Telegram messenger - if they use this to communicate should I assume it's a scam?

[sandraevans77]

Hi 

I was just contacted by someone about a proposal and they asked me to download telegram messenger to "interview".

This seems suspicious to me. I have had folks try to scam me on other freelance and job sites and it's just gotten so prevalent.

Do companies ever use Telegram messenger to interview? 

And to everyone out there. Be careful. The scammers try to get your drivers license, deposit fake check in your account and get you to purchase equipment with it, you name it they are relentless.

[katemr]

Hi! I made the same mistake an hour go, I'm new to the Upwork and had no clue about this policy. They have hired me. Am in trouble? 

[pgiambalvo]

Stop all communication with them, report them, cancel the contract, and block them. I hope you didn't buy anything for or from them, or give them any sort of deposit, crypto, etc., becaue if you did, it's gone and you won't get it back. Why didn't you know about this policy and how could Upwork have made you better aware of it before this happened to you? Please read this: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

[katemr]

Thanks so much for explaining. Luckily I didn't buy or deposit anything and guy who interviewed me seemed normall too! I even asked about the means of payment and he said it will be via bank account. 

[e7c4125e]

Hi, I can relate to you is it the Jpg to PDF conversion job?

[nirushan]

Nowadays, Upwork fully filled with Scammers I guess...
Most of the jobs were requesting to contact through Telegram / WhatsApp only.
This need to be closely reviewed by Upwork. Otherwise, it will become disaster and if it continues, many people stop using this in future...

[4810d3f5]

I'm new here, too. Disappointing how many job listings appear to be scams. I was really proud of a proposal I wrote yesterday for a gig that seemed totally legit. They reached out today to interview via Telegram. Sigh...

[soomisana]

Hello iam also working with a company and they have asked me to contach through telegram they have also send me the terms and conditions of the company and they have also guven me a project for content writing is it a scamm also??

[sofia2008]

Scam

[68e48dc1]

Ma'am what about those how are living in a country where telegram is not working it's block.

I'm from Pakistan and here telegram is block now what should I do ?????

[759e32fa]

Hi Rimsha,

Please know that communicating outside Upwork prior to a contract starting is a violation of our Terms of Service and your account could get suspended for this.

Please utilize our Message Center in order to protect yourself from scams. Additionally, you can send us a flag if you encounter any suspicious user activity so we can investigate.

[martina_plaschka]

---

Rimsha P wrote:

Ma'am what about those how are living in a country where telegram is not working it's block.

I'm from Pakistan and here telegram is block now what should I do ?????

---

Be very happy that a good chunk of scammers can't scam you. 

[the-right-writer]

You never need to use Telegram for anything at Upwork. If you did talk to someone before a contract was in place, you can be banned from Upwork because it is a TOS violation.

Upwork has a  chat/video feature so you can discuss anything with your client. Don't worry about Telegram after the contract because you don't need it. It's a bad idea to be talking to a total stranger through your personal mail or phone.

[82505417]

Those people are in a country far, far away. They were (of course) not the company they told you, who would (of course) not send a check (real or otherwise) for that much money (or any check) to a stranger on the Internet. Of course suppliers of office equipment don't ask for payment in bitcoin Of course, companies who want to send equipment to employees do so by having their purchasing department buy the stuff and have it shipped. There was literally no chance of this being real. None. That scam is as old as the hills.

[98e3aae2]

hello..

  i got project from interveiw through telegram but this is not showing in upwork.. they asked me my CV and i also filled their emplyoee form after that they only sent confirmation email to get hire for job.. after asking about payment and contract .. they said " payment will be made once you have submitted your project and we currently have issue with our upwork account"..  is this scam..?

[759e32fa]

Hi Hem,

Thank you for reaching out to us. As a gentle reminder, please know that communicating outside Upwork prior to a contract starting is a violation of our Terms of Service and your account could get suspended for this.

Please utilize our Message Center in order to protect yourself from scams. Additionally, you can send us a flag if you encounter any suspicious user activity so we can investigate.

[pgiambalvo]

Yes.

[503f543a]

This must be a scam just had a client for typing job ask me to text on telegram then asks me to pay registration fees for the job. I said straight up to them they a are a scam and I'm not giving them even a cent. 

[pgiambalvo]

Good for you! Please report and flag it so Upwork can remove the post and ban the client from being able to post again. Hopefully, the client doesn't open up a new account simply by using a different email address and keep trying to scam people.

[6a69aadd]

What should I do, I gave my name and email and age and country to a telegram suspicious person. what should I do?

[7fda7987]

Me too, I had the same message 

[5846df98]

Yesterday this happen to me too.  They have 3 jobs on  here right now.  **Edited for Community Guidelines** is one of the people.  Beware. They are Administrative Assitant and Data Entry job.

[f83e52d0]

In one answer, yes. Sometimes clients just need some sort of consulting and most refuse to use the built in communications for the voice/video communication. Telegram is a legitimate communication app but it is highly utilized by bot/spam.

[6bfcdaf8]

Telegram because it's a phone based app but allows you to hide your phone number. Scammers want to stay anonymous!

[efbe3d3e]

I had the same scenario. They also said to deposit 200usd as linking fee before I get my payment for the job I finished. Be. Careful guys, and many  thanks to this forum , I was enlightened bigtime❤️

[sparkesusan]

There's a very short answer to your question. Yes, they do. And no, you don't want to do that. First, it's against the UW terms of service. Keep your interview on the platform, period. Once you have a contract, you can do otherwise. I don't. I don't download apps; I don't interview off of the platform; I don't give out a personal email, deposit checks, or all that other stuff scammers want you to do. Just don't do it. They can be relentless, yes. Block them. There is nothing that says you are obligated to answer them or give out information that you aren't comfortable giving out. This is your business. So, you need to be observant and protective of it and yourself.

[7cae6051]

Being my first proposal and very new Veryin upworks I am so much  disappointed indeed! I was almost getting scammed I thank my instinct i listened and I told the guy why can't we extent our communication to upworks message platform he fumed and told me I can leave the job if I don't want!

[e0274c24]

It seems this (Upwork) is highly suspect to scammers?  I just signed up today and already got 2 messages requesting response by telegram.  However, it does say "or reply by email," but when I choose that, I get no options.

[b031e161]

If you are interested in this job kindly contact the project manager on telegram for more detail

Telegram link:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

I am interested in this job plz give me a job

[b031e161]

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. This my first proposal in upwork 

[fd1a3637]

Good. That's the right thing to do. 

[PradeepH]

Hi Taha,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your experience. 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

[831e8278]

Yes recently I got these offers too, these are scammers and post jobs like "Easy typing" or "Data entry" or something like that and then they ask you to contact them through Telegram and if you contact them they will give you the job title and job description and will tell you to post by changing the country location. This is happening and on weekends this seems a lot if you see "Most recent jobs" tab then you will see alot of the similar scammed job posted by scammers so don't waste your #connects by applying to those fake jobs. Thanks

[ba13e7ee]

please reply me for work i want to do your work 

[the-right-writer]

From your profile and post, you are not ready to freelance. Please read this post, follow every link, and pay special attention to the Terms of Service and the Red Flags from Wes.