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3616f8bc
Community Member

Am I being scammed?

I am new to Upwork. Basically after going through many job applications for my job posting, I found one guy who seemed decent profile wise and getting the job done. We agreed on a rate. Long story short, I had made a tiny error originally with miscalculating the payment so I let him know and drafted a new proposal with the rate we agreed upon. Upon doing so we discussed setting milestones. I set up 3 milestones with dates.

Here is the ‘phishy’ part. As soon as the funding went through for the first milestone which is due in two days, he sent me an image of himself in a hospital bed with an IV bag and random medical care items around him. At first glance I felt bad for him as I wanted to understand his point, as he said he would complete the milestone next week instead. Again, me feeling bad I tried to get it. But, after some time I thought, what if it’s fake? The timing just seems bizarre. I mean, does his have COVID, or am I just overthinking and it’s a real image? So that is basically my dilema, as I don’t know this person and something in my gut is telling me it may be fake! Mind you, I’m already waiting for a refund to come through from him which still hasn’t processed, so that’s one thing aside. Is there someone who can guide me through what to do?

Thanks for listening!
3 REPLIES 3
e9a8cd44
Community Member

Do you have this Guys Profile?

mtngigi
Community Member


Sarah B wrote:
I am new to Upwork. Basically after going through many job applications for my job posting, I found one guy who seemed decent profile wise and getting the job done. We agreed on a rate. Long story short, I had made a tiny error originally with miscalculating the payment so I let him know and drafted a new proposal with the rate we agreed upon. Upon doing so we discussed setting milestones. I set up 3 milestones with dates.

Here is the ‘phishy’ part. As soon as the funding went through for the first milestone which is due in two days, he sent me an image of himself in a hospital bed with an IV bag and random medical care items around him. At first glance I felt bad for him as I wanted to understand his point, as he said he would complete the milestone next week instead. Again, me feeling bad I tried to get it. But, after some time I thought, what if it’s fake? The timing just seems bizarre. I mean, does his have COVID, or am I just overthinking and it’s a real image? So that is basically my dilema, as I don’t know this person and something in my gut is telling me it may be fake! Mind you, I’m already waiting for a refund to come through from him which still hasn’t processed, so that’s one thing aside. Is there someone who can guide me through what to do?

Thanks for listening!

Sarah,

 

I have flagged your post so hopefully a mod will be along soon to help you out. Listen to you instinct, because it's probably correct. By the way, do not post the freelancer's info on this thread, that is not allowed.

 

ETA: It sounds like you released a milestone before the agreed upon deliverable was provided, is that correct? Don't do that. You should not release a funded milestone if whatever was agreed upon was not delivered.

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Sarah, 

I'm sorry to learn that you are having doubts about your freelancer. I checked the freelancer you are referring to and while there is not enough information to report this yet, I will, however, look into this further. If there are any red flags, I will definitely report it to the team. 


~ Avery
Upwork
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