Verifying Upwork clients

[mike-zellner]

I am a freelancer and just got pinged by a potential client who seemed very questionable. He used the name of the CEO of Sanofi, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and he claimed that he had worked out a deal with Upwork to take the freelance work offline. How can I verify the claim that he has indeed done a deal with Upwork and is legit? 

[prestonhunter]

Michael:
You are going about this all wrong.

A job on Upwork is not "legitimate" or "illegitimate" based on the name of a client.

A client on Upwork is not "legitimate" or "illegitimate" based on her name.

Experienced freelancers are able to identify scammers within a second.

Not two seconds or three seconds. But literally within a second. With just a little bit of experience, you will be able to identify scammers that quickly as well.

The key is BEHAVIOR. Not the name.

What is the client DOING?

As an Upwork freelancer, I have NEVER Googled the name of any client or company.

I look at behaviors.

And one of the key signs of a scammer is if they ask you to accept payment off-platform.

re: "...he claimed that he had worked out a deal with Upwork to take the freelance work offline."

No. That is not how the platform works. The person who you were talking to was lying to you.

re: "How can I verify the claim that he has indeed done a deal with Upwork and is legit?"

You don't need to "verify" this claim.

If you came into my store and handed me a $10 bill, and claimed that you had worked out a deal with the U.S. government that your $10 bills each count as a $100 bill, I would not be trying to figure out where I can verify your claim and determine if you are a legitimate customer.

[mike-zellner]

I hear what you are saying about behavior. My question is whether Upwork makes any effort to check out the clients who do the hiring on their platform. Are there any background checks?

[petra_r]

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Michael Z wrote:

My question is whether Upwork makes any effort to check out the clients who do the hiring on their platform. Are there any background checks?

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In most cases: Not beyond verifying their payment method once they get ready to hire.

There is no need for a "background check" either, because it's very hard to get scammed if sticking to the rules and applying common sense. 

Obviously the real CEO of that company wouldn't have reached out to you for any reason in any possible scenario, and if you apply a modicum of common sense, you know the story is bogus.

[atreglia]

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Preston H wrote:

As an Upwork freelancer, I have NEVER Googled the name of any client or company.

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Really?  I must be an old nosebag.  I've googled most of my clients.

[59bc8298]

I also received this offer. I received an Upwork email with the link that put me in touch with this scammer. How does this happen? 

[BojanS]

Hi Carolyn,

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with more information about this report. I'll check that for you and advise you accordingly.

Thank you.