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petra_r
Community Member

Sooooo many "The Aussie Voice" freelancers from all over the world...

There are literally dozens of profiles, all exactly the same (apart from names, location, photo). All have the title "The Aussie Voice" and share the same overview (stolen from a top-rated New York-based freelancer) Most share an hourly rate of $ 35 and went to Harvard University between 2012 and 2016. They own micro-studio based in New York

 

 

Run a google search for the keywords The Aussie Voice Upwork

 

Just found one who even has a Rising Talent Badge...

 

120 REPLIES 120

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system ant there must be a link somewhere on the Internet that is telling people how to take advantage of it.

 

Upwork you need to fix this exploit somehow...

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system


They are typically NOT approved. Typically, they are rejected.

 

Again, I have no idea why Upwork allows rejected profiles to pop up on google (or Upwork) searches, but here we are.

 


Petra R wrote:

Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system


They are typically NOT approved. Typically, they are rejected.

 

Again, I have no idea why Upwork allows rejected profiles to pop up on google (or Upwork) searches, but here we are.

 


They are approved and searchable by clients. I'm even able to hire them with my client account...

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

Petra R wrote:

Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system


They are typically NOT approved. Typically, they are rejected.

 

Again, I have no idea why Upwork allows rejected profiles to pop up on google (or Upwork) searches, but here we are.

 


They are approved and searchable by clients. I'm even able to hire them with my client account...


searchable yes, but generally you either get this (suspended)

 

suspended.jpg

 

or this (profile was rejected) - No Hire button, no invite button.

 

rejected.jpg


Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system ant there must be a link somewhere on the Internet that is telling people how to take advantage of it.

 

Upwork you need to fix this exploit somehow...

 

 


Oh, there's a link alright. It's in the rabbit hole I just crawled out of called YouTube, where Upwork, if they chose to do so, could probably wipe out hundreds of profiles just by looking at the names and photos of the people who respond to these videos:

 

This is where "The Aussie Voice" profiles are coming from:

**edited for Community Guidelines** (or she got it from someone else, who knows). If the link gets zapped it's easy enough to find.

 

It appears this is what she did because her profile was not accepted (then it was). The whole thing is insane, but start watching @ 5:35 - that's where the Aussie Voice makes an appearence. Then she directs everyone to choose Native/Bilingual for the language. Part of her instructions are not in English, but no matter.

 

There are literally hundreds of videos similar to hers. **edited for Community Guidelines** admits to creating multiple accounts and also offers a tutorial on lying to get your rejected proposal accepted. Some of his "followers" are rather easy to find if they're using their real names on YT. A comment from one of them: "Asia country is not accepted. UK, USA accepted easily".

 

Granted ... many (probably all) of these people are not getting work, but they are mucking up an already bloated situation. I'm speechless. Upwork, you have enough of us - isn't it time for a moratorium on this nonsense of accepting absolutely everyone. These are people who are not doing your clients (or us) any favors.

 

While you're busy verifying well-established FLs who have already been through the process several times over, this is going on.

 

 

lysis10
Community Member


Virginia F wrote:

Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system ant there must be a link somewhere on the Internet that is telling people how to take advantage of it.

 

Upwork you need to fix this exploit somehow...

 

 


Oh, there's a link alright. It's in the rabbit hole I just crawled out of called YouTube, where Upwork, if they chose to do so, could probably wipe out hundreds of profiles just by looking at the names and photos of the people who respond to these videos:

 

This is where "The Aussie Voice" profiles are coming from:

**edited for Community Guidelines** (or she got it from someone else, who knows). If the link gets zapped it's easy enough to find.

 

It appears this is what she did because her profile was not accepted (then it was). The whole thing is insane, but start watching @ 5:35 - that's where the Aussie Voice makes an appearence. Then she directs everyone to choose Native/Bilingual for the language. Part of her instructions are not in English, but no matter.

 

There are literally hundreds of videos similar to hers. **edited for Community Guidelines** admits to creating multiple accounts and also offers a tutorial on lying to get your rejected proposal accepted. Some of his "followers" are rather easy to find if they're using their real names on YT. A comment from one of them: "Asia country is not accepted. UK, USA accepted easily".

 

Granted ... many (probably all) of these people are not getting work, but they are mucking up an already bloated situation. I'm speechless. Upwork, you have enough of us - isn't it time for a moratorium on this nonsense of accepting absolutely everyone. These are people who are not doing your clients (or us) any favors.

 

While you're busy verifying well-established FLs who have already been through the process several times over, this is going on.

 

 


lol such a good find. These people, man. Never heard a Fillipino accent before but wow they sound like Miami cholas. If I heard that voice on the phone, I'd expect penciled in eyebrows and dark lip liner with light lipstick. 

mtngigi
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Virginia F wrote:

Rene K wrote:

Upwork kills the Aussi voices as I report them, but they keep popping up. There is a flaw in the auto approval system ant there must be a link somewhere on the Internet that is telling people how to take advantage of it.

 

Upwork you need to fix this exploit somehow...

 

 


Oh, there's a link alright. It's in the rabbit hole I just crawled out of called YouTube, where Upwork, if they chose to do so, could probably wipe out hundreds of profiles just by looking at the names and photos of the people who respond to these videos:

 

This is where "The Aussie Voice" profiles are coming from:

**edited for Community Guidelines** (or she got it from someone else, who knows). If the link gets zapped it's easy enough to find.

 

It appears this is what she did because her profile was not accepted (then it was). The whole thing is insane, but start watching @ 5:35 - that's where the Aussie Voice makes an appearence. Then she directs everyone to choose Native/Bilingual for the language. Part of her instructions are not in English, but no matter.

 

There are literally hundreds of videos similar to hers. **edited for Community Guidelines** admits to creating multiple accounts and also offers a tutorial on lying to get your rejected proposal accepted. Some of his "followers" are rather easy to find if they're using their real names on YT. A comment from one of them: "Asia country is not accepted. UK, USA accepted easily".

 

Granted ... many (probably all) of these people are not getting work, but they are mucking up an already bloated situation. I'm speechless. Upwork, you have enough of us - isn't it time for a moratorium on this nonsense of accepting absolutely everyone. These are people who are not doing your clients (or us) any favors.

 

While you're busy verifying well-established FLs who have already been through the process several times over, this is going on.

 

 


lol such a good find. These people, man. Never heard a Fillipino accent before but wow they sound like Miami cholas. If I heard that voice on the phone, I'd expect penciled in eyebrows and dark lip liner with light lipstick. 


It's something else, isn't it? You have to laugh, or otherwise you'd start screaming.

mtngigi
Community Member


lol such a good find. These people, man. Never heard a Fillipino accent before but wow they sound like Miami cholas. If I heard that voice on the phone, I'd expect penciled in eyebrows and dark lip liner with light lipstick. 

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention ... guess who's commercial came up on three of the vids I watched, lol. I think that money might be put to better use elsewhere, Upwork.


 

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Virginia, and Jennifer, 


I have checked the accounts related to the videos you have noted and can confirm that actions have been taken against them. The videos, and their links have also been shared with the team for their review and action. Thank you for flagging these here.


~ Avery
Upwork
petra_r
Community Member


Avery O wrote:

Hi Virginia, and Jennifer, 


I have checked the accounts related to the videos you have noted and can confirm that actions have been taken against them. The videos, and their links have also been shared with the team for their review and action. Thank you for flagging these here.


That does not solve the underlying problem.

Auto-accepting profiles based on (at best) questionable criteria and auto-rejecting others based on equally questionable ones was always going to lead to such nonsense.

 

At the same time long term genuine freelancers are made to jump through all sorts of hoops, while clear, obvious, proven fraudsters are reported again and again and their profiles remain.

 

 

mtngigi
Community Member


Petra R wrote:

Avery O wrote:

Hi Virginia, and Jennifer, 


I have checked the accounts related to the videos you have noted and can confirm that actions have been taken against them. The videos, and their links have also been shared with the team for their review and action. Thank you for flagging these here.


That does not solve the underlying problem.

Auto-accepting profiles based on (at best) questionable criteria and auto-rejecting others based on equally questionable ones was always going to lead to such nonsense.

 

At the same time long term genuine freelancers are made to jump through all sorts of hoops, while clear, obvious, proven fraudsters are reported again and again and their profiles remain.

 

 


Exactly ... it would be interesting to see what would happen if they would just stop for a few days. Put up a "Sorry, closed for maintenance" sign. And then spend some time doing some serious house-cleaning.

 

I''ve said this before, and I'll say it again. Upwork will never be able to ID everyone. Not when a thousand people are (easily) signing up daily, filling their profiles with lies and more lies, and hey presto, they're accepted because they ticked all the right boxes. IDV is an effort in futility.


Virginia F wrote:

 

I''ve said this before, and I'll say it again. Upwork will never be able to ID everyone. Not when a thousand people are (easily) signing up daily, filling their profiles with lies and more lies, and hey presto, they're accepted because they ticked all the right boxes. IDV is an effort in futility.


Upwork is not verifying everyone's identity, or proposing to do so. They have extrapolated from a two-phase pilot that they are able to verify the identity (insofar as their process does such a thing) for all earning freelancers—which simultaneously gives them a workable population and an enforcement mechanism.

Identify verification and profile acceptance criteria are two separate aspects of assuring the integrity of the freelancer pool.

What if Upwork closes profile submissions and decides to only accept submissions recommended by a top rated earning Upwork freelancer?

 

These submissions would be manually evaluated and top rated people could recommend only one or two persons per month.

 

I have no idea if this makes any sense, but it would not be worse than what we have.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Douglas Michael M wrote:

Virginia F wrote:

 

I''ve said this before, and I'll say it again. Upwork will never be able to ID everyone. Not when a thousand people are (easily) signing up daily, filling their profiles with lies and more lies, and hey presto, they're accepted because they ticked all the right boxes. IDV is an effort in futility.


Upwork is not verifying everyone's identity, or proposing to do so. They have extrapolated from a two-phase pilot that they are able to verify the identity (insofar as their process does such a thing) for all earning freelancers—which simultatneously gives them a workable population and an enforcement mechanism.

Identify verification and profile acceptance criteria are two separate aspects of assuring the integrity of the freelancer pool.


In some thread somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away, it was stated that everyone's ID would be verified ... which is an impossibility. Perhaps I misunderstood.


Virginia F wrote:

Douglas Michael M wrote:

Virginia F wrote:

 

I''ve said this before, and I'll say it again. Upwork will never be able to ID everyone. Not when a thousand people are (easily) signing up daily, filling their profiles with lies and more lies, and hey presto, they're accepted because they ticked all the right boxes. IDV is an effort in futility.


Upwork is not verifying everyone's identity, or proposing to do so. They have extrapolated from a two-phase pilot that they are able to verify the identity (insofar as their process does such a thing) for all earning freelancers—which simultatneously gives them a workable population and an enforcement mechanism.

Identify verification and profile acceptance criteria are two separate aspects of assuring the integrity of the freelancer pool.


In some thread somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away, it was stated that everyone's ID would be verified ... which is an impossibility. Perhaps I misunderstood.


Upwork floated that option at one point, and may have instituted random checks. That is not the current policy, which has been under discussion in Announcements for a month or so.

mtngigi
Community Member

A
Avery O wrote:

Hi Virginia, and Jennifer, 


I have checked the accounts related to the videos you have noted and can confirm that actions have been taken against them. The videos, and their links have also been shared with the team for their review and action. Thank you for flagging these here.


All due respect Avery - it wasn't just that girl and that guy ... it was hundreds of adoring fans thanking them profusely for sharing their secrets about how to get your profile accepted after being rejected. And hey, they tried those tips ... and it worked. Smiley Frustrated


Christine A wrote:

Virginia F wrote:

 

Makes me wonder what the (non-existent) process is for profile approval ...  Smiley Indifferent


If all of the online advice about getting profile approval is to be believed, the process is simply to claim possession of a skill that isn't oversubscribed already, and boom, you're in. Or, you can purchase a profile from somebody else (which I believe is the motivation behind many of the "I've forgotten my username and password" and "I need access to my old account" posts in the forum). And even if you're blatantly caught red-handed doing either of these things, it seems unlikely that you'll be permanently banned. 

 

I think that Upwork should consider charging an application fee; that would sort out a lot of the scamming and reduce the number of new applicants per day.

 


Or, since they have to talk to customer service anyway, why not make them video verify when they try to reset their passwords to at least make sure the picture matches?

versailles
Community Member

So, the loophole that allows anyone and their cousin to get their profile automatically approved, the so-called "The Aussie Voice" loophole is still wide open and fake accounts are still being created en masse by all kind of fakers:

 

https://www.upwork.com/ab/profiles/search/?q=%22As%20one%20of%20the%20top%20voice%20over%20and%20aud...

 

The tickets number 26052183 and 25943105 were all in vain.

 

Upwork, your are making an embarrassment of yourselves. You're the Internet lolcow.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

So, the loophole that allows anyone and their cousin to get their profile automatically approved, the so-called "The Aussie Voice" loophole is still wide open and fake accounts are still being created en masse by all kind of fakers:


Yes, but it is so helpful when they post in the forum to ask if they've been approved so they can be flagged and kicked off again.


Petra R wrote:

Rene K wrote:

So, the loophole that allows anyone and their cousin to get their profile automatically approved, the so-called "The Aussie Voice" loophole is still wide open and fake accounts are still being created en masse by all kind of fakers:


Yes, but it is so helpful when they post in the forum to ask if they've been approved so they can be flagged and kicked off again.


_________________________

 

At the top of René's link is the little flame of encouragement: 

62 Voice Over experts saved in the past day. Invite your favorites now!

 

Way to go Upwork ...


Nichola L wrote:

Petra R wrote:

Rene K wrote:

So, the loophole that allows anyone and their cousin to get their profile automatically approved, the so-called "The Aussie Voice" loophole is still wide open and fake accounts are still being created en masse by all kind of fakers:


Yes, but it is so helpful when they post in the forum to ask if they've been approved so they can be flagged and kicked off again.


_________________________

 

At the top of René's link is the little flame of encouragement: 

62 Voice Over experts saved in the past day. Invite your favorites now!

 

Way to go Upwork ...


And great news! All you really need to know to fake your very own profile is now available in Urdu and Hindi.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

 

When I clicked on Rene's link, it said that there were no profiles to match that search and 30 VO artists had been hired in the last day... So something has happened.


Mary W wrote:

When I clicked on Rene's link, it said that there were no profiles to match that search and 30 VO artists had been hired in the last day... So something has happened.


Did you try with a client account? When I click it they show up - still accepted, still hirable.


In fairness, it is a bit much to expect them all to be taken down in a couple of hours, but why in the world has this loophole not been closed yet? It's been known for months.

 

 


Mary W wrote:

When I clicked on Rene's link, it said that there were no profiles to match that search and 30 VO artists had been hired in the last day... So something has happened.


If you haven't you have to toggle off the "USA only." I did this from my client account and there are many from different countries (but not Australia).  They are available to invite or hire too.

 

Most went to Harvard and have micro studios in New York even though they live nowhere that makes sense for someone working from their own micro-studio in New York. Some use the Aussie Voice description but apparently made a career change to mobile development, social media management,  or virtual assistant work. despite being "one of the top voice over and audio providers on freelancing sites for over 10 years. We are a micro-studio based in New york, owned and operated by audio producers an VO talent."  (copied and pasted fone who changed to virtual assistant/social media work)

 

 


Renata S wrote:

Nichola L wrote:

Petra R wrote:

Rene K wrote:

So, the loophole that allows anyone and their cousin to get their profile automatically approved, the so-called "The Aussie Voice" loophole is still wide open and fake accounts are still being created en masse by all kind of fakers:


Yes, but it is so helpful when they post in the forum to ask if they've been approved so they can be flagged and kicked off again.


_________________________

 

At the top of René's link is the little flame of encouragement: 

62 Voice Over experts saved in the past day. Invite your favorites now!

 

Way to go Upwork ...


And great news! All you really need to know to fake your very own profile is now available in Urdu Hindi.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

 


Here's hoping no one will notice these screenshots:

 

Here he's adding Harvard U.

 

Harvard.png

 

Here's he's changing skill to the "Aussie Voice".

 

aussie.png

 

On the plus side, the video has only had 112 views. One of the posters asked for help because his profile wasn't being approved. The video guy answered in Hindi, which translates to this:

 

Screen shot 2019-08-04 at 10.58.24 AM.png

 

I believe I've found his account on Upwork. Granted, no bids ... but still. Who knows, maybe he really is a Canadian "Professional Architect", though that doesn't explain why his profile wasn't accepted at first.

 

Smiley Frustrated

 

 

 

 

Lawdy, lawdy, chirren.  Found all the accounts through my client account.  Flagged every single one until my fingers hurt. (Exercise in fultility, I know).  

 

Bless their little heart(s).

versailles
Community Member

Kudos Upwork. Great job embarrassing yourself. Again.

 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

https://www.upwork.com/hire/voice-over-artists-australian-accent/

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

Kudos Upwork. Great job embarrassing yourself. Again.

 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

https://www.upwork.com/hire/voice-over-artists-australian-accent/

 

 


It really isn't a great look when experienced FL's that have been using the site for years are pointing out (repeatedly) how the site is being exploited, to the detriment of clients, genuine freelancers and therefore it's own business...yet nothing is apparently being done about it.

Jester?

 

it figures...lol

Jesus Christ! And they don't do anything against those profiles. It looks like as long as they provide money to Upwork they don't care if the profile is fake or not...

"Master in B2B customer acquisition"? In voice over?

 

And today's Aussi Voices are:

 

https://www.upwork.com/ab/profiles/search/?q=%22As%20one%20of%20the%20top%20voice%20over%20and%20aud...

 

Of course they don't stay that way, now that the Aussie Voice trick has granted them a place inside, they will edit their overview to whatever sells and they'll be ready to scam clients.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless

Wow, they reproduce like mushrooms! Smiley Surprised


Maria T wrote:

Wow, they reproduce like mushrooms! Smiley Surprised


Maybe Upwork should stop accepting new freelancers until they can clean up the scam freelance profiles already on hand. I still wonder how these people are getting through if they are supposed to be vetting everyone.


Catherine M wrote:

I still wonder how these people are getting through if they are supposed to be vetting everyone.

They don't. It's an algorithm that does the job and it has a loophole that the whole Urdu and Hindi speaking Internet is talking about. Upwork has been informed about the loophole long time ago and Upwork does what Upwork does the best: Nothing.

 

 

-----------
"Where darkness shines like dazzling light"   —William Ashbless


Rene K wrote:

Catherine M wrote:

I still wonder how these people are getting through if they are supposed to be vetting everyone.

They don't. It's an algorithm that does the job and it has a loophole that the whole Urdu and Hindi speaking Internet is talking about. Upwork has been informed about the loophole long time ago and Upwork does what Upwork does the best: Nothing.

 

__________________________

And just because the thread is now merged, does not mean this situation is resolved. It is time Upwork sent the algorithm home, it is not doing its job. Also I think Upwork owes the real Aussie Voice an apology. He could have lost business over this. 


 

funny thing: I see that this topic is marked as "solved"

 

Smiley LOL

Here you go mods: This is the latest batch as pointed out by René. 

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

(Don't forget to copy them before you edit!) And it would be nice to have a comment on the state of play on this. These people are flooding the site and it is bad for everybody's business - especially Upwork's. The insistence of using cutesy little icons to herald blatantly fraudulent profiles that are damaging the reputation of a genuinely high-earning freelancer, is not going to win many clients or much admiration from the business world.  

 


Catherine M wrote:

Maria T wrote:

Wow, they reproduce like mushrooms! Smiley Surprised


Maybe Upwork should stop accepting new freelancers until they can clean up the scam freelance profiles already on hand. I still wonder how these people are getting through if they are supposed to be vetting everyone.


I have made this suggestion many times over (as have others). It falls on deaf ears. It would seem that Upwork doesn't think millions of freelancers are enough freelancers. "Vetting" is just another word for "accept anyone who signs up", especially if they have an "Aussie Voice" or stolen portfolio items.

Hi All,

 

We understand that this is very frustrating and is a matter of concern. Our teams are aware and are working on a permanent solution for this issue. Meanwhile, we have forwarded all your reports to the team for review and to be actioned with urgency. This includes the profiles you've flagged or took screenshots of.

 

We have and will be merging related posts to this thread so that we can better keep track of your reports and share them with the team.

~ Valeria
Upwork
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