Communication outside Upwork = scam?

[ab3c2335]

I grew tired of all (9 so far) of the jobs I applied for have responded with a link to contact their Snapchat/Telegram. Is this always a scam? If so, what am I doing so wrong that I only get these "clients".

As far as I know, any communication outside Upwork is against the ToS, and if so, why are messages containing such information not auto-blocked and accounts auto-suspended?

I was already scammed the first 2 times as they asked the same thing (at the time I was unaware of the ToS, so I know what I did was wrong too).

[pgiambalvo · Accepted solution]

Yes, almost always a scam. And you're in saying that even if they aren't scams, communication outside of Upwork before a contract is in place is not allowed and is a violation of the ToS, which could get you suspended.  Too bad that 9 out 10 of the resonses you've recieved are scams,. Hopefully, Upwork will do a better job moving forward to keep that from happening by making such posts unable to appear in our feeds.

[3b600f42]

Hi. Same scenario as Gorgi T. That is why I am here in the forum to ask if I am just the only one being redirected to Telegram link. Then I saw a message with the same case as I am. 

I'm a new freelancer and the responses I get from "potential clients" is a link for Telegram or Whatsapp account -  6 responses out of 8 proposals I sent.

[53fdf837]

Hi Gorgi,

A real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. Report suspicious behavior immediately.

You can also read up about staying safe on Upwork here.

[zachelkins]

Right now most job searches are trashed with lots of spam with phone numbers, whatsApp and throwaway emails. Upwork has done nothing about it so far. It's best to report / ignore anyone with the contact information posted in the listing. Especially if it is a vague and short job listing. 

[carmelina1967]

Hi, there,

Since a couple of weeks ago, I've been flagging 20/30 job posts every day that directly include telegram account or whatsapp number. Other job posts are so evident to be a fraud that I don't take them into account. Other posts I've bid for answer with the telegram link. I've followed a couple of them for the sake of knowing and they are ALWAYS scam. I don't know why it's so frequent now (I'm in Upwork since 2019 and this didn't happen before). I'll continue doing my part, by flagging anything I find suspicious and I'd like Upwork support team to strengthen the measures to avoid these people to fish here.

[bundie702]

If a potential client asks you to contact them off platform, they are likely a scammer. If you tell them that's not allowed and you have to communicate only through Upwork and they readily agree and cooperate, they just weren't aware of this rule. If, on the other hand (and more likely) they insist you contact them on another platform or say that their company is allowed to communicate off platform (a lie), they are a scammer. Although experienced freelancers occasionally get invitations to these jobs, they usually target newbies, simply because they are more likely to fall for their swindle (and newbies are more likely to respond to their ads).