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cerogers78
Community Member

Fraud and TOS

Hello. I have not been on Upwork for long. But, I have a question about the TOS and fraud. This question came from an acquaintance, during one of our conversations. Let me explain this situation, and then I need to know if it would qualify as a "breach" of TOS.

 

The situation: the acquaintance received an email saying, they were invited to be an editor/proofreader of a children's book - had found the profile. There was a message, that was from an Upwork member (but there was no conversation but listed as a "room"), in their message center. Well, after following the link, there was a code and a name to contact via Skype. Once finding the person on Skype, went through the interview. The acquaintance did the interview process, and was sent a check through Skype by image. It was NOT for work done, because they had NOT started on the project yet. It was supposed to be the people, sending the money, to cover the expenses for the equipment needed for the job.

 

I am asking out of curiosity, because I am wondering this myself, because I did not know how to answer the question either. If the acquaintance deposits the check, and sends payments to the people that offered this job from said check (not for work done because nothing had been done - but for the equipment needed to do this job) to pay for equipment, would that be considered a breach of TOS? And, would they be unable to do work? Or, could there be a remedy to fix the situation, so the person could still get jobs?


Thanks for any light you can shed on this situation. 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
petra_r
Community Member


Cindy O wrote:

If the acquaintance deposits the check, and sends payments to the people that offered this job from said check (not for work done because nothing had been done - but for the equipment needed to do this job) to pay for equipment, would that be considered a breach of TOS?


One of the oldest, dumbest scams on the Internet. The check is (OF COURSE) a fake. They go for the lowest common denominator (people who lack the very minimum of common sense to immediately know for a fact that this is OBVIOUSLY a scam because no real company sends real checks to random strangers on the Internet)

 

Your friend would also be already in violation of Upwork's terms of service for communicating outside of Upwork.

 

**Edited for community guidelines**

View solution in original post

2 REPLIES 2
petra_r
Community Member


Cindy O wrote:

If the acquaintance deposits the check, and sends payments to the people that offered this job from said check (not for work done because nothing had been done - but for the equipment needed to do this job) to pay for equipment, would that be considered a breach of TOS?


One of the oldest, dumbest scams on the Internet. The check is (OF COURSE) a fake. They go for the lowest common denominator (people who lack the very minimum of common sense to immediately know for a fact that this is OBVIOUSLY a scam because no real company sends real checks to random strangers on the Internet)

 

Your friend would also be already in violation of Upwork's terms of service for communicating outside of Upwork.

 

**Edited for community guidelines**

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Cindy,

 

Please note that all conversations before a contract is started must be through Upwork Messages, where you can send messages, have video calls, and more. We find that when users communicate outside of Upwork there is an increased risk of fraud, scam, and other harmful behaviors. When communications (and work) stay on our platform we can better track, verify, and help address any issues that emerge, and as a result the potential for these harmful behaviors decreases dramatically. For example, the vast majority of scammers that successfully take advantage of the talent on Upwork do so by going off the platform. To learn more about staying safe on Upwork, click here.

~ Bojan
Upwork
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