Upwork Made me loss $2086, For no Reason How can this be fair?

[#1]

Hello, Upworkers. 
I ahve lost, $2086 Lost on Upwork.com due to Upwork Neglagence. Why? Please Help me. 


on The date of June 03 2022. I saw a job Post person asking for USDT Crypto, to Buy, I applied, And The client Agreed to buy Crypto from me. 

Later on, the Client Offered me the Contract. with the name of the name of the Contract, *I Need Some USDT* I accepted the contract, and He Activated the Milestone, worth, $240. and then Client Approved the Contract. which I verfied, and the Payment was released from client!!. 

I relased the USDT to Client, and sent him the Screen Shot. Deals done, I confirmed the Payment was Shown in my Transaction History as Pending, And also, Upwork.com Fee was being shown $48, Being Charged. 20%. 

For any freelancer, this means that Work is completed successfully and the Freelancer is paid, and the amount is released and upwork would released it, on the given like always, for any other contract. and the payment will be available on 8th of june. 

After next day 24 hours. 

Now, on 4th June, 2022. Again another Client came. associate, etc, Posted a job, on Upwork Jobs, *There is no Crypto Currency in our area I need Help* Now I got this contract, and the Client Offered me 4 milestones, and Paid relased, Now again I transferred all the crypto and the client had released all milestones, We ended the contract and client Did gave review. 

Now, The payment is shown in Pending, and will be available on 9th of june, 2022. Given this, I am satisfied No, Issue, till now. 

on june 5 2022, I was sent an email from upwork, that the Transaction will be reverted. and (Note: 3rd june, 4th june, and now its 5th june 2022) 

And the clients accounts are suspended, and The amount he paid me, will be returned back. Which is, I have Clue why. Then I did research, and I checked Terms and Condition  in clause 3. last line. 

Now my Question and Points. To All Upworks. 

1. if Upwork does not allow you to Trade Crypto, Then Why Did Upwork Allowed A Client to Post a job, with Verified payment method, if the Credit Card was fraudulant? How exactly a freelancer can know that, if the Payment is Legal or not? Isnt this Upworks Job? And to Mention, When the Clients Payment Method is verified, it specificly means, That upwork has Verified Payment. for this client and is satisfied, and is allowing the client to post the job. 

2. If this Job Was not allowed then why dint upwork took it down for 2 days? Are you telling me you dont a blady system that can deduct jobs against your own T&C?  which is mare 4 lines of code on Rust. or javascript, Why was the client to post the job, with payment verifed. Where 10s of Freelancers are Applying, and Paying Upwork for Connects? So, is upwork, Robbing all freelancers, with fake and fraudalent jobs? 

3. Why was I not informed, of the violation, of T&C when I had my First COntract and got paid, worth $240. No Intemation or email or anything at all, till the 5th of June 2022? Is this a Joke?  which means the activity was completely legal, and Upwork.com had No issue until then. 

4.  Why was the milestones, paid, 4 in total. $240, each. milestone, Still Upwork did not suspended any account, or Any thing at all?  Why because they were enjoying commission or waiting to rob me and Destroy me. once I had Transferred CRYPTO? since Until I transferred Crypto and the contract ended. Now on 5th of June 2022. Upwork Rememebers to Suspend? Where was Upwork for 2 days, 48 hours. Waiting for me to be Robbed?

5. Why did, Upwork.com not Stopped me, when I did the first contract on 3rd of june 2022, Where was Upwork Then? If I were intimated, would I have gone further with $2000 on 4th of june, And Stil NO Intimation or Notification from Upwork. But once All was completed. and had been 2 Days, Then Upwork Just comes from middle of No where. and Decides to Take my hard earned money, And With no Reason, Is this fair?


Now, Upworks Please guide me what should I do, As this started on 3rd of June 2022. and Till 5th of June 2022. Upwork was sleeping? but once all the transfer and everything, is compeleted. even 1 day after that, Upwork suspended and now is reversing my Payment?  Why?

So, what you are telling, me, is If I make a Mobile app for a client, and he releases a Milestone, But the Card he is Using, is Fraudulant. Then You will Return all Money to Real Card owner, and We as Freelancers, are robbed, Since, Freelancer has worked given the Source Code to the Client, then he relased the payment milestone.  Then what the Hell, is this Payment Verified for? and What kind of Protection Upwork Provides, for freelancer Nothing? 

Also, Upworkers, The Client is Still Online, And Doing business I dont know with Why isnt the Upwork Suspending him? I can see him online in Chat?  Now you tell me, All Upworkers. If a client is a Scammer how should, I as a freelancer, Should know, expect for seeing, the payment method is verified and Client has spending in the Past? 

So, basically Upwork was waiting for me to loss my Life of earning $2048. Which Took me 3 years to save, taken away from me, By Upwork.com.  Please help me Upworkers. 

Please Please guide me, How can I get my Money back, its still showing in the Pending which should be available on 9th and 8th of June. 

Regards

IrayanAtique

[#2]

You were scammed. You are not allowed to sell or buy crypto for anyone using Upwork. You will never get your money back. Sorry this happened to you. Payment verified does not mean they can or really will pay, neither does showing they've already spent money here. Upwork did not take your money, although they did not prevent the scammer from posting here.

[#3]

re: "I have lost, $2086 Lost on Upwork.com due to Upwork Negligence. Why?"

I am very sorry that this happened to you.
I really wish that this didn't happen.

This wasn't "Upwork negligence."
This was user negligence.

For anybody reading this:

Only people who are real experts should deal with cryptocurrency.

If somebody loses money dealing with cryptocurrency on Upwork, then by definition they lack sufficient expertise to be involved with cryptocurrency.

Also: It is a violation of Upwork ToS for users to exchange funds outside of the Upwork platform. The original poster's involvement with cryptocurrency was a violation of Upwork ToS. This freelancer could have his Upwork account suspended or terminated for his violation of Upwork ToS.

None of this excuses the bad actions of the scammer "client" who tricked the original poster.

But for anyone reading this, it is important to undersand: This violates Upwork ToS. And is a likely path to losing a lot of money.

[#4]

True, Agreed, but Should;nt Upwork.com Stop Such job Posts. like, what If i Make my profile, Subject to PORN Or something. Wouldnt Upwork Hold my account for Offering such Services, to Clients? Yes they would and ask me to change the Subject. with my skills, as an Full Stack Engineer, Similarly, Why isnt the Client checked before posting such a Job, while verifying the Payment method? 

[#5]

Sorry but I'm not going to pay higher fees for Upwork to vet clients, just because some freelancers act irresponsibly and with a total lack of common sense.

[#6]

so, basically what your Telling me thier is no security on upwork for the Work any freelancer do, if a client hits the charge back, or similar. Upwork would waste all the Freelancer effort of work, and return the client their money, and Freelancer would be left with nothing? 

and Upwork.com is the largest Freelanc market in the world? 

[#7]

Chargebacks can happen on any website, or if you're working directly for a client yourself and charging them through your own bank or Paypal. Upwork does offer good payment protection if you use hourly contracts and strictly follow the rules, but otherwise, you accept jobs from strangers at your own risk, just like everyone else who runs their own business.

[#8]

Yes

[#9]

Hi Rayan, 

I'm sorry to learn about your experience on Upwork. Note that requesting a freelancer to purchase crypto or USDT on a client's behalf is not allowed. I checked and can confirm that actions have been taken against the client's account. 

I highly recommend reading up on the "Safety First!" section of the freelancer resources we have compiled, these tips for avoiding questionable jobs, and these articles for more information about working safely through Upwork. Kindly refer to the open ticket you have with the team if you have further questions or concerns. 

[#10]

FIrst off all, Try and understand the point the Freelancer Mentioned,  Avery, He said, that, The first contract was done on june the 3rd, which means Upwork had enough time to suspend that contract, and revert money? LOL 

It means Upwork, Waited, for 2 days, for this, LOL, so the freelancer can be scammed, and You are talking about the Tos, which is hidden somewhere in the middle of Upwork Earth? 

2ndly If Such contracts are not allowed on the Platform, They why Upwork Did allowed the such Scammer Client, to post such a Job, for example. If I write, My  Freelancer Profile Header, as USDT DEALER> wouldnt upwork Hold my account and ask me to change the Subject of my Profile.?  While at the Same time, Upwork is allowing the Client to Post such Jobs? and Also, verifying, the Payment Which is done, with a Token, sent to Bank. and a a Return token is sent from Bank via Payment gateway, Then only Upwork.com verify that the payment Method is verified. 

I guess, your, Misleading the case here. avery. Or not understanding the Case, this Noob freelancer, Posted. 

Regards

[#11]

How can upwork know that a particular job posting is a scam? Unless the job post says: I want you to buy crypto for me but I will never pay you because the credit card I use is stolen and I know that you are violating ToS by agreeing to this, I don't see where upwork is at fault. 

It is your responsibility to know the ToS and not violate them, you risk your money and your profile. 

Upwork has verified the credit card that was used, with a very small amount, likely too small for the real owner to notice it until the large amount comes in. 

Finally, it is never a good idea to buy crypto for people who claim they are in a country where it is forbidden to buy crypto. That is against the law in their country. Participating does make you an accessory to something that is against the law. 

[#12]

How can upwork know that a particular job posting is a scam? Unless the job post says: I want you to buy crypto for me but I will never pay you because the credit card I use is stolen and I know that you are violating ToS by agreeing to this,
LOL mate, He did paid, As per above mentioned in the post by this Freelancer. Its Upwork who reversed the payment, So, Its not the client. So with that logic of yours. It means if some client asks me to work with an activated milestone, for few months, and then he approves it, I get the money, and then he hits, the Chargeback. once he got all the code and Job Done.  Upwork will reverse the Payment. Not to mention. AS PER THIS POST BY FREELANCER (The job posted was I need Crypto currency or whatever.) Read if properly. 

It is your responsibility to know the ToS and not violate them, you risk your money and your profile. 

Mate, do you even know how to effect the t&c, If a Market Place is violated, Such as Upwork.com It is the Market Places job to apply & Implement that Policy before any scam can Happen, this is Not a simple Wordpress Website. you are talking about Upwork.com which has, 1000s of engineers. I wonder what are they being paid for then. 

Instead Hire me, Ill give you simple Logic, that will stop Such Activities, in no, a simple Content Dedactor, Like they already have for Freelancers. LOL 

[#13]

> Its Upwork who reversed the payment, So, Its not the client.

It's a stolen card, so after a few days the real owner dispute the transaction and it got reversed. The bank, take it  from Upwork - and it's reflected in your transaction as reversed.

But I agree that the wording (always) makes people think it's Upwork who reversed the payment.

And I also agree that Upwork - with their own reasons - doesn't do enough to protect and/or educate freelancers. This happens again and again and again.

[#14]

No, it was not Upwork who reversed the payment; the client was a scammer and the bank reversed the payment. Upwork, like every other business in existence, can't do anything if the bank simply takes the money back. 

And it's not Upwork's job to protect and educate freelancers. People who want to work via Upwork are supposed to know the risks of running an online business, vet their clients accordingly, comply with the ToS (which means that the OP shouldn't have bought crypto for a client in the first place), and use their common sense instead of thinking that they can make easy money here. If someone isn't prepared to do these things, they shouldn't be on Upwork. 

[#15]

I am not your mate, so don't address me as such. 

[#16]

If your client is paying you then Upwork takes charge of both of you. But the client was scammed you by using Upwork! 

Now Scammer is using Upwork for scamming freelancers. Upwork week point is a bank :bank: When a scammer claimed on the bank, Upwork didn't take any action against scammers! 

I don't know why Upwork didn't take the action against scammers! Why allow the crypto deal posts! And others, which are prohibited :prohibited:. Stop this on starting. 

This is a bad practice to start with a reputated platform. Anyone using their card to post a job then claims on the bank and gets back :left_arrow: the amount with free work/service. 

[#17]

Exactly mate,  Since Upwork.com charges Freelancers, 20% and so on, should;nt they be protecting Freelancers, Money, in escrow, What is happening these days, is Like, anyone can Post a Free Job on Upwork.com and we has Freelancer will fight for the contract by using are connects, Bosting them Which are Not cheap. And even after a long hard work, we get the job, and Clients, gets his work done and dusted. and here we are looking at the case, where Client was a Scammer and Now Upwork Takes money from the Freelancer, and returns it to the client, and all the hardswork and job Freelancer did, was for nothing.   GREAT WORK UPWORK.com  

this is Epic. 

[#18]

I think Upwork could probably do more.

But, freelancers also need to do their part to keep themselves safe - and buying crypto for complete strangers thousands of miles away is not a common sense move. Don't try to shift all of the blame here, you need to have a think about your own actions as well. Otherwise you wil be scammed again, whether its on or off Upwork.

[#19]

There are a number of topics related to this situation.

One that I focus on is the "expertise" aspect of it.

By definition: A freelancer with sufficient expertise to deal with cryptocurrency currency can't lose money to a cryptocurrency scammer.

Thus: The fact that the original poster lost money means that he accepted a job that he  was not qualified to do.

Liken it to this example:

An Upwork freelancer was hired to prepare a meal in which the main entree was a flambé dish.

The freelancer had never done flambé before.

But he thought "how hard can it be? I'll just follow a recipe."

The freelancer burned his hand and face while attempting the flambé.

Is Upwork responsible for the freelancer getting burned? Should Upwork pay for his medical expenses?

Answer: No.

Flambé is a standard technique practiced by chefs. But this freelancer did not possess the training to do so safely. The freelancer should not have accepted the job.

[#20]

Sorry to hear that Rayan! To be honest, as a Senior Blockchain Developer you should've known better. I totally understand that you were naive as to how Upwork rules apply to this type of work and exchange of services, but why would you freely send crypto to someone without them first releasing the funds to you and Upwork credting your account?

I hope you are able to recover your funds.

[#21]

Buying crypto for clients is against the terms of service, which means that you shouldn't be doing it regardless of the circumstances. And even if Upwork releases a payment, there can still be a chargeback up to 6 months later.

[#22]

---

Hugo S wrote:

but why would you freely send crypto to someone without them first releasing the funds to you and Upwork credting your account?

Waiting for funds to be released before or not doesn't change anything bacause that type of thansaction is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service. Payment method of these clients (scammers) will most likely be declined.

If you look at the last item of Section 3.3 (link below), it says: "You can't use Upwork to : 

• request or provide services that primarily concern making purchases on behalf of another, including the purchase of cryptocurrency or NFTs."

Upwork Legal Center

[#23]

At the end of the day, this is very similar to the following situation:

A stranger approaches you on the street and tells you that for "reasons" he can't go into the bank around the corner, but will pay you 30% commission if you go into the bank and withdraw $2000 with a card he hands you. 

I would not do that, because:

1. I would be suspicious about the "reasons" and if they are legit. 

2. I would suspect that nobody pays a high commission for a few minutes of work.

3. I would think that something illegal is going on, even if I don't know exactly what that is. 

4. I don't want to earn money where I don't understand what it is for.

5. I would feel bad since I would be taking advantage of another person for almost no work. I don't want to take advantage of other people. 

So these are the at least 5 considerations - and probably a lot more - that you have to overcome to do something like that. 

[#24]

I think the 'solution' here is to only apply for Jobs that are actualy Jobs where you get paid to do actual legitimate WORK.   If you go on Upwork to offer a specific SKILL or service, then stick to that instead of applying for get rich quick schemes. Upwork is intended to be a WORK marketplace, not a 'black market'.  

There is no legitimate job title  called  'professional crypto buyer for shady, anonymous foreign entitites."  

When you apply for a job on Upwork, you need to ask yourself if the "service" the client is asking for even makes "sense".  People can get on the internet and buy their own crypto from anywhere in the world: They don't need you to do it on their behalf. 

The type of people that ask others to by crypto on their 'behalf' include the following types of unsavory and sketchy characters:   Terrorist organizations, organized crime syndicates, drug and narcotics  traffickers, human traffickers, illegal firearms and weapons distributors, people engaged in racketeering, Ponzi schemes, and other white collar criminals.   No reputuable person asks a complete stranger over the internet to buy crypto for them  from another country.

Buying crypto (or any other financial assets) and "re-selling it" or "wiring it" to an unknown entity (especially in another country) claiming they 'can't ' buy it themselves, is not WORK.  It's money laundering.  When you participate in these types of 'get rich quick' schemes, all you are doing is making yourself an unwitting participant in what is likely some type of money laundering crime, without knowing the details of what you are participating in.  If that client ends up using that crypto to do something illegal (which he probably will), guess who that crypto purchase gets traced back to on the blockchain. YOU.  Not him.  YOU.  Congratulations: You just helped a criminal 'wash' a couple grand in crypto and are left 'holding the bag' if that crypto is used for something illegal.

Stick to applying for real jobs that are require actual work and earning an honest living, and you'll avoid most of these scams.  

Upwork didn't 'make you lose' anything:   YOU chose to send a couple grand to somebody hoping to 'get rich quick' and got burned.   Learn from the experience and move on.

[#25]

1000 upvotes and 1 million alpacas. Some people will understand the reference.