Interview Scheduling

[44380dbd]

Hoping for some insight from others. I began using Upwork a few months ago and was immediately the victim of a scam... I have come back to Upwork looking for work and am trying to be more diligent in vetting possible opportunities. 

The past 2 days I have had 2 jobs message and attempted to set up an interview outside of Upwork through a different platform. The 1st person after I messaged asking to meet within the Upwork meeting space never responded and I flagged the post as a possible scam. Today I messaged back and received this response "The interview can’t be conducted on Upwork to avoid proposals congestion, rest assured that once done with the interview on Skype you will be hired and get paid through Upwork at the end of each project, do you understand!?" 

Is this common for companies to attempt to interview outside of Upwork and then do everything else on Upwork? I am just not sure how to spot legit opportunities and from the scammers and I am feeling down because I lose Connects and I my hopes get up about a possible job only to be disappointed because they don't want to follow Upwork's guidelines. 

[kumarrishi40]

If you are getting replies, the connects will be refunded. Try to arrange the interview and later on work, on Upwork itself, otherwise it can be problematic later on. You won't be able to leave a review or dispute and payment discrepancy. Try to engage with 'Payment Verified ' profiles only. Look out for old reviews on the profile to analyse the nature of employer. I think these steps should help you get better projects.

[51fda830]

As a victim of a scam myself (in real life), I don't believe in anyone anymore. Just don't take any risks. There is no congestion on Upwork because the meeting is handled through Zoom, and we all know the stability of Zoom since our corona days. Going outside the Upwork platform is risking a profile suspension. Evaluate whether the job is compelling enough to take such a risk.

[ArjayM]

Hi Maddie,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting this. I would like to let you know that sharing contact information before a contract has started is against Upwork's Terms of Service and that all communications prior to the contract starting must take place on Upwork. We also encourage you to let us know if you find anything suspicious has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

You may want to check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork.