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Vera's avatar
Vera M Community Member

Freelance Personal Assistant

Hello,

 

My name is Vera, I am new to Upwork. I wanted to ask anyone in the community for their opinion that I have came across and am a bit hesitant about.

 

I got an offering from an Architect to be his personal virtual assistant. As for a brief list of task i would be doing, he asked me if I have any credit card debt, I do and told him I do. I didnt tell him any other information. He went on to send me his banking information, as in his account number and routing number and asked me to go ahead and pay my credit card debt and send him a screenshot of the transaction. He said he aded my name to his acount and is wating for me to go thru with the payment.

 

I am a bit hesitant as i tried to get more informatio out of him all i could get was that he is located in Ohio.

Has anyone came across this before, should i go thru with this?

 

Thanks, Vera

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Jennifer's avatar
Jennifer M Community Member

It's probably a stolen account, so you would be committing a crime first of all. Second, he would probably then try to convince you to buy things on your card and send it to him or just give him gift cards or something.

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4 REPLIES 4
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

Wow.

No.

 

This is nutty.

 

Vera:

When was the last time you went to the grocery store, and while you were at the checkout stand purchasing milk and flour, you asked the clerk if she had any credit card debt, and then you offered to pay off her credit card debt?

 

Or you were getting a haircut at the salon and asked the hair stylist if you could pay off his credit card debt?

 

Does this make any sense to you?

 

I am not going to give a stranger on the Internet access to my banking information.

 

AND ALSO:

It is a serious violation of Upwork ToS for you to exchange funds with an Upwork client OTHER than through the platform. You could have your Upwork account suspended or otherwise penalized or limited simply for DISCUSSING this topic with the client.

 

If you are caught doing something like this, it would be grounds for termination from the platform.

Vera's avatar
Vera M Community Member

Wow, 

 

Very rude. 

 

First of all we did not exchange anything. Why would i exchange my banking information with someone i never met, seen or spoke with ever! I did not ask for his banking information, HE sent HIS information without me even saying "Yes" or even agreeing to the position. Once HE sent HIS banking information i thought this was "Too good to be true" & wanted to see if anyone else in the community has ever had the same experience! But thank you for "Not" being helpful to my question. 

 

Jennifer's avatar
Jennifer M Community Member

It's probably a stolen account, so you would be committing a crime first of all. Second, he would probably then try to convince you to buy things on your card and send it to him or just give him gift cards or something.

Avery's avatar
Avery O Community Manager

Hi Vera, 

I would recommend that you stop communicating with this client. His actions are suspect, and following his instructions may lead to an issue with your issuing bank. You may call your bank and verify if they are aware of any scams like these to get more information. 

I would also like to confirm what Preston has shared, offering and accepting to be paid off the Upwork website is a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service. You may refer to this help article for more information on what actions may temporarily or permanently suspend your account. 

 

I highly recommend that you read up the "Safety First!" section of the freelancer resources we have compiled, and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs for more information about working safely through Upwork.


Lastly, I checked your account and I was unsure if you are referring to the client in your Messages page? Please let me know so that I can report this to the team to be investigated further. In the future, you may flag the client's job posts, and/or their messages, if it raises a red flag. 


~ Avery