Should I run in the other direction?

[rhmorgan]

I recently joined UpWork and got called to my first interview this morning. The message I was sent by the HR person had a message on the bottom stating that she no longer had access to Upwork and we can't message through their portal until she's restored. They also don't have a verified method of payment.

They want to conduct an interview with me over Hangouts and when I researched the company. it's not involved in publishing, as their posting implied. They are a pharmaceutical company. 

The whole thing has me feeling a little suspicious. Has anyone else had this experience?

[florydev]

You won't have to read far here where people will advise you anything with Hangouts is a scam.  At first it seemed like a generalization but everyone who posts here about a scam mentions hangouts.  I think it is fair to say most companies don't use hangouts and one reason scammers do is, I believe, there is not reporting mechanism.

If you want to pursue it suggest that you will do a GotoMeeting with them on your account (you can get one for 30 days for free).  That way you can record the call so that you can be sure you understand everything.  I bet they don't accept.

[gilbert-phyllis]

As a newbie, assume any unsolicited invitation you get here is a scam. They prey on naive FLs in the U.S. Anybody wanting you to "interview" via Google Hangouts is a scam. Any "client" who claims to be or wants to connect you with HR is a scam. If they can get you to engage, they will try to get you to divulge your contact info (which you should never do--an UW client has access to all they need to know about you via your profile); or they convince you they are hiring you and need to send you a check to purchase equpment you'll need to do the work. You deposit the check in your bank and spend the money, the check bounces, and you're lucky if all that happens is you lose your account.

Read all of the info UW offers about how to stay safe when you're starting out. Also, be sure you have the correct mindset, regardless of the nomenclature you hear tossed around. As a freelancer, you are looking for clients (not employers) to contract with you (not hire you) to complete specific projects (not perform a job). HR people don't come into it (unless the HR dept is hiring a FL to do a specific thing related to HR).

Good luck!

[sergio-soria · Accepted solution]

Yes, probably 99.9% of new freelancers.

Google Hangouts = Scammers

Don't waste your time with that one.

[martina_plaschka]

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Rachel M wrote:

I recently joined UpWork and got called to my first interview this morning. The message I was sent by the HR person had a message on the bottom stating that she no longer had access to Upwork and we can't message through their portal until she's restored. They also don't have a verified method of payment.

They want to conduct an interview with me over Hangouts and when I researched the company. it's not involved in publishing, as their posting implied. They are a pharmaceutical company. 

The whole thing has me feeling a little suspicious. Has anyone else had this experience?

---

You can run, or you can wait until they send you a fake check for office equipment. This is the oldest scam in the book. 

[rhmorgan]

Well, I accepted their chat and I started asking questions about why a pharmaceutical company wanted a manuscript editor. They said the company name was a typo. I asked if they could send me their proper web address so I could see what they do.

They immediately left the chat.

[florydev]

Good Job Rachel, keep persisting you will get that first project! Search through the community and find advice about your profile and proposals that make sense to you and apply them.

[BojanS]

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for flagging this to us. I found the job post you're referring to, and its already been taken down, and action has been taken on the client account.

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and do use the flag option found on each job post anytime you suspect.

Thank you!