Scammer

[c914f45d]

Hello,

I am new to Upwork and believe I have been scammed. I can give you all the information needed. I put in a proposal on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Within minutes a "recrutier" reached out to me and said that I will need to reach out to the hiring manager of Appen via WhatsApp for an interview. Since I am new to Upwork I was not aware that this is not how it works. I gave out information and have been very concerned but thank goodness I have fraud protection. I can give you more details if needed.

Thank you kindly for your assistance in this matter.

Rebecca Booher

[jr-translation · Accepted solution]

---

Rebecca B wrote:

Hello,

I am new to Upwork and believe I have been scammed. I can give you all the information needed. I put in a proposal on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Within minutes a "recrutier" reached out to me and said that I will need to reach out to the hiring manager of Appen via WhatsApp for an interview. Since I am new to Upwork I was not aware that this is not how it works. I gave out information and have been very concerned but thank goodness I have fraud protection. I can give you more details if needed.

Thank you kindly for your assistance in this matter.

Rebecca Booher

---

Flag the job and then take some time to read and understand the ToS. You have confirmed twice that you have read, understood, and accepted the ToS and then you violated them at the first opportunitiy.

The best fraud protection is to follow the ToS and think twice before sharing personal data (not only on Upwork).

Did you get scammed? I don't know, since I do not know if there is any damage, but it was most likely an attempt to scam you. Upwork clients do not have recruiters.

[c914f45d]

Thank you for the information. I did not know that I was violating anything
but will read it again.

Thank you for your attention to this matter

have a good day!!

[gilbert-phyllis]

What Jennifer said. Also, it's very important to understand that Upwork is not an app you can figure out as you go along. It's a complicated platform where you can sabotage yourself before you get started. Especially if you have never freelanced before. There's more to it than having a skillset and hanging out your shingle.

[bevcam]

---

Phyllis G wrote:

There's more to it than having a skillset and hanging out your shingle.

---

OMW Phyllis - got me laughing away - thanks!  

[tlbp]

---

Rebecca B wrote:

Hello,

I am new to Upwork and believe I have been scammed. I can give you all the information needed. I put in a proposal on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Within minutes a "recrutier" reached out to me and said that I will need to reach out to the hiring manager of Appen via WhatsApp for an interview. Since I am new to Upwork I was not aware that this is not how it works. I gave out information and have been very concerned but thank goodness I have fraud protection. I can give you more details if needed.

Thank you kindly for your assistance in this matter.

---

If you do a web search for "freelance scams" or "job search scams" you can find a few articles that describe the most common ones. Also, scan through the posts here in the forums (including the New to Upwork subforum) to see how others have described their experiences. That will help you figure out what to watch for.

I think a lot of scammers take advantage of the fact that more traditional job seekers are joining freelance platforms. They use the recruitment language that you are familiar with to lure you in. Just be cautious and move slowly--don't let a tempting offer blind you to the warning signs. 

You probably want to remove your last name from your post here as well. 😉

[c914f45d]

Thank you so much. I now know it. I now know the signs of a "scammer" after
researching. Maybe I should try and do a job regarding scamming? LOL

Have a nice day everyone.
#noscammingallowed 🙂

[martina_plaschka]

---

Rebecca B wrote:
Thank you so much. I now know it. I now know the signs of a "scammer" after
researching. Maybe I should try and do a job regarding scamming? LOL

Have a nice day everyone.
#noscammingallowed 🙂

---

Rebecca, I had a look at your profile. This is not how it works. You copied your CV and your headline is your current job. Thing is, you already have this job. A client is not likely to look for somebody who has that exact job at that exact company, so scrap that. 

Ask yourself: what services do I want to provide? To whom? Your headline and overview should be about that. 

[c914f45d]

Thank you so much for your assistance. I am updating my profile now. 

[BojanS]

Hi Rebecca,

I've checked the project you're reporting and it has been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork TOS and action has been taken on the client account. Please check this help article for crucial information that will help you have a safe and successful journey on Upwork.

Thank you! 

[c914f45d]

Thank you for your assistance. 

Have a great day!!

[ann-anderson]

Many I bid were taken dine before they contacted me but after I bid. But Upwork diesnt give the connects back. And I'm insulted in the same email they threaten me that I better have nit talked to this client outsude of Uowirk while letting me know they allowed a scammar on their site. But oh if you dudnt them your account can remain. So ridiculous!!  I'm ready to report Uowork to the FBI. I used to wirk on FBI fraud cases. Uowirk needs to kearn some things!!

[d31f4d16]

Hi, I have been scammed in exactly same way today. The company name is**Edited for community guidelines**. I have all the details of the contact. I am new to upwork and I wasn't aware of this, They took my money as a deposit. Now I don't know how to retrieve the money back. This is really frustrating.

[prestonhunter]

re: "They took my money as a deposit. Now I don't know how to retrieve the money back."

I am sorry about what happened.

I know that you feel disappointed.

You can't your money back. You need to let this go and not try to get your money back.

What you did is a very serious violation of Upwork TOS. If you pursue the idea of getting your money back, then you may force Upwork to suspend or otherwise penalized your Upwork account.

[pgiambalvo]

Poor sod. I doubt he knowingly violated the ToS. Seeing how this happens so often to well-meaning people, I think it would be kind of Upwork to make new freelancers MUCH more aware of what is and is isn't allowed, and make them read their "how to spot  scam posts thingy" before they are allowed to have an account.

[JoanneP]

Hi Benju,

I'm sorry to hear about what happened. You can flag the job using the flagging option. This will allow the team to review and take appropriate actions. 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. 

[webizco]

I posted on another thread but I want to ask the question here as well. These scammers are setting up fake listings. I've been around a long time so I spot them when they respond. I got 2 today.
Should I post the job link here?

My question is when I flag the job, it remains on the platform. Also, we lose connects. Why doesn't Upwork credit the connects back on jobs that are flagged/removed? Here's the activitiy on one of them.

Activity on this job
Proposals: 20 to 50   <------- That's alot of connects being lost. 
Last viewed by client: 10 minutes ago
Interviewing: 7
Invites sent: 0
Unanswered invites: 0

[gilbert-phyllis]

---

Robert M wrote:

I posted on another thread but I want to ask the question here as well. These scammers are setting up fake listings. I've been around a long time so I spot them when they respond. I got 2 today.
Should I post the job link here?

My question is when I flag the job, it remains on the platform. Also, we lose connects. Why doesn't Upwork credit the connects back on jobs that are flagged/removed? Here's the activitiy on one of them.

Activity on this job
Proposals: 20 to 50   <------- That's alot of connects being lost. 
Last viewed by client: 10 minutes ago
Interviewing: 7
Invites sent: 0
Unanswered invites: 0

---

No, there is no point posting the links here. It is against the Community guidelines and forces a moderator to spend time sanitizing your post. Flag them and move on.

Any connects spent bidding on a job that gets taken down, are returned to the FLs. UW is not as swift handling flagged jobs as we would like. It will always be a losing battle to keep them off the platform entirely and the best way to avoid wasting time is learn to recognize them on sight. Sadly, the platform is completely overrun with inexperienced, ill-equipped FLs who jump in without taking time to learn what they are getting into. That generates a reliable food supply for the scammers.