Scam

[6da90ac8]

Hello all!

I would like to report a scam attempt that I managed to avoid (on my first day on Upwork 🙂 and I would like to ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else... How can I report this to an administrator so as to block this threat to the entire community?

[6da90ac8]

Do not contact a **Edited for Community Guidelines** number **Edited for Community Guidelines** because he/she is not who they say they are and do not give them any "insurance" or "deposit"!

[sofia2008]

Keep in mind that communicating outside Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation of Terms of Service you agreed to when you signed up.

Sending money to a client outside Upwork is also a violation of Terms of Service. A real client will never ask you to pay to work or get payment.

[sofia2008 · Accepted solution]

Here is the help article to report suspicious activities. In this case, look as Job post section.

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

[6da90ac8]

Thanks For the solution! it was the first hour on the platform and the advertisement was something along the lines of "wanted translator from UK contact this Wapp number etc"...  Since I still haven't got the hang of the platform I thought it couldn't hurt to say that I was not from the UK but I speak decent English... The Wapp number had an Appen profile image and whoever was on the other side said they worked for Appen... They made me do a test which I clearly passed with flying colours and then sent me a link to a terrible pdf with 4 job descriptions varying from 500 to 3000 dollars... Each one required a security from 50 to a hundred and fifty dollars or something of the kind... At this point I got suspicious and forgot about it... This morning they contact me again and I ask to see their company ID and this was a hilariously bad Photoshop job... A white man, apparently of American nationality, and a badly blended square with the personal information over a card which was evidently not right... Upon further inspection I notice that they had forgotten to cover the gender of the original card holder; a female! 

There was no way I was going to send any money and I decided to try and let others know about the risk... Clearly all you veterans would never have fallen for it but maybe someone new or ingenuous as I was may have... In any case it turned out to be a funny story so I decided to share it anyway! 

Will not contact anyone off the platform again! 

[martina_plaschka]

It would indeed be funny, except for the part where you willingly violated ToS, which makes it quite unfunny overall. Because you can lose your profile over than. 

[6da90ac8]

Indeed... Throw me out and let the scammers in... Honest mistake

[martina_plaschka]

---

Marco M wrote:

Indeed... Throw me out and let the scammers in... Honest mistake

---

PS. The job is unsurprisingly no longer available
Means it was deleted by upwork, very likely together with the client account. 

Yet you still have your profile. 

Which point again were you trying to make?

[sofia2008]

Sharing your experience and most importantly to flag such job posting will help others before they get caught up in a bad situation.

However, "getting the hang of the platform" is something that should be done before starting to apply for jobs as "learning as you go" does not work well as money is involved, and there is no second chance (undo) once someone gets into a bad situation. Those learning on "trials and errors" often pay the big price.

[6da90ac8]

Agreed... But gotta start "somewhere"... I am having difficulty going from one place to another... Took me ages to get to my saved jobs to flag the post after your very helpful message... Thank you 

PS. The job is unsurprisingly no longer available

[prestonhunter]

Maco:
LOTS of freelancers learn about Upwork by diving in and trying it out, without reading everything.

As long as you're willing to take your lumps, I think this method of learning is fine.

If you are not sure about something, then feel free to search in the Community Forum. Your question has probably been asked and answered before. If not, then post a new question. People are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week who are helpful.

[renata101]

Hi Marco,

Thanks for reporting it. I think this blog post should be required reading for everyone who starts a profile on Upwork:
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

When I first read it, there were some new scams that I wasn't aware of.  I think scammers really try to take advantage of people who are new to Upwork.

[d54d9473]

Thanks Renata for thinking of posting the link instead of responding unprofessionally on this supposedly professional platform.