Is this a scam?

[08e2a041]

Hey guys I'm new to the platform and am having a hard time recognizing scams or not. I've sent a proposal to a few people and two of them came back telling me to message the project manager on Whats app and that they would give me the details once I told them what country I was in. Is this something legitimate? Maybe I'm over-thinking it, I just assumed this was a secure platform. Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

[58feaef8 · Accepted solution]

Nope. 100% scam. Be careful!

[08e2a041]

I just started reading other posts on here about the whats app being a scam.. ugh so annoying. Thanks for the response!

[leatt2021]

I also received the below:

"Please follow the below link to watch the project demo **Edited for Community Guidelines**

If you can do it as shown in the video then read the project details from this link **Edited for Community Guidelines** and select a project then reply me with your decision about the project (which project have you selected from the given four) Afterward I'll guide you on how you can start.

Thank you."

Link: **Edited for Community Guidelines**

You must pay them to be considered - rediculous really.

[58feaef8]

ps.If a client wants to interview you via telegram/whatapp/skype, inform the client that you would prefer to stay on the UpWork platform. If they later disappear then you know why. 

[garcelazoeunice]

Need help verifying if this offers from the job postings I applied in Upwork are legit. First is from a company  a Software company and the other one is from Ads company. Both are for typing jobs. For  Software they did not ask for any insurance deposit and provided me with a project plan after they gave the job. The one from Ads is asking for a $50 "refundable" insurance deposit immediately after they gave me the job saying that they will give me project details after I paid the deposit. I am a bit skeptical with both offers esp the one asking for insurance deposit
Please help. This is new to me. Thank you

[martina_plaschka]

Both scams. 

[pgiambalvo]

Scams and not allowed. Why didn't you know this? Do you wish Upwork would have told you this before you signed up? Read this to stay safe: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

[58feaef8]

https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Respect-goes-both-ways-blocking-a-quot-legit-quot-clie...

"Scammers" are also evolving, and I wrote this post last night. Still feeling sick after this, but hope it helps! 

[9bbeb95a]

100% a scam. Never leave the Upwork site. Also look out for scammers using the Wire App.

[al2468]

1. Its gettng ridiculous on this platform and upwork is doin nothing about it

[cbeavec]

The last 3 jobs I have spoken to have turned out to be scams. Starting to wonder if there are any real jobs on here anymore.

[pgiambalvo]

That sounds like a very disappointing and unproductive freelancer experience. There are real jobs but they are buried within the onslaught of fake ones. Legit clients' posts are therefore getting lost in the mix, which if I were a client, would concern me.

[58feaef8]

Yes. It's like trying to Google "the best vet nearby" when your pet is terribly sick, and instead of getting helpful information, you are bombarded by links like "contact us via telegram or what'sup to find out!" So now every time when you search for important info, you must type "Vet, and not Scams". This is mad.

Ps. Just saw an "Intersting Job" promoted by the system and I am 99% sure its a scam. How terrifying. 😫

[PradeepH]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your experience. I have flagged your report to the relevant team to review and take action on the jobs. 

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and please use the flag option found on each job post or message anytime you’d like to report a violation.

Thank you

Pradeep

[gabriel986]

Shouldn't Upwork as a company, and as the keeper of the marketplace, do something about this?

This situation has been ongoing for more than 3 months already, the marketplace is infested with hundreds of scam posts revealing WhatsApp numbers, telegram links, google form links, Google Docs that redirect you to a task or a mission or an offer before showing you a "trial document" and so on. I get to flag 30 of those in a slow day... And I get at least 8-10 invitations to bid for such posts every single day. They even appear in the Upwork emails showing "new job opportunities." 

I'm sick and tired of having to comb through hundreds of scam posts before finding something decent and viable to bid. On top of that, the situation eroded the confidence of the upworkers in clients with unverified payment methods, because the scammers are unverified as well. 

The red flags for me are:

1. Sharing numbers or links

2. The place they claim to be, and their local timezone usually don't match (i.e. they claim to be from the U.S.A., but their timezone is hours ahead of that, I don't want to generalize, but mostly African timezones.) 

3. They have unverified payment methods, even if they show the "PLUS" blue badge. 

4. Their job descriptions are somewhat nonsensical. 

UPWORK NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!!

What's the point of being a Top Rated, or a Top Rated Plus, and paying a monthly fee, and the commission fee we pay on every job, if the company doesn't do anything to protect us?

[renata101]

---

Gabriel Alejandro C wrote:

Shouldn't Upwork as a company, and as the keeper of the marketplace, do something about this?

This situation has been ongoing for more than 3 months already, the marketplace is infested with hundreds of scam posts revealing WhatsApp numbers, telegram links, google form links, Google Docs that redirect you to a task or a mission or an offer before showing you a "trial document" and so on. I get to flag 30 of those in a slow day... And I get at least 8-10 invitations to bid for such posts every single day. They even appear in the Upwork emails showing "new job opportunities." 

Hi Gabriel,

I hear your pain, and I agree that Upwork should be doing something about it. I haven't had to look through my feed for a while, but when I looked at it again, I saw pretty much the same thing.

It occurred to me that you could adjust the Advanced Search to filter the scam posts that had identifiable keywords. Although it's not going to help to filter for every scam, this will filter a lot of them. 

I posted about it here:
https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Filtering-Scam-Posts-How-to-use-the-Upwork-Advanced-Se...

Another freelancer has been working on a Chrome extension. You can read about it here:  https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Upwork-Scam-Post-Detector-Chrome-Extension/m-p/1048524#M...

A few additional points about what you've mentioned:


A few points:
1. According to the Upwork Terms of Service, you should never contact potential clients using outside channels until you have a contract in place. Once you have a contract in place, you can communicate in whatever way you choose.
2. Doing any kind of unpaid work (including tests and assignments) is also a ToS violation.

This is a longish document, but you should make yourself generally familiar with what's here:
https://www.upwork.com/legal#terms

[garcelazoeunice]

thanks

[a4d7ef27]

Hai