They sent me a check via email and demanded proof of deposit..

[adrianahester]

I have been chatting with an "employer" named **Edited for community guidelines**who hired me on Upwork. He didn't give me any information about the company, and we did not discuss how much I would be paid hourly. I kept asking him to send me a list of systems he needs me to get prepared to start work, but he never sent it. For a whole week of work, he has asked me to create him and his "client" a new email address and a new upwork account for them, and post jobs for a virtual assistant. The total hours I worked for this man were less than 2 hours.

Today, he told me his associate sent me a check via email, and that I am supposed to cash it and send him a screenshot of the deposit confirmation. This seemed fishy, but when I checked my email, it was a very obviously photoshopped image of a check for $2300!

After looking up what kind of scam this could be, I found that there is a scam going around where new freelancers are hired by mysterious people, and they pay them by check via email. Supposedly, one the freelancer cashes the check and sends proof of the deposit, the employer will then say they sent the wrong amount on the check, and ask the freelancer to send them a cashiers check for the difference. Once the freelancer sends the cashiers check, then the original check bounces, and the employer runs away with free money.

I am so glad I didn't cash that check or give out personal information. So please be aware of an employer wanting to send you a check via email. Do not give your personal information until you have verified the company or employer details and know for sure it is a legitimate job!

[petra_r]

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Adriana H wrote:
I have been chatting with an "employer" named Cxxxxxxs Bxxxxxxxn who hired me on Upwork.!

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That isn't his name, and he did not hire you on Upwork. You were speaking to a scammer and doing so outside the platform, which is a violation of Upwork's terms of service, as there was no Upwork contract in place.

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Adriana H wrote:
he has asked me to create him and his "client" a new email address and a new upwork account for them, and post jobs for a virtual assistant. The total hours I worked for this man were less than 2 hours.

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You violated Upwork's terms of Service yet again.... AND created a scam job post, which will be used to attempt to scam someone else. 

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Adriana H wrote:
Today, he told me his associate sent me a check via email, and that I am supposed to cash it and send him a screenshot of the deposit confirmation. 

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Agreeing to accept payment (fake or otherwise) you violated Upwork's terms of Service yet again.

This is one of the oldest, dumbest scams on the Internet. You became part of the scam.

Unfortunately, every honest freelancer and everyone who sticks to the rules and terms of service suffers because of the rules that had to be put in place to protect people who break the terms of service without a moment's thought from scammers and themselves.

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Adriana H wrote:
I am so glad I didn't cash that check or give out personal information. 

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Well, I am glad too, but had you not violated a bunch of terms of service along with common sense, this wouldn't have arisen in the first place.

I would strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with Upwork, with how it works, with the terms of service, with the rules, and with how to be safe on the Internet in general......

[adrianahester]

To start, your tone is extremely unprofessional and rude, and it does not at all make you a better person or make new Upwork users feel invited to contribute to the forums.

Second, did I say I chatted with him outside of Upwork? No, so assuming so with your tone is absolutely useless. Try asking questions instead of assuming?

Third, did I say I actually set up fake emails and accounts? No, I just said that is what he asked me to do. Again, your tone and assumptions are extremely unprofessional, why are you even on a professional networking site?

Fourth, I did not accept any payment as I did not even try to cash the check nor did I ask for a check. I had been asking him for a week to send me a list of systems he needed me to prepare for work, I gave him my email as he said that he was not able to send the specific softwares via Upwork, and instead he emailed me a check. As soon as I saw it, I quickly researched the scam while blocking him.

I have been on the internet since the late 90s, its not a new discovery for me. But that doesn't mean you don't learn something new everyday. So excuse me for learning something new and trying to warn others who may not be aware. This forum should be used as a productive conversation and not at all a place to berate and bully people who only want to make others aware. I would think someone with so much experience on the internet would be able to control themselves, on a professional network nonetheless, and refrain from bullying other users. I really hope your future employers will see your disgusting demeanor on this thread. Please do everyone a favor and only contribute to the conversation if you'll be productive; being an online bully is not something to be proud of.

I'll pray that you find kindness in your soul someday.

[filip_knezevic]

A good advise would be to check if the client hired you before you start work.

You can tell them to use the big green button.

What Petra is saying is true - you need to get familiarized with the whole process.

I still don't understand how people think that got hired if there is no contract. That is a really obvious one, right? He needs to send you the offer. But you still can't start until you ACCEPT the offer.

[adrianahester]

I definitely agree with being familiar with the process before submitting proposals. This was my first time using this platform to find work, and this scam was my very first proposal. It should have been a red flag when this man confided with me about his divorce, and because I am a caring person, he was able to manipulate me into being willing to work without the contract. There's a first time for everything, and being new to something such as Upwork is exciting and confusing all at the same time. However, I am thankful for this learning opportunity, and that it didn't result in anything negative besides learning about a new scam.

[petra_r]

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Adriana H wrote: I am thankful for this learning opportunity, and that it didn't result in anything negative besides learning about a new scam.

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How do you know that it didn't result in anything negative? That rather depends on whether the fake job post you created on the fake client account you created resulted in your actions leading to someone else being scammed, no?

[adrianahester]

Petra, I have already elaborated on the fact that just because this man asked me to do that doesn't mean that I actually did it. So in simpler terms, that means that I didn't help him scam anyone else.. Are you deliberately refusing to acknowledge that piece of information, or is reading not a skill you should boast about? Again, I am putting my story out there to warn others who may not know about this, not to argue with someone about facts they do not fully know.

[filip_knezevic]

Please do us all a favor, and report that #$%#$% of a client. 

[JoanneP]

Hi Adrianna,

Could you please send me a PM with more information by clicking on my name so I can check?