Can we trust unverified payment posts?

[3660ab49]

Hi there,

I see there are more than 50% client posters that have unverified payments. How do we know they are not scams? Just curious, I just applied to one and that person replied saying I should message on whatsapp. 

Any feedback welcomed!

[wescowley]

Unverified payment by itself doesn't mean anything. It really doesn't matter at all until it's time to take the job offer. That's when you should ask the client to verify it if they haven't yet.

More importantly, jobs could still be scams if the payment method has been verified. The flag really means nothing when it comes to scams.

Instead, look for other red flags regardless of the payment verification flag:  https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/List-of-red-flags-for-scams/m-p/1017044#M158742

[pgiambalvo]

I've found it does mean something, but not much. Most scam posts do show as unverified, but like you say, not all of them. But if a clients does show a history of money being paid out, it's pretty safe to say they are not a scammer.