offered a job where the client stated that he'd like for me to give him my email ID so that he could create a Dropbox account for me. I was asked to submit my work in the Dropbox account once the trial job posted on UpWork was complete. He said that communication and payment would take place through UpWork.

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Nothing you meantioned above is a red flag.

Wes, where do you see that the client asked for free work? "A trial job posted on Upwork" implies "a job, to be hired for and paid" as far as I am concerned. 

[wescowley]

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Petra R wrote:

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Wes, where do you see that the client asked for free work? "A trial job posted on Upwork" implies "a job, to be hired for and paid" as far as I am concerned. 

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As I said, I may have misinterpreted that. I agree, if it was meant to be a paid trial, there's nothing wrong with that. 

[prestonhunter]

Kauser, this all sounds fine to me.

Dropbox is an excellent way to share files, and it really does entail getting your email address.

If you are ever uncomfortable about sharing contact info like that, or if you just want to be cautious, then you do NOT need to provide prime contact info.

You can simply provide clients with a throwaway email address or a project-specific email address. They don't care. They just want to be able provide you with a way to exchange files.