Should I trust a job for the "company" "**Edited**?" They're asking for personal info

[996a5419]

I completed this simple 30-page document retyping job for this company "**Edited for Community Guidelines**" in which I immediately knew was a scam since they were messaging me outside of Upwork (through Telegram) and were asking for my personal details. I know I shouldn't have kept on contacting them and going along with communication, but I stopped at the point where they sent me an email stating that I should link a credit/debit card to my Paypal account so that they can deposit the staggering $1,200 amount for the job. If I don't do that "immediately," they claim, then I will have to send them a $120 refundable deposit, which would get refunded back to me immediately after my Paypal account would be linked. With this, the total amount I would receive would therefore be $1,320, which of course already sounds absurd as it is. Can you guys report this job, the person that messaged me through Upwork has a last name "**Edited for Community Guidelines**" and the company's "project director" is named **Edited for Community Guidelines**. Their project payment person of whatever it's called is run by **Edited for Community Guidelines**. I hope you guys can take care of this situation quickly and thank you! 

[prestonhunter]

a) You are asking about a company by name.

b) And you are asking about individual employees by name.

c) You are asking about a refundable deposit.

d) You talked to a client about PayPal

e) You communicated using Telegram

f) You did a retyping job for free

Each one of these things individually mean that you are not ready to work as a freelancer on Upwork. You have so much more to learn!

I recommend that you study a lot more before you try to do anything else. Pretty much everything you have done so far is wrong and could get you suspended from the platform.

[996a5419]

Oh, I see, thank you for the information! However, I do want to clarify that the client told me about using Paypal as a payment method, and I also didn't ask about a refundable deposit. It was mentioned in an email from the company that the client works for. I was also given the people's Telegram, which their personal info was already given to me, but I am aware that already messaging outside of Upwork is against Community Guidelines. Can you clarify more on what you said about doing a retyping job for free because I would get paid if the job wasn't a total scam and offered a realistic amount for the job.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

re: "Oh, I see, thank you for the information! However, I do want to clarify that the client told me about using Paypal as a payment method, and I also didn't ask about a refundable deposit"

I have read the Community Forum threads for many years.

Upwork freelancers have had their accounts SUSPENDED simply for TALKING about PayPal payments with a client. Even if the freelancer did not initiate the conversation. Even if the freelancer did not do anything.

re: "It was mentioned in an email from the company that the client works for."

You could be suspended from Upwork for receiving an email from that "company."

That "company" should not have had your email address prior to you being hired with an official Upwork contract.

re: "I was also given the people's Telegram"

You could be suspended for receiving that Telegram address, sending your Telegram address, or discussing communicating using Telegram before being hired with an official Upwork contract.

re: "Can you clarify more on what you said about doing a retyping job for free because I would get paid if the job wasn't a total scam and offered a realistic amount for the job."

Have you been paid for the retyping that you did?

No.

Are you going to get paid?

No.

So you did the work for free.

If you work on Upwork and don't get paid, it is because you (the freelancer) used Upwork incorrectly.

This is your fault.

ALL OF THIS IS GOOD NEWS!

Because every one of these problems was your fault, it means that YOU HAVE THE POWER.

You can change how you use Upwork in the future, and you can thus CHANGE the outcomes.

[996a5419]

Thank you so much for the information, I fully understand now! I will take better action in the future and be more vigilant in what the client is asking and make sure that I get paid for my work. I really appreciate your response! I'm still new to Upwork so this all was a major shock to me, however I have learned from my mistake and will not let this occur again in the future.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Michal K wrote:

Can you clarify more on what you said about doing a retyping job for free because I would get paid if the job wasn't a total scam and offered a realistic amount for the job.

---

You need to be aware that there's no such thing as a simple retyping job that pays well - they are all scams. $30/hour is not a realistic price to charge for data entry on Upwork. Data entry jobs are extremely difficult for newcomers to get at all, and generally pay $3-$5/hour. 

Read this before you go any farther: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b.... Then, go through the academy courses and learn how to construct a more effective profile (one hint - using the word "student" in your profile title is not a selling point, and makes you even more of a target for scammers).

[prestonhunter]

For any human being who is intelligent enough to actually be reading this thread in the Community Forum... I need you to understand that data entry is a waste of your time.

Do something else.

Or don't use Upwork at all.

Simple advice to follow:

No retyping. No data entry.

[ArjayM]

Hi Michal,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting this here. I had to edit your post because including names of persons or companies (or other identifying information) in an accusation of misconduct, incompetence, or other wrongdoing is not allowed. You can always report this information directly to Upwork if you suspect an issue, but posting it in Community is not appropriate. Please be mindful of the Community Guidelines when posting in the Community.

In addition to Preston's response, please note that any request for free work is not allowed on Upwork, and it is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service. Also, a real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. 

I would like to let you know that sharing contact information before a contract has started is against Upwork's Terms of Service and that all communications prior to the contract starting must take place on Upwork. Could you please click on my name above this post and send me a private message with more information about the job you're referring to? The link to the job post would be extremely helpful. Looking forward to your message.

We also encourage you to let us know if a TOS violation has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here. You may want to check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork.