Scammer keeps scamming upwork doesnt care

82f9c851 · ‎10-05-2022

Hi! Is upwork even legitimate? Most of the jobs are scams and there is even no way to report a scammer! I tried, but upwork did nothing! I tried to approach on facebook, but after few standard replies, upwork blocked me! The scammer just keeps scamming and Upwork approves that.. for such huge commission upwork takes, there is no service!

Out of 4 jobs i got, 2 refused to pay, one i turned down myself after the experience.. There is no chance to approach upwork! Now, if i dont spend a crazy amount of connects, i dont even get views! I sent 9 proposals which resulted in 0 views! I have 5 star rating (ok, just 2 jobs, but i was checking clients with high response rates..)

Is there even chance to get a job on upwork, or should i just stop trying?

renata101 · ‎10-06-2022

Hi Lukas,

I don't know if you should stop trying because I can't see your profile, but it would sure help if if you took some time to figure out how the platform works before you do anything else. To my mind, it's way too easy for people bipass a lot of the support articles when they're setting up their profiles. You need to understand how freelancing works on this platform before you do anything else.

Something that's important to understand is that Upwork does not screen clients in any way. I think they could be doing more to prevent scam job posts because their numbers have increased exponentially in the last year, but there have always been things to watch out for on Upwork. And freelancers have always been responsible for vetting their own clients and familiarizing themselves with Upwork's Terms of Service. So it will really help you to do some research to figure out how the contract process works on Upwork. Do Google searches of "Upwork fixed-rate contracts" and "Upwork hourly contracts" and read all of the articles you find.

The "clients" you intereacted with were likely able to refuse to pay because you didn't have a contract in place. If you didn't accept an offer that you recieved through the Upwork messaging system, you didn't have a contract.

I think everyone who uses this platform should read this article before they do anything else.
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

After that, you should read the Terms of Use. You can find them on Upwork's legal page. Just click the Terms of Service link at the bottom.

82f9c851 · ‎10-12-2022

Thanks for the answer.. Well, I understand that there would be scammers... but why does upwork mute me instead of blocking the scammer? I am getting the feeling about how upwork works... There are couple of really high earners who are super promoted with the algorithm and they get jobs all the time, for the newcommers, however, they need to pay s***t lots of money to get boosted they availability badges to be able to bid for job... This is extremely unclear and dirty practice of upwork, who doesn´t even have balls to addmitt what they are doing.. Lately they even stopped giving free connects from interviews, because they want people to buy them and they cover it in stories that its to protect... Upwork is a market place... and a market place where someone has a monopoly on information, and can manipulate for self interest... that is nothing for me... I sent 10 proposals last time... 0 views and one interview... only that shows a proof that upwork is not transparent nor honest! (of course those free connects... upwork "frogot to give them to me")... No wonder why everyone wants to take the contracts out of upwork... The management just killed the platform. Now its just a matter of time when some superior service will come...

e9863b0b · ‎10-12-2022

Lukas S wrote:
There are couple of really high earners who are super promoted with the algorithm and they get jobs all the time, for the newcommers, however, they need to pay s***t lots of money

This is exactly right. I'm new to Upwork, but I'm getting the hang of the hustle pretty quickly. I thought Upwork would be a great way to expand my client base, but the jobs are mainly scams that Upwork does nothing to vet (literally do not vet job posters at all), and the few valid jobs are going to be taken by the people who have been here for a very long time, or people who pay. This is just not worth my time anymore. You seem smart -- it's probably not worth yours either.

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

I also had a lot of expectations... well.. let´s try to find a better platorm..

815abb71 · ‎10-06-2022

I think the best way to avoid them is to check if payment are verified on Upwork. And that's why you have to avoid any work or payment outside Upwork.

elisa_b · ‎10-06-2022

Nope... Be careful. Credit cards could be stolen or the client could ask their bank to cancel a payment, pretending it was not authorized. Therefore, an approved payment method is not enough to mean trustworthiness.

82f9c851 · ‎10-12-2022

yes... and from that escrow.. they can just request it back..

82f9c851 · ‎10-12-2022

actually, they all had payment verified... so that doesn´t unfortunately help :(.. Worst is that Upwork completely ignores and blocks me when I report the scammer... Instead of blocking the scammer... So it says a lot about what kind of clients upwork wants to attract...

ayrancd · ‎10-06-2022

Not at all.. I've seen some fake projects which can be ignored.

82f9c851 · ‎10-12-2022

I would love to see a non-fake project 😄

fdec0a29 · ‎10-12-2022

Dear Lukas,

There are non-fake projects. I understand how you feel, but I think that anyone who decides to be a freelancer should be aware that it is a difficult path to take and you should arm yourself with a lot of patience, do the research, and look for ways to improve yourself. I see that many people out there assume that creating a profile on a platform is all you need to do, but that is the bare minimum. Those people who are TopRated are rewarded for a reason—they did a lot of hustling to get there. My opinion is that UpWork is one of the best and most professional platforms out there, and you shouldn't be so quick to judge. The world is a cold place for a freelancer, and having a platform organized in this manner is the best thing ever. The fee is completely justified considering the fact that you are protected to an extent. You have job offers available to you every day, just a click away, and it's up to you to further protect yourself. It's not Upwork's fault if you accept a fake project. When applying for jobs, I would suggest paying attention to grammar, job description, payment verification, and the rate they are offering and then making a decision based on common sense. I think you shouldn't quit the platform. Just take a deep breath and work on your tact. Only speak to clients in a professional manner because it is entirely your responsibility in nonverbal communication to represent yourself the best you can and, in doing so, set a certain standard for how you want to be treated by the client. They also added a new feature called 'Project Cataloque' where you can offer your work to clients on your own terms. I think that's great for the begginers. I am definately goint to try it. I hope this is of any help to you or anyone. I am also kind of new at this and I just wanted to share my perspective. Cheers!

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

Thanks. Yes, I know it takes time... but why to invest this time on Upwork, if I can get better results elsewhere? Upwork doesn´t even want to do anything about the scammer who is well rated.. Instead, they just blocked me on FB, which was the only channel I could have reached them... It says a lot about what is the desired role of the platform..

sofia2008 · ‎10-12-2022

RE: ...there is even no way to report a scammer!

There is a way

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

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

done that and no action from Upwork..

medfares · ‎10-12-2022

I sent a message recently to the support about this.

I'm around Upwork for a while and I noticed there is tons of fake offers and fake people asking you even to send them money before they hire you!!

I don't know when it will be a more strict criteria to post an offer on Upwork !!

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

its a hame for the platform... when even people using it for longer time are complaining..

Anonymous-User · ‎10-12-2022

First of all, don't give up, however that is as long as you are prepared to pay for connects.

Now I am not a fan of the way Upwork uses connects or indeed the growing number of fake/scam posts recently and have had many conversations on here, but it is also very difficult for Upwork to put in place a mechanism to stop fake or scam jobs without affecting real jobs.

I did fight hard to get Upwork to remove the direct links for telegram posted id's on job posts, which is a small win but the other posts are down to us being strict and not allowing them to scam us.

The only advice I can give is to vet the clients, look at the number of completed contracts, look at the type of work they offer, not just vierified payments. And the saying goes, if it is good good to be true, it probably isn't.

Not all clients are bad, i have one that I trust, and over 130 jobs completed and I have only ever come across 2 dodgy clients and suffice to say they have been in the last 2 months.

One set the contract far lower than the agreed fee, I didn't accept, good bye client, I dont need to be put in a position where I am obliged to complete work for a lower fee.

The second took the conversation outsode of Upwork, which is against the ToS, which is ok, when you have a contract and being paid but he set up neither, good bye client, not worth the risk.

82f9c851 · ‎10-12-2022

Good that it works better for you. I guess that people who joined earlier have now advantage, but it seems that newcomers don't get nothing but scammers.. good luck with future jobs, I'm looking for a better platform..

pudingstudio · ‎10-12-2022

Lukas S wrote:
Good that it works better for you. I guess that people who joined earlier have now advantage, but it seems that newcomers don't get nothing but scammers.. good luck with future jobs, I'm looking for a better platform..

There are freelancers from oDesk/ELance who are struggling.

Everyone "have" scammers. Some who are longer on this platform have that experience to be aware of what to avoid.
Some who don't know what to look for, choose not to beware, though some do!

It's NOT that evil UpWork sends scammers towards newcomers, and keep "good" clients for their veterans. That sounds foolish.

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

yeah... sounds weird, but seems to be the case.. at least from my experience.. I am not saying it is intentional though... maybe even upwork itself doesn´t fully know how the algorithm works 😄

renata101 · ‎10-12-2022

Lukas S wrote:
Good that it works better for you. I guess that people who joined earlier have now advantage, but it seems that newcomers don't get nothing but scammers.. good luck with future jobs, I'm looking for a better platform..

If that works for you great, but you might just find the same thing anywhere you go. I think what you are calling "advantage" is actually misguided (and maybe a bit insulting?). What you see is the result of freelancers who have been on the platform longer devoting a lot of time and effort into building a reputation for solid work on the platform.

I think it is definitely harder for people just starting out to get a foothold on Upwork than it used to be, but this more influenced by increased competition in certain fields than any diabolical plan by Upwork to limit opportunities for newcomers.

82f9c851 · ‎10-13-2022

ok.. well.. I´ll see if there is better chance elsewhere..