Was I scammed?

[helene5417]

4:53 PM

You sent

I believe I just got scammed! I replied to a job, got accepted and was then told I would be paying for equipment from a paycheck they would be sending me. That's a scam! The check will bounce and will be charged to may account. What follows is the text I received. You have unread messages for**Edited for Community Guidelines** Hello, Your submitted proposal has been acknowledged. Kindly use the link below; **Edited for Community Guidelines** to request an interview via Skype. We want to make the interview session as convenient as possible because we have discovered that most of our time zones are different, which disrupts the interview's flow and we also intend to make the contract an extended one. Reply Can you do anything about this?

[pgiambalvo]

Yes, it is a scam. Thanks for reporting it here' Also flag it.

[feed_my_eyes]

If you had followed Upwork's rule that says you're not allowed to communicate off the platform before a contract is awarded, then you wouldn't have wasted your time with this. You can use the "flag as inappropriate" link at the top-right of the project post to report the client, although somebody else probably already did this as soon as they received a ridiculous message like, "We want to make the interview session as convenient as possible because we have discovered that most of our time zones are different" (the time zone will still be different if you use Skype!).

[martina_plaschka]

Not if you use magic skype, which makes all time zones the same, and all checks valid, and all computer equipment arriving on time. 

We tend to think that scammers say nonsensical things because they lack language skills or intelligence, but this might be a test. Any person willing to overlook nonsense like this has revealed themselves as a good mark. But maybe I'm giving scammers too much credit. Or maybe it's a combination of all three. 

[pgiambalvo]

Christine is right.