Is this legit?

[1b9d2a46]

Hi all. I've seen a job advertising for the re-typing of PDF files into Word format. Is this a legitimate job or a scam?

It reads "simply retyping pdf document in MS word. 

Need to hire 40 freelancers we need freelancers to do our copy typing work."

Any advice appreciated. Thanks. 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[martina_plaschka · Accepted solution]

ALL of these jobs are scams. Typing pdf into word? That can be done in seconds with copy/paste. 

[1b9d2a46]

Thank you. I assumed as much.

[l_steen_amick]

There are also conversion software options for directly converting pdf's to editable word docs.

[d472434b]

It would be nice if the responses to our posts were helpful on how to spot fakes instead of making the us new people feel stupid for asking.  Martina immediately responded to my only 2 posts and did this to me as well.  I think she wants to feel superior and have a lot of stats.

I am also new to upwork and just came across a scam.  I should have looked at how much they paid out in the past, how long they had been a client and if they have verified payment.  I am sure the experienced people here have much more than this but at least I can mention a few constructive things that I just learned.

[pudingstudio]

In what sense was Martina unhelpful?

If I were to point out that UpWork provides a lot of useful articles on how to spot scams, would that be unhelpful?

UpWork has Academy, there are bunch of usefull stuff there.

No one but you can protect you from scams.

[martina_plaschka]

Believe me, if I could decrease my upvotes, or could give them away, I would. There were times when they showed a leaderboard of people with the most upvotes, and I was often at or near the top. I can't tell you how much I hated that. The new badges - well. No words. 

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Anthony K wrote:

I am also new to upwork and just came across a scam.  I should have looked at how much they paid out in the past, how long they had been a client and if they have verified payment.  I am sure the experienced people here have much more than this but at least I can mention a few constructive things that I just learned.

---

No, those things mean that a client is new, not that they're a scammer. I work with new clients a lot, and I've never even come close to being scammed. These are the main ways to spot a scam (there's a longer post here)

1. Use your common sense. It can be helpful to ask yourself, "Why would a client need me to do this for them instead of doing it themselves?" This category includes people wanting you to buy something for them (like crypto), send money to them or a third party, use your Upwork account or some other account that you have (Google, Facebook) to post things, wanting to use your address for their business - things that sound fishy in general, and don't involve you doing any real work or having any actual skills.  

2. Ask yourself if the job sounds too good to be true. Nobody is going to pay you a lot of money for doing something really simple, like retyping something. They're trying to steal your money and/or involve you in some kind of fraud. It's extremely difficult to a job here, and the simpler a job is, the more competition you'll have. If you're new and a client invites you to bid on something like this, or you apply to job and a client immediately messages you and says how impressed they are and how eager they are to start working with you, you should be suspicious, not flattered.

3. Follow the terms of service, the most important of which are: don't accept contracts outside of Upwork, and don't talk to clients off of Upwork until you have that contract in place. 99% of scams happen because the freelancer isn't following the rules that are designed to keep them safe. Violating these rules can also get your account suspended or banned. 

---

Anthony K wrote:

It would be nice if the responses to our posts were helpful on how to spot fakes instead of making the us new people feel stupid for asking.  Martina immediately responded to my only 2 posts and did this to me as well.  I think she wants to feel superior and have a lot of stats.

---

There's certainly been an huge number of people flocking to the forum and spreading misinformation in a quest for these useless badges, but I assure you that Martina isn't one of them. She's one of a dwindling number of people in the forum who actually knows what she's talking about. 

[renata101]

Most of the people who respond to discussion threads are volunteering their time. If they sound terse, it could be because people have been posting the same questions day after day for months without first using the search box to see if anyone's posted about similar issues (no criticism directed at the original poster, that's just what people do when they're confronted with something strange they don't understand).

The larger issue is that Upwork does not filter the ads before they are posted. Though scams have always been present on the platform, the volume has increased exponentially in the last year, and Upwork has been slow to respond to the problem. I think it's better to get a direct, unembellished response that answers your question in a few minutes than to wait for hours to get a scripted official response from Upwork. But that's just my way of thinking.

Also, what's so offensive about encouraging people to question what they're seeing?

[renata101]

Hi Anthony,

Maybe this will help. It explains a few things about Upwork that will put what people are telling you into context. Upwork views itself as a marketplace and the company doesn't approve the clients who post on the platform, so freelancers are responsble for vetting their own clients. I'm not defending that practice in any way. It is what it is, and it's also what you would have to do with prospective clients if you were entering into freelance contracts with them outside Upwork.

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

[ravirengarajan]

Upwork just saved me from being scammed by removing the Job Posting!  We need to ensure that the Job Posting has Credentials of a certain History! Appreciate Nikola(Upwork Team) in adding value to our competencies by ensuring our talents are not wasted by being recuruited by SCAMS! Remember, Never Ever waste time Outside of Upwork SCAMS! The Writing is on the WALL ... Terms of Service Guarantee vs More MONEY!!! Clarity of Perception 

Way to go.... Upwork! 

Best regards,

Ravichandran M R

[472acaa9]

For employers who ask to contact outside the platform are scams, especially in telegram, please report directly to purify the platform

[ravirengarajan]

SCAM

[ravirengarajan]

SCAM...!!!