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benhp
Community Member

Soudns like a scam

This is the third time I've lost this post. It's really frustrating I'm having to remember to copy the text before I send it.

 

I'm just going to keep this brief because I'm irritated. I don't know all of the ToS, but, asking to use someone else's account sounds like a big no-no.

 

  • I was contacted by a guy via Twitter because he saw my profile on Upwork
  • He wanted to collaborate with me since he liked my Upwork profile (he's full of BS imo)
  • Not many details were discussed through text
  • Majority of details are discussed in a Skype call (I attached the recording below)

**Edited for community guidelines**

 

This whole thing sounds completely ludicrous.

 

The main reason I posted this was that I don't want to have anyone actually follow through with this and the other reason I posted was to see if there's any type of action I should take.

 

Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this? Do any of you on here have any thoughts on the whole thing?

 

 

 

 

21 REPLIES 21
melaniekhenson
Community Member

I don't know if you're allowed to attach the recording. I didn't listen to it.

 

You're brand-new. The only times I had people try to scam me were when I was very new. Usually it was the whole "Contact me on Google Hangouts" thing. Scammers aren't (entirely) stupid. They know noobs are less likely to have the whole picture on potential scams and also that they're more motivated to grab work because they want to build a JSS.

 

I don't know what this particular scam might have been (as I said, I didn't listen to the recording) but it's always good to post scams so newcomers can read about them if they come onto the forum. You're not alone. 🙂 Scammers gonna scam.

 

 

Hey Melanie,

 

I attached the recording in the form of the link that is right below the bullet points. Nothing personal is revealed in the conversation.  Let me know if it works so that I can fix it if needed. 


Benjamin P wrote:

Hey Melanie,

 

I attached to recording in the form of the link that is right below the bullet points. Let me know if it works so that I can fix it if needed. 


No, I didn't listen to it because I didn't feel comfortable doing so. 🙂 I would feel odd listening in on someone's private conversation.

 

Suffice to say I believe you; scammers are always about. They've been floating around since the dawn of commerce (and probably before). IMO it's always good to point out potential scam MOs, so maybe you'd like to sum up what the scam is (or what you believe it is). Thank you for posting this as a warning to others.

Ok, I wasn't sure what you meant, but, now I do.

The gist of the conversation was that this person had been banned from Upwork due to "policy changes." Yeaaa, oook. They wanted access to my account to post offers or at least I think that's what was being requested. They had a very thick accent and that made it hard to understand everything.

 

I actually chuckled when I realized the extent of this request and told them there was no way in hell I would be allowing anyone access to my Upwork account

jmlaidlaw
Community Member

Benjamin --

 

I did listen to the recording. (Since you invited me to do so, I had no qualms about it.)

 

This is an obvious scam. The guy's claim to have an account that was (as he implies) randomly and inexplicably "blocked" as were "many accounts in Eastern European countries" (recently) fails on several counts:  (1) His accent was clearly Asian, NOT Eastern European (most likely Chinese, to my trained ear) (this is consistent with the fact that although he used Skype, he chose to present a three-color triangle as his "photo"); (2) There has been no reported or known "blocking" of any regional accounts by UW, recently or in the long-ago past; and (3) He later conflates the "blocking" of his account with his account being refused. (Choose ONE fail, Scammer Guy, and stick to it!)

 

He wants you to use Teamviewer. It matters not at all that he wants this "only" for four months (!!!). As I understand Teamviewer, once a scammer links to your computer using it, you are helpless -- a bit like a paralyzed fish trapped by a poisonous sea anemone. You can gasp and moan, but your computer is held hostage and you are under the complete control of the scammer. I think that ten minutes might be enough for Death by Scam -- but, then, I'm not sure, because I have never allowed anyone to take over my computer or my account. The Indian and Pakistani guys who call me every few weeks from "Windows," to let me know that my computer has a deadly virus and is about to explode, are always trying to get me to let them gain control of my system by means of Teamviewer.

 

The whole thing is a complete scam. Maybe several different layers or options or flavors of scam. (If "Teamviewer" doesn't work, they'll just buy your account. As he says, a U.S. account is "more stable at this time" than is their account.)

 

He doesn't need or want a "reliable collaborator." He wants a noobie patsy.

lysis10
Community Member

I listened to it and LOL'd at that loser. I like how he keeps referring to himself as "we."

 

Was this the same guy as this one? https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/How-do-I-handle-client-asking-for-additional-work/td-p/5...

 

eta: this is nothing new. Chinese guy using American Upwork account to scam clients using TeamViewer.

benhp
Community Member

Hi Jennifer,

 

No, this was not the same guy. This guy somehow found me on Twitter and mentioned in the message that he saw my profile on Upwork. I have a very uncommon last name (I'm the first person that shows on a Google search)  and think that might be how he was able to find me.

 

As for the person from the link, you're referring to, we came to an agreement. He sent the contract over and I'm being compensated very well. In fact, he opted to keep the original budget despite the fact we agreed on $100 less.

 

I mentioned this to him and his response was that he felt it was the right thing to do. He did mention that I have no idea how much he sincerely appreciated me letting him know that the contract reflected a higher amount than what was originally discussed

mtngigi
Community Member


Benjamin P wrote:

This is the third time I've lost this post. It's really frustrating I'm having to remember to copy the text before I send it.

 

I'm just going to keep this brief because I'm irritated. I don't know all of the ToS, but, asking to use someone else's account sounds like a big no-no.

 

  • I was contacted by a guy via Twitter because he saw my profile on Upwork
  • He wanted to collaborate with me since he liked my Upwork profile (he's full of BS imo)
  • Not many details were discussed through text
  • Majority of details are discussed in a Skype call (I attached the recording below)

**Edited for community guidelines**

 

This whole thing sounds completely ludicrous.

 

The main reason I posted this was that I don't want to have anyone actually follow through with this and the other reason I posted was to see if there's any type of action I should take.

 

Has anyone else ever dealt with something like this? Do any of you on here have any thoughts on the whole thing?

 


First, what do you mean by "lost your post"? You can find your posts under your settings/subscriptions, if that helps.

 

Second, this is a known scam that others have reported - you should report it to Upwork and they will take action. No one in their right mind (ETA: except Jen and Janean) is going to click on your link, and you should not be posting it to this public forum.

Virginia --

 

I couldn't resist! And my spidy sense told me that Benjamin himself was on the up-and-up.

 

As Jenn M. says, the link is a delicious LULZ!  But, you're quite right: Not safe to be clicking on strange links offering candy.

Janean L wrote:

Virginia --

 

I couldn't resist! And my spidy sense told me that Benjamin himself was on the up-and-up.

 

As Jenn M. says, the link is a delicious LULZ!  But, you're quite right: Not safe to be clicking on strange links offering candy.

 

You and Jen both posted as I was writing my reply ... or I wouldn't have said that. Now I might have to go listen before it goes poof. Smiley Tongue


I support the recording.

 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.


Preston H wrote:

I support the recording.

 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.


That's creepy, Preston, LOL.

 

😉

"

Quoting Melanie:

"Preston H wrote:

I support the recording.

 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

That's creepy, Preston, LOL."

 

@Melanie:  John 3:20


Janean L wrote:

"

Quoting Melanie:

"Preston H wrote:

I support the recording.

 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

That's creepy, Preston, LOL."

 

@Melanie:  John 3:20


I know...it's just that in the context of complaining about some Asian scammer stuttering his way through a faux interview...it sounded so overly-ominious. 😄 It reminded me of the priest reciting the faux Revelation quote in The Omen. The overly dramatic stance just kind of tickled me.

 

Never mind, as you were. 😄


Janean L wrote:

Virginia --

 

I couldn't resist! And my spidy sense told me that Benjamin himself was on the up-and-up.

 

As Jenn M. says, the link is a delicious LULZ!  But, you're quite right: Not safe to be clicking on strange links offering candy.


Janean, I'm afraid you might have a little degeneracy in you. I'll reserve a nice condo by the lake of fire for you.

benhp
Community Member

Virginia,

 

I mean that when I would click "submit," the page would come back with an unauthorized error and my entire post was gone.

 

I wasn't aware that I shouldn't be posting it on this forum. I thought that because I was the other end of the call and no private information was mentioned, that it would be ok. Thanks for the insight.

mtngigi
Community Member


Benjamin P wrote:

Virginia,

 

I mean that when I would click "submit," the page would come back with an unauthorized error and my entire post was gone.

 

I wasn't aware that I shouldn't be posting it on this forum. I thought that because I was the other end of the call and no private information was mentioned, that it would be ok. Thanks for the insight.


Ah, okay ... don't know why you'd get that error message.

 

Yeah - stuff like that is not allowed. That said, it could really help for everyone to hear how these people operate. I had to laugh - I would have called him a giant scammer and shut him down a lot sooner. It's unfortunate that their are people who fall for it.

benhp
Community Member

You can hear in the recording that, several times, I almost burst into laughter. I knew pretty much from the first 10 seconds that this guy was totally full of **Edited for Community Guidelines**, but I was bored and thought he'd be a nice way to let my lunch digest itself.

 

More importantly, I thought it should be posted on the forum. Am I allowed to post this person's username with Skype and Twitter?

re: "Am I allowed to post this person's username with Skype and Twitter?"

 

Sorry, but no.

You'd think that if Upwork wanted to protect their users to the fullest, that being able to post usernames of potential scammers is something that'd be ok. On the flip-side of that, you can't fully protect stupidity and you'd have to be completely stupid to deal with a person like the guy I just dealt with

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Benjamin,

 

Feel free to share more information about this with me via a PM and I'll share those with our team for further investigation. 

 

Thank you.

 

 

~ Bojan
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