Wondering about suspicious client

[0f57fbf7]

Hi friends, I am in the middle of an interview and I feel like it's fishy. Is anyone else interviewing with **Edited for Community Guidelines** and feels the same way? I have experienced so many phishers so far and I want to be cautious.

[prestonhunter]

Ashley:

That is not how this works.

For one thing, you are not allowed to name clients like that here in the Forum.

For another thing, it wouldn't matter if you WERE allow to name a client like that. We don't have a list of "bad clients" memorized. There is no list to look up.

Also: If you are encountering a scammer or scoundrel, then the client names they feed you are fake. They just copy names off of the Internet. And the frequently drop names and pick new names.

As an Upwork freelancer looking at jobs, you know that NAMES ARE IRRELEVENT. I don't look at a clients name. I look at the client's behavior.

You should feel free to ask as endless questions about a client's behavior.

[0f57fbf7]

Oh! I'm sorry, thank you for informing me. I thought this was a private community for freelancers to communicate on. I'm just trying to figure this all out and feeling very discouraged.

[prestonhunter]

Ashley. No problem. You did not know.

This IS a community for freelancers to communicate with each other.

I am a freelancer, as are most people who use this Forum. Please feel free to ask any questions that you have.

The forum is public and that is what makes it so helpful.

[0f57fbf7]

When I replied to your response it automatically changed the subject back to the original and I cannot remove the comment. Please help me fix that mistake. Thank you for your time

[prestonhunter]

I'll flag that. We'll get that fixed.

[gina-herrera]

Preston's advice is good, but you'd also be better off describing the fishy behavior so we can help you evaluate 🙂

[petra_r]

As a US-based entry level freelancer you will originally be the target of the fake check scammers.

Basically, they tell you that you're hired, and then send you a check they ask you to cash and then to send money to "their trusted supplier" for some home office or supplies.

Obviously, the check is fake, and after you've sent the money to the scammer, the bank fulls the plug when the fake check bounces.

There are also some variants with bitcoin or gift cards.

Basically, if you don't have an Upwork contract yet, you must not communicate with any client outside the platform. It is a violation of the terms of service and makes you vulnerable to those scams.

[0f57fbf7]

Thank you all very much for your responses and support. I took that last couple of days off from searching as I was feeling very overwhelmed and I don't want to burn myself out. 

The job posting has been removed for not following the guidelines so I think I wasn't the only one. I understand that I am targeted for being new to the community. It messes with my head somewhat because since most of the responses to my proposals have been phishing then I second guess my instincts because "what if" this is actually a real job proposition and I mess it up?

This particular person gave me a website to go to, and told me a name that made me believe they were in the family of the persons mentions on the website. There were too many things that could possibly be incorrect but they weren't flat out wrong which is what triggered me to ask the community. 

I will be more picky in the future and more upfront about my concerns/trust my instincts. If they are genuine they won't be offended and they'll give me the answers I need. 

Thank you all for your time,

Ashley

[kinector]

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Ashley B wrote:

Thank you all very much for your responses and support. I took that last couple of days off from searching as I was feeling very overwhelmed and I don't want to burn myself out. 

The job posting has been removed for not following the guidelines so I think I wasn't the only one. I understand that I am targeted for being new to the community. It messes with my head somewhat because since most of the responses to my proposals have been phishing then I second guess my instincts because "what if" this is actually a real job proposition and I mess it up?

This particular person gave me a website to go to, and told me a name that made me believe they were in the family of the persons mentions on the website. There were too many things that could possibly be incorrect but they weren't flat out wrong which is what triggered me to ask the community. 

I will be more picky in the future and more upfront about my concerns/trust my instincts. If they are genuine they won't be offended and they'll give me the answers I need. 

Thank you all for your time,

Ashley

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Ashley, your "spidey sense" will develop quickly as you gain more experience from encountering different kinds of clients. Use the block button to make sure you don't encounter the same "fisher" again in the future.

Small unpaid test projects are one of the all-time classics. In reality, the test is the job the client wants to get done. I've seen those many times, but not recently, which is encouraging.

See something potentially strange, just described it here (but according to the community rules). You'll be fine.

[feed_my_eyes · Accepted solution]

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Ashley B wrote:

This particular person gave me a website to go to, and told me a name that made me believe they were in the family of the persons mentions on the website.

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Fake clients will use the names or real people and real companies and encourage you to look them up; I've never had a real client who did this. Also, it's against the terms of service for clients to provide you with contact information, so they shouldn't be giving you their website URLs or company names in the first place. The best way to protect yourself is by refusing to accept interviews off of the platform; that in itself will make the cheque scammers leave you alone. 

[a_lipsey]

Unless you need the website to scope the project...