Is this a scam

2c222660 · ‎01-07-2022

Hello,

I am new here and am scared of falling into a scam. I have applied for a few things and I have recieved three times to differnt ads a message all very simular to this one. Is this normal? Or is this a scam and not within the guidlines? See below:

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

prestonhunter · ‎01-07-2022

scam

colettelewis · ‎01-07-2022

Yes it is a scam. Tracy you can report these non-jobs by clicking on the "Flag as inappropriate" under "Submit a proposal".

It is a violation of Upwork's ToS to communicate with any client away from Upwork until a contract is in place. So avoid and report anybody who wants to do this via Telegram, Google Hangouts etc.

Read this thread and all the links: https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Getting-Started-on-Upwork/m-p/264214#M2460 and particularly how to avoid questionable jobs.

pgiambalvo · ‎01-07-2022

It used to not be so normal to see so many scams but now it is. You can flag it and it may be removed but that will have no effect on that client being able to post another scam, or on reducing the amount of scam posts in the future.

6e3d9496 · ‎02-11-2022

Did you ever find out if it was real? I'm in the "interview" process now.

wescowley · ‎02-11-2022

Hannah, as soon as you see "hiring manager" you can be sure it's a scam. It's one of the common ones.

6e3d9496 · ‎02-11-2022

Wow what a shame. I can't believe I fell for it. Thank you for your response.

martina_plaschka · ‎02-11-2022

If you are in the interview process, you already violated ToS. Stop doing that.

BojanS · ‎02-11-2022

Hi Hannah,

Please note that it is a violation of Upwork’s Terms of Service to request or share contact information before a contract starts. You can check this help article for crucial information that will help you have a safe and successful journey on Upwork.

Thank you!

~ Bojan

martina_plaschka · ‎02-11-2022

Hannah D wrote:
Did you ever find out if it was real? I'm in the "interview" process now.

It is called confidence scam for a reason. This is where the word con-men comes from.

It is about creating a situation where the mark trusts the scammer. You must admit, they are doing a pretty lousy job at it. There are tons of red flags all over this. I was going to mark the relevant parts in the original post red, but it's all red. There is not a single word in there that isn't pointing to a scammer.

martina_plaschka · ‎02-11-2022

You worked as a CFO?

20f44bae · ‎02-15-2022

So are you saying this person **Edited for community guidelines** is a real person and not a scammer? I am not sure if it is a scam or not. Webiste is legit, seems very professional, asked for a photo id but i said i would not send it unless it was to an HR Email and he sent me an email (still havent sent it btw). I havent even done this work from home so it is new to me. This would also be my first employment contract via email so it seems weird to me, it has many different fonts and obvious text box placement for the date as it blocks out part of a signature line. See attachments for examples.

prestonhunter · ‎02-15-2022

re: "it has many different fonts"

LOL.

It's not the fonts that make this a scam.

Mikayla:
You can't communicate with prospective clients outside of the Upwork Messages tool.

Until you have been officially hired, you need to communicate within the Upwork platform.
You can't send those people your email address or communicate with them via email.

pgiambalvo · ‎02-15-2022

But what about the "Official Document" stamp?

BojanS · ‎02-15-2022

Hi Mikayla,

I'm going to share this report with our team for their review. Please note that it is a violation of Upwork’s Terms of Service to request or share contact information before a contract starts. You can check this help article for crucial information that will help you have a safe and successful journey on Upwork.

Thank you!

~ Bojan

pgiambalvo · ‎02-15-2022

Total scam! Stop communicating with them.

05b3bdc1 · ‎02-15-2022

I encountered a scammer this evening as well. He wanted to pay me via check, not through Upwork and wanted to deposit money into my account to purchase supplies. I replied that it was against the user agreement and basically said no thank you.

samsoonpaul · ‎02-24-2022

I also just been victimized of a scam too. I have applied for a **Edited for community guidelines** who is a consultant and was a communicating with him via Telegram as instructed and he was like you a perfect candidate and sent me a offer letter that looks so out of format then I noticed that this is not LEGIT....

PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THAT... **Edited for community guidelines** he is a scam..

feed_my_eyes · ‎02-24-2022

You are not allowed to name individuals and companies and accuse them of being scammers in the forum; scammers don't use their real names, obviously, so you're accusing innocent people.

Please also note that you are not allowed to communicate with clients off of the Upwork website until after you are hired, so by contacting this person via Telegram, you were violating the terms of service. Don't do that, and you're much less likely to get scammed.

6819eecf · ‎10-04-2022

Hello everybody. I am brand new here on Upwork and after submitting tons of submissions I finally got an offer. Being new I did not know how things work. The person asked me to go to Telegram and communicate with her there. This was on a Saturday evening when I read the message. I go to Telegram and start communicating right a way with **Edited for Community Guidelines**. He said he was the hiring manager and asked me a series of questions. After about 2 hours lo and behold I get hired and the next day (Sunday) I get an offer letter. I'm instructed to wait for an email with a CHEQUE that I am to deposit into my bank via moble app. the Cheque is in the amount of $2,588.00 and this is for software that i need to buy. I never did deposit this cheque. What do you think was this a scam? I'm thinking that it most definitely

is.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

martina_plaschka · ‎10-04-2022

The person asked me to go to Telegram and communicate with her there.

That is the moment you know 100% it's a scam.

I finally got an offer.

Probably not. Did you see the green button to accept the offer? I doubt it. The fake check scammers don't hire and bank on your lack of knowledge how it all works.

Before you do anything else, I recommend you educate yourself about how it all works. I'm sure you didn't do it intentionally, you would not have posted it on the forum if you knew, but you committed a very serious ToS violation by communicating outside of upwork before hire. Hire meaning you see an active contract on your my jobs page. It puts you at risk of losing your profile.

So in short, telegram = scam. same goes for skype, etc.

6819eecf · ‎10-04-2022

Yes I here you. That was my first responce and when they asked me to go to Telegram that seemed strange. I should have asked them rightway why are we going on Telegram when it's against the policy. I never deposited the check and now I compleatly understand how Upwork works. So sad that there are people out there who prey on others. This was a good lessen for me. The reason I posted this is so that others will see this and heed the warnings.