profile full of stolen works

ilya-siomin · ‎06-09-2021

Hey,

I wonder what is going on here, as I am flagging this profile:**Edited for community guidelines**since the end of March (!!!). Probably marked it 50 times already.

The portfolio and projects of this guy contain a ton of images stolen from other designers from 99designs (among other platforms) and I report them providing some links to the original sources.

Nevertheless, the profile is still up and the guy has been winning jobs recently.

Is there something wrong with Upwork’s reporting system? Didn’t it show numerous reports on this profile and their portfolio pieces? Why no action has been taken?

Do you understand that this is bad for everyone: the platform, clients, and other designers? Instead of nurturing a community of solid designers who do a great job for the clients (everyone wins), you’re letting these petty cash thieves who are not capable of doing anything thoughtful of their own just show the stolen work of others and scam clients! What a shame.

JoanneP · ‎06-09-2021

Hi Ilya,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I have reported this to our team so that they can review it. We won't be able to share any information about the status of the review, but please know that if any violations are found, appropriate actions will be taken accordingly.

~ Joanne

colettelewis · ‎06-10-2021

Joanne Marie P wrote:
Hi Ilya,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I have reported this to our team so that they can review it. We won't be able to share any information about the status of the review, but please know that if any violations are found, appropriate actions will be taken accordingly.

____________________________________________

How many times does this have to brought to Upwork's attention before they act on it?

(Just give us a ballpark figure as clearly, 50 to 100 times isn't sufficient.)

m_terrazas · ‎06-10-2021

Ilya S wrote:
Hey,

I wonder what is going on here, as I am flagging this profile:**Edited for community guidelines**since the end of March (!!!). Probably marked it 50 times already.

The portfolio and projects of this guy contain a ton of images stolen from other designers from 99designs (among other platforms) and I report them providing some links to the original sources.

Nevertheless, the profile is still up and the guy has been winning jobs recently.

Is there something wrong with Upwork’s reporting system? Didn’t it show numerous reports on this profile and their portfolio pieces? Why no action has been taken?

Do you understand that this is bad for everyone: the platform, clients, and other designers? Instead of nurturing a community of solid designers who do a great job for the clients (everyone wins), you’re letting these petty cash thieves who are not capable of doing anything thoughtful of their own just show the stolen work of others and scam clients! What a shame.

You can get to despair.
I have flagged fake profiles, with copied presentation, with stolen portfolios, with fake photos.
Some of them, many times.
Some of them, even having stolen material, only pat them on the hand and, after making them repair the theft, they are allowed to continue.
Others, they delete them (if you have the patience to wait for that to happen).
And to others, I don't know for what reason, they don't do anything at all.

So, don't despair and keep doing it. Sometimes you are lucky, not many times, and you get a scammer to leave the platform.

jr-translation · ‎06-10-2021

Ilya S wrote:
Hey,

I wonder what is going on here, as I am flagging this profile:**Edited for community guidelines**since the end of March (!!!). Probably marked it 50 times already.

The portfolio and projects of this guy contain a ton of images stolen from other designers from 99designs (among other platforms) and I report them providing some links to the original sources.

Nevertheless, the profile is still up and the guy has been winning jobs recently.

Is there something wrong with Upwork’s reporting system? Didn’t it show numerous reports on this profile and their portfolio pieces? Why no action has been taken?

Do you understand that this is bad for everyone: the platform, clients, and other designers? Instead of nurturing a community of solid designers who do a great job for the clients (everyone wins), you’re letting these petty cash thieves who are not capable of doing anything thoughtful of their own just show the stolen work of others and scam clients! What a shame.

Because you can only report profiles that use YOUR items.

There is no reason to report designers that use third person material so they can give clients an idea of what they might be able to produce or translators that charge for free machine translations because that is not a ToS violation while misrepresenting your skills is.

m_terrazas · ‎06-10-2021

Jennifer R wrote:
Ilya S wrote:
Hey,

I wonder what is going on here, as I am flagging this profile:**Edited for community guidelines**since the end of March (!!!). Probably marked it 50 times already.

The portfolio and projects of this guy contain a ton of images stolen from other designers from 99designs (among other platforms) and I report them providing some links to the original sources.

Nevertheless, the profile is still up and the guy has been winning jobs recently.

Is there something wrong with Upwork’s reporting system? Didn’t it show numerous reports on this profile and their portfolio pieces? Why no action has been taken?

Do you understand that this is bad for everyone: the platform, clients, and other designers? Instead of nurturing a community of solid designers who do a great job for the clients (everyone wins), you’re letting these petty cash thieves who are not capable of doing anything thoughtful of their own just show the stolen work of others and scam clients! What a shame.
Because you can only report profiles that use YOUR items.
There is no reason to report designers that use third person material so they can give clients an idea of what they might be able to produce or translators that charge for free machine translations because that is not a ToS violation while misrepresenting your skills is.

Well that may be what Upwork thinks I guess.
But, passing off someone else's work as your own is image THEFT, whatever they say.
Dam n the grace that would make me see an image or an animation that I have made as an "example" of what another freelancer "can" do.

And I would like to know once and for all, but said it clearly here in the forum so that it is clear to all of us, how they decide if an item is stolen and how they decide that it can stay in that person's portfolio.

I was glad when the way to mark all this finally appeared. And even more so when they added the text box to give more details.
But I see that it's just posturing, because it's really useless most of the time.

moonraker · ‎06-10-2021

Is there a genuine reason why somebody in a creative field would not use their own creations on their portfolio?

I can't think of one!

feed_my_eyes · ‎06-10-2021

Jamie F wrote:
Is there a genuine reason why somebody in a creative field would not use their own creations on their portfolio?

I can't think of one!

That's because there isn't one. Either someone knows how to do design work, in which case, they'd have a portfolio of their own work; or, they don't know how to do design work, in which case there's no value whatsoever in Upwork keeping them on the platform. All they do is deceive and drive away clients.

So many of us go to the trouble of flagging stolen work and writing, "Look at this portfolio piece. Now, here's the link to where they stole it. This person didn't create the work. Obviously." Who at Upwork is reviewing this information, and what's it going to take for them to understand that copyright infringement and fraud are wrong?

They even muddy the waters further when they allow - even encourage - freelancers to use stock photos in their project catalogues. So if you want to pretend that you're a brochure designer, for example, you can use a stock photo of a brochure design, with Upwork's blessing. Makes total sense.

m_terrazas · ‎06-10-2021

Christine A wrote:
Jamie F wrote:
Is there a genuine reason why somebody in a creative field would not use their own creations on their portfolio?

I can't think of one!
That's because there isn't one. Either someone knows how to do design work, in which case, they'd have a portfolio of their own work; or, they don't know how to do design work, in which case there's no value whatsoever in Upwork keeping them on the platform. All they do is deceive and drive away clients.

So many of us go to the trouble of flagging stolen work and writing, "Look at this portfolio piece. Now, here's the link to where they stole it. This person didn't create the work. Obviously." Who at Upwork is reviewing this information, and what's it going to take for them to understand that copyright infringement and fraud are wrong?

They even muddy the waters further when they allow - even encourage - freelancers to use stock photos in their project catalogues. So if you want to pretend that you're a brochure designer, for example, you can use a stock photo of a brochure design, with Upwork's blessing. Makes total sense.

And this is how they get many clients to not trust "good" freelancers.

You CANNOT expose someone else's work or images from stock to show what you can do. It must be MANDATORY that the samples are personal. If you don't have any, create it.

jaycrutcher · ‎06-10-2021

Jamie F wrote:
Is there a genuine reason why somebody in a creative field would not use their own creations on their portfolio?

I can't think of one!

Because they are genuinely unqualified and likely masquerading as a creative because it can be easy to get over on clients that can't recognize bs that is obvious to an actual creative. I see a lot of smudge brush paintovers and filter abused images passed off as portrait art. I once reported someone for what was obviously just pieces of various different images they didn't own cut together in photoshop. One of the pieces even had a watermark.

ilya-siomin · ‎06-10-2021

Jennifer R wrote:
Because you can only report profiles that use YOUR items.
There is no reason to report designers that use third person material so they can give clients an idea of what they might be able to produce or translators that charge for free machine translations because that is not a ToS violation while misrepresenting your skills is.

If this is a somewhat official position/statement from Upwork in these kinds of questions, then no wonder this place doesn’t change for the better. This doesn’t make any sense to me and can’t withstand any criticism.

How come that showcasing a third-person material in your portfolio (say an award-winning work of the top professionals in any area), that you didn’t make, is not qualified as misrepresenting your skills? You either can produce this kind/quality of work or you can’t. You are basically fooling your clients by pretending that you’re capable of driving a truck when in reality you can hardly handle a bicycle. And that leads to unnecessary losses of time and money for the client and bad experiences.

Also, speaking of what one can report: I am allowed to flag/report the profile. It doesn’t specify that those should be MY works, it gives me a list of things to report and that is what I am doing. In some instances, Upwork even encourages you to take actions ‘to keep the community professional’. You give me a button, I press it, it doesn’t work. Why have a button? A lot of things here are confusing and not communicated clearly and should have a better UX/UI at the very least which is no news.

prestonhunter · ‎06-10-2021

re: "If this is a somewhat official position/statement from Upwork in these kinds of questions?"

No.

I think she is simply frustrated by the situation.

jr-translation · ‎06-10-2021

Ilya S wrote:
Jennifer R wrote:
Because you can only report profiles that use YOUR items.
There is no reason to report designers that use third person material so they can give clients an idea of what they might be able to produce or translators that charge for free machine translations because that is not a ToS violation while misrepresenting your skills is.
If this is a somewhat official position/statement from Upwork in these kinds of questions, then no wonder this place doesn’t change for the better. This doesn’t make any sense to me and can’t withstand any criticism.

How come that showcasing a third-person material in your portfolio (say an award-winning work of the top professionals in any area), that you didn’t make, is not qualified as misrepresenting your skills? You either can produce this kind/quality of work or you can’t. You are basically fooling your clients by pretending that you’re capable of driving a truck when in reality you can hardly handle a bicycle. And that leads to unnecessary losses of time and money for the client and bad experiences.

Also, speaking of what one can report: I am allowed to flag/report the profile. It doesn’t specify that those should be MY works, it gives me a list of things to report and that is what I am doing. In some instances, Upwork even encourages you to take actions ‘to keep the community professional’. You give me a button, I press it, it doesn’t work. Why have a button? A lot of things here are confusing and not communicated clearly and should have a better UX/UI at the very least which is no news.

That information was shared by Upwork staff with me and other freelancers in a call. We, the freelancers, all disagreed because it damages our business as freelancers as well as Upwork when clients leave the platform after getting scammed but Upwork just couldn't care less.

ilya-siomin · ‎06-10-2021

Jennifer R wrote:
That information was shared by Upwork staff with me and other freelancers in a call. We, the freelancers, all disagreed because it damages our business as freelancers as well as Upwork when clients leave the platform after getting scammed but Upwork just couldn't care less.

I assume that Upwork does what’s best for them in terms of profit. Speaking from my ignorance, basic calculations may reveal that 100 designers making work for $10 will bring more profit to the platform than 1 designer making work for $1000. Those are $200 vs $150 in fees that Upwork will get.

It is of course just a game of numbers, and a very limited assumption as I am not a professional in this type of business, nor possess any data with regards to what kind of projects and relationships bring the most profit to this platform.

Otherwise, I can’t see why they fail to turn this place into something better instead of making it garbage.

The reported profile seems to be suspended now. Will go live my life outside of this platform.

feed_my_eyes · ‎06-10-2021

Ilya S wrote:
I assume that Upwork does what’s best for them in terms of profit. Speaking from my ignorance, basic calculations may reveal that 100 designers making work for $10 will bring more profit to the platform than 1 designer making work for $1000. Those are $200 vs $150 in fees that Upwork will get.

Not necessarily. Incompetent freelancers frequently end up in disputes with their clients, which Upwork often pays out of their own pocket just to make the problem go away.

Ilya S wrote:
Otherwise, I can’t see why they fail to turn this place into something better instead of making it garbage.

They want to cater to all levels of clients by having a variety of price points available, I assume. But I still think that clients would rather hire an honest freelancer with beginner rates, instead of a fraudster.

Ilya S wrote:
The reported profile seems to be suspended now.

It's great to hear that the system does work sometimes!

m_terrazas · ‎06-10-2021

Christine A wrote:
Ilya S wrote:
I assume that Upwork does what’s best for them in terms of profit. Speaking from my ignorance, basic calculations may reveal that 100 designers making work for $10 will bring more profit to the platform than 1 designer making work for $1000. Those are $200 vs $150 in fees that Upwork will get.

Not necessarily. Incompetent freelancers frequently end up in disputes with their clients, which Upwork often pays out of their own pocket just to make the problem go away.

Ilya S wrote:
Otherwise, I can’t see why they fail to turn this place into something better instead of making it garbage.

They want to cater to all levels of clients by having a variety of price points available, I assume. But I still think that clients would rather hire an honest freelancer with beginner rates, instead of a fraudster.

Ilya S wrote:
The reported profile seems to be suspended now.
It's great to hear that the system does work sometimes!

Yes, it is good to know that after 50 times flagged, the system works, only when you give a bit of war in the forum

kochubei_valeria · ‎06-10-2021

Hi Ilya and others,

Thanks for the discussion. We encourage our community to flag anything that may violate the Upwork Terms of Service or seem suspicious and inappropriate. This article discusses what can be flagged and ways to do it. I assure you that every report submitted using "flag as inappropriate" buttons throughout the site is reviewed by the team. However, we cannot always share the outcome of the review with the reporter for privacy and security reasons.

Additionally, I'd like to note that a proprietary rights owner who believes that someone is using Upwork to infringe their proprietary rights can also use the following process to report an infringement.

~ Valeria

m_terrazas · ‎06-10-2021

Valeria K wrote:
Hi Ilya and others,

Thanks for the discussion. We encourage our community to flag anything that may violate the Upwork Terms of Service or seem suspicious and inappropriate. This article discusses what can be flagged and ways to do it. I assure you that every report submitted using "flag as inappropriate" buttons throughout the site is reviewed by the team. However, we cannot always share the outcome of the review with the reporter for privacy and security reasons.

Additionally, I'd like to note that a proprietary rights owner who believes that someone is using Upwork to infringe their proprietary rights can also use the following process to report an infringement.

Valeria, I'm sorry, but talking about this is like talking to a wall.

The first thing is that all of us who are commenting here now, in addition to having done it many times, know perfectly how to flag.

It seems that Upwork will only take into account that copyright has been infringed, and that this author denounces it (as Jennifer said).
Let's see if Upwork understands once and for all that using the images of another author in the portfolio, in addition to being an image THEFT, is a LIE.
The freelancer is lying about his skills and therefore misleading the client.
And he is also making unfair competition since he claims to have skills and to have done things that he sure has no idea to do.

If not, why does they have to steal images?

jr-translation · ‎06-10-2021

Valeria K wrote:
Hi Ilya and others,

Thanks for the discussion. We encourage our community to flag anything that may violate the Upwork Terms of Service or seem suspicious and inappropriate. This article discusses what can be flagged and ways to do it. I assure you that every report submitted using "flag as inappropriate" buttons throughout the site is reviewed by the team. However, we cannot always share the outcome of the review with the reporter for privacy and security reasons.

Additionally, I'd like to note that a proprietary rights owner who believes that someone is using Upwork to infringe their proprietary rights can also use the following process to report an infringement.

According to the list

Content protected by copyright, such as a known logo or phrase
Anything that looks like it could be a scam or fraus

are ToS violations.

In other words using a portfolio item that was create by a third party is a ToS violation, selling stock images as original work is a ToS violation, selling machine translation as human translation is a ToS violation. Freelancers that resort to these actions are scamming clients, other freelancers and Upwork.