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rafaelh727
Community Member

Telegram Job Scam?

I was invited to an interview on Telegram the other day. I did a text interview there and the guy invited me to a job. I was emailed a check for startup money, and now he's wanting me to pay for supplies before I start the job. First was $350 for a Time Tracker, then $500 for these programs; BS1 Accounting Software, Myob Business Essentials Software 2005, For Peach Tree Premium 2010 US Patent Single Users Pack, Simplay Accounting 2009, Adobe Photoshop 52011, Adobe Acrobat 8 2012, Ariba 8 2012ASP 32007, CSS 6 2012, Dreamwaver 7 2011, and HTML 11 2011.

 

Looking up the programs, I found old discussions on here about people having similar situations and them turning out to be a scam, so I'm thinking this might be the case here. Any advice would be appreciated!

89 REPLIES 89
petra_r
Community Member


Rafael H wrote:

I was invited to an interview on Telegram the other day. I did a text interview there and the guy invited me to a job. I was emailed a check for startup money, and now he's wanting me to pay for supplies before I start the job. 


The second someone mentions sending you a check, your KNOW it is a scam. I hope you haven't tried to bank the check yet? 

 

The second you agree to receive such a check, you are violating Upwork's terms of service and risk your account being suspended.

 

Did you ever think it to be odd that some random stranger on the Internet hires you via Telegram and would then send you real checks to buy software that is not related to each other or to what you can actually do? Random software that nobody needs all of for one job, ever?

 

eadb7f7e
Community Member

I got the proposal accepted and he told me to contact somebody thru telegram, I said I don't have telegram and tell him to communicate in upwork, But he said his team is forbidden. This is my first time on upwork. Is it a scam?

Hi Mia,

 

I checked the job post you were referring to and it appears that it's already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork TOS.


Please check out this course for more tips on staying safe on Upwork and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork
BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Rafael,

 

Thanks for flagging this job to us. I've checked and the job has already 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 more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post or message to report any suspicious or inappropriate content. Also, check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork
cagluse
Community Member

I got a similar thing from Umicore. I stopped when they asked me what bank I used. I said I wasn't comfortable answering and then the telegram chat went silent for 6 minutes. I checked Upwork and the job was gone. I left and deleted the telegram app. SCAM probably. Annoying most definitely. Took about 45 mins of my life! 

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Suzanne,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I won't be able to go into details about our internal processes but as you've correctly guessed, reported project have already been actioned in accordance with Upwork TOS.

 

Please check this thread for more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post or message to report any suspicious or inappropriate content. Also, check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork
c42fc2dc
Community Member

So a client named **Edited for community guidelines**. this prompts me to add someone else on telegram who pressures a 50 minute interview via text, continually pressuring quick response.  He just sent me a message to commence the interview.  Something seems odd here.  what should I do?

 

petra_r
Community Member


Michael C wrote:

 what should I do?


You should not violate Upwork's terms of service and risk being banned.  In other words,  you never ever communicate with any client outside the platform until you are officially hired.

 

If you have connected on telegram you have already violated Upwork's terms of service and admitted to doing so, heading right towards your profile being suspended and permanently banned.

I received an answer to a post I applied to. There was an attachment and I opened it. It was a letter saying I needed to set up a screen name with the company's **edited for Community Guidelines** official interview portal at **edited for Community Guidelines** which I believe is Telegram. After signing up I am asked to reach out to their hiring manager for an interview. Is that a violation if I do that? It sounded a little fishy to me.

Total scam. They are all over Upwork like a cheap suit, or even an expensive suit. There is apparently no way to stop them from posting, or even to reduce their number of postings, or even plans or a desire to do so, so just deal with it. And of course, never ever ever communicate with anyone outside of Upwork unless a contract has been set up first.

I realise this is an old post, but it's interesting this problem has been on-going for so long, with no desire to remedy the issue at all.  This - to put it bluntly - weirds me out.  I'm not going to invest any more time on this platform - it's a way more level playing field just getting work directly on my own. 

Hi Andrew,

 

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear how you feel. Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation. 

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork

Hi Virginia, 

I can confirm that this is a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service. Please know that users are not allowed to communicate outside the platform before a contract starts. I went ahead and reported this to the team for their further review. 

In the meantime, I suggest you read up on these tips to avoid questionable jobs and the articles listed here for more information on how to work safely on Upwork. 


~ Avery
Upwork


Michael C wrote:

So a client named Corey Page sends me a pdf marked WILEY-job-invite. this prompts me to add someone else on telegram who pressures a 50 minute interview via text, continually pressuring quick response.  He just sent me a message to commence the interview.  Something seems odd here.  what should I do?

 


Skip the interview and read the ToS instead.

It's unnacceptable how long this scam has been going on for.  Upwork needs to implement stricter policies for those looking to hire freelance workers, just as strict as they are for those looking for work.

Agreed!

Just got a message from a client for a post that I applied to that invited me to interview on Telegram, assuring me that it was okay because it would be monitored by Upwork. Of course I said no and reported it. They are getting ever more wily as they are obviously aware that we are aware of them.

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Michael,

 

Thank you for flagging this for us. I’ve escalated this report to the correct team for their review and the project has already 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.

~ Bojan
Upwork

I got a text and the wanted to do the interview with telegram. As soon as they asked what bank I use I knew. I am removing my account you are putting my i formatin out. I did not approve that. 

karranja
Community Member

Thank goodness I saw this. I really was about to fall for these scammers !!!

However one of them sent me an 19 and I filled out should I be scared ?


Ruthy K wrote:
Thank goodness I saw this. I really was about to fall for these scammers !!!

However one of them sent me an 19 and I filled out should I be scared ?

I hope you didn't provide bank information...

No I didn’t. Just the basics !

I honestly was about to fall through. Then they asked for my cash app and then I knew it was forsure Scam.
varungs
Community Member

It's not necessarily a scam, but it could be. Simply tell the client that you are more than happy to buy the software if they pay for it through the Upwork contract bonus system. If they insist on paying off-platform then it's probably a scam (since the vast majority of payment methods are easily reversible). Also worth noting that you shouldn't be considering the prospect of being paid off-platform in any form anyway (as it is against the Upwork ToS)

creativevibs
Community Member

I got the interview request today from one of the projects for Telegram.org setup, I didn't go forward as found it to be very fishy and refused to the interview offer saying its outside Upwork, but now I realize after reading this post how I was saved from this scam. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Hi Vibra,

 

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with more information about the invitation you're referring to? I'll be sure to look into it and escalate accordingly. 

~ Bojan
Upwork

Hi, Thanks for your response, Upwork team instantly took care of it! Its no longer seen.

First of all, you are not allowed to use anything than Upwork App before they send a contract.

Meaning, you CANNOT use Telegram for an interview. I won't even comment the rest of the story.

I recommend newcomers to thoroughly read ToS and forum posts. Especially forum posts. 🙂

**edited for Community Guidelines**

Hi Theresa, 


Your post was empty, but I had to remove the screengrab you attached as it violates the Community Guidelines. Could you please confirm if you are filing a report against the user in the screengrab? If so, could you please share more information about it so that our team can assist you further? 

We'll wait for your message.


~ Avery
Upwork

Someone representing **Edited for Community Guidelines** contacted me and interviews on Telegram. He offered me a remote job and supplies are needed which I would be reimbursed via check mailed to me.


Theresa M wrote:
Someone representing XXXXXXXX Limited contacted me

No, someone pretending to be from them did.

 


Theresa M wrote:
He offered me a remote job and supplies are needed which I would be reimbursed via check mailed to me.

It's one of the oldest, dumbest scams on the net. There is no job. There are no "supplies" and the check is (obviously) fake.

I recently interviewed on Telegram with a company (DL) who says the Admin position is remote for now. I will need to purchase office supplies I e. Software, equipment and would be reimbursed. Sounds like scam??

re: "I recently interviewed on Telegram with a company (DL) who says the Admin position is remote for now. I will need to purchase office supplies I e. Software, equipment and would be reimbursed. Sounds like scam??"

 

Theresa: that is a scam.

They are simply trying to steal money from your bank account.

Block them. Use "Flag as inappropriate" link button on job post screen to report them.

Hi Theresa,

 

I'm sorry to hear about what happened. I checked but couldn't find anything related to your report. Could you please send me a private message with more information about this so that I can check?

 

Thank you.

~ Aleksandar
Upwork

Vibha:
I have never heard of any legitimate client using Telegram for interviews.

 

As of June 26, 2020, Upwork now prohibits freelancers from communicating with clients using Telegram or ANY OTHER TOOL other than Upwork Messages before having a client.

 

If a client wants to talk to you using Telegram, he must hire you first. Then it is fine.

 

So if a client asks to do something like that, all you need to do is explain the rule. They can talk to you using Upwork Messages. Or hire you, and talk to you however they want to.

Preston, can you explain this to me? I have had four invitations for interviews in the last two weeks, all of which seem to be from the same sketchy outfit. In each case, they want me to interview by text on Skype. One wanted to know if that was okay, so I did a search on Upwork Help. I was directed to an answer that said something like Skype is (often?) embedded in Messages so that's okay. Did I misread that answer? Are Skype interviews not cool? 

a_lipsey
Community Member


David B wrote:

Preston, can you explain this to me. I have had four invitations for interviews in the last two weeks, all of which seem to be from the same sketchy outfit. In each case, they want me to interview by text on Skype. On wanted to know if that was okay, so I did a search for in on Upwork Help. I was directed to an answer that said something like Skype is (often?) embedded in Messages so that's okay. Did I misread that answer? Are Skype interviews not cool? 


Correct, Skype interviews are not allowed. 


David B wrote:

Preston, can you explain this to me. I have had four invitations for interviews in the last two weeks, all of which seem to be from the same sketchy outfit. In each case, they want me to interview by text on Skype. On wanted to know if that was okay, so I did a search for in on Upwork Help. I was directed to an answer that said something like Skype is (often?) embedded in Messages so that's okay. Did I misread that answer? Are Skype interviews not cool? 


They are extremely uncool.

They are not cool if they dont send an offer.

Even typing Skype in chat will prompt a warning about violation of ToS.

I believe that alone should be sufficient. 🙂

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