ICQ chat platform?

[#1]

Hello . I'm new to Upwork and I've had a response to a proposal that asks me to go through an interview process by setting up an "ICQ" account -- an instant messaging platform. This sounds dodgy to me. Is it normal to have to interview for things on an external chat platform?

[#2]

Communicating outside Upwork before a contract is in place is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service (ToS) all users agree to when creating an account. You can find the Terms of Service at the bottom of this page.

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Ho John,

Sophie's response is correct. I have checked your account and I can't seem to find the response from the client to your submitted proposal. Could you please click on my name above this post and send me a private message with more information about the job post you're referring to so that we can have it further reviewed and take action accordingly?

You may want to check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork. We also encourage you to let us know if a TOS violation has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

[#4]

Hi Arjay, thank you for your response and feedback. I went ahead and treated it like a scam situation at the time. I reported their message and I withdrew my proposal. I was a bit frantic and annoyed because I was also in the middle of negotiating my very first contract with Upwork -- basically on my first day of even trying -- and the scammer was an unwelcome distraction, and I was still unfamiliar with the platform to figure out how to flag it and such. Here's the link to my withdrawn proposal, although the job itself has now been removed so there's nothing to see at this point. https://www.upwork.com/ab/proposals/1565403942573535233 

Anyway, I suppose all's well that ends well!

Kind regards,

John

[#5]

Actually, I do have one question. I think I spent like six connects to send that proposal to the scammer. In the chaos, I did not understand if I would get those connects refunded back to my account. Any idea on that?

[#6]

Here is a help article to know more about Connects.

Understanding and Using Connects – Upwork Customer Service & Support | Upwork Help

Upwork refunds Connects when a job is taken down if it violates Terms of Service, but since you withdrew your proposal, you won't be on the list of freelancers getting their Connects back.

Flagging the job post as inappropriate was the right move, you just don't need to withdraww your proposal as your Connects can be returned once the job is taken down by Upwork. Hope this helps.

[#7]

re: "Is it normal to have to interview for things on an external chat platform?"

No.

Not normal for real clients to do that.

Only scammers do that.