WARNING: Total Scam Phishing Attack - Customer Service Representative Job

[#1]

Hi,

I tried to tell Upwork about this, even calling corporate headquarters.

No response.

I now see that at least 8 other interviews have taken place. Possibly victims.

The perp gets you on Messanger and then runs you through more than an hour of a chat session with questions.

It looks like they are using AI.

They tell you that you did so well that they want to hire you immediately.

After a few leading questions, they ask you for your bank information, routing #, account #, and your address. 

THEN they try to get you to tell them your bank account username and password.

Upwork is not helping here.

Be careful.

[#2]

re: The perp gets you on Messenger 

Wrong. The freelancer goes on Messenger and it is a violation of the Terms of Service.

Communicating outside of Upwork before being hired is forbidden. 

Please make sure to Flag the job post as inappropriate to avoid any more contact with freelancers.

 Thank you 

[#3]

It seemed legit because it looked it was from Upwork. The request came through Upwork's interface. 

[#4]

Jobs listed here are not "from Upwork". Anyone can use this website to post a job. It's up to you to vet clients yourself.

[#5]

OK, my bad.

[#6]

Did you flag the job posting? That's how you tell them about a scam job. 

Remember you should never communicate with a prospective client off of Upwork until you have been hired with a contract in place.

[#7]

I've had maybe a half-dozen interviews in a dozen years, ranging either side of a half-hour each. It's neither typical nor surprising in my field.

What distinguishes those calls from the chat you describe—unreasonable length aside—is that they were not about extracting information from me. Sure, we asked each other questions, but the subject of the conversation was the work to be done, and how their expectations and my capabilities aligned (or sometimes not).

In a genuine and worthwhile interview, whether in real time or text, we are interviewing a prospective client as much as they are interviewing a prospective contractor.