You answered your question. Of course, when you are new, you have to work hard and probably won't get hired right away. Such is the nature of freelancing. Everyone starts over. I had yards of testimonials, rave reviews, and everyone loved me. No one cared online. They wanted to see what I would do for them, now. My experience and skills have served me well, but even I had to put in 30 something proposals before I had a single job.
Fair? I am always amazed when people try to equate business decisions with what is fair to them, specifically. No business is going to write the rules in favor of anyone but the business.
Learning how to vet clients is mandatory. You have to check out the jobs (on Upwork, no need to go off on a Google search)and protect yourself, because Upwork won't do it for you.
You have work to do on your profile. And you have no portfolio. If you haven't read and understood the Terms of Service, you must do that now. Scammers and real clients can tell you haven't followed Upwork rules, and you will be a target for scams.
Just like everyone who comes on board, you are going to have to show marketable skills, your knowledge of the rules, a complete profile, and understanding that freelancing is not just going from the physical world to online.
