New to Upwork- First Job..Scam?

[64abed3c]

Greetings, 

I am new to Up Work. I may have my first project management job here, but I want to ensure I am not getting scammed. The proposal was excepted, and we have been corresponding back and forth on Upwork. Then I was told to contact HR and given their company email. I included their Upwork email and HR email in the correspondence.  HR explained the process. I was told that I would be provided with a company computer. ( Due to being hacked in the past with freelancers).  I was told we would meet on Zoom to review instructions before I was given any assignments or equipment. I got suspicious because I thought that with payment, everything goes through Upwork.
I asked the question: Will payments go through Upwork?
Answer: "Yes, for hours worked on the project, payments will be through our agent on Upwork while we will be processing equipment outside of the platform as the platform only charges from payment of hours worked by a freelancer."
The company is new to UpWork and an actual corporation.  It appears they were verified for payment. HR is asking for my information for an employment letter and contract. Should this go through Upwork?
 I looked up the person I have been corresponding with on LinkedIn and could not find the initial person I spoke with on LinkedIn as well. They do have the company email. Sorry for the long post. This process has been very time-consuming. I know I am overly cautious and do not want to get scammed.   Has anyone been through this process? 

[fe9b8d82]

Are they sending you this computer and related equipment free and clear, or are they in some way asking for an exchange of money outside of Upwork for "the equipment?"

If they're sending you a computer because they're super paranoid that's one thing, if they're sending you a check or something to purchase equipment, that's a scam older than the Internet.

[64abed3c]

Thank you for your response. 

So far, there has been no mention of money or sending a check for equipment. I was waiting for that while corresponding. At the moment, it seems legit. I am waiting on the contract and  Zoom meeting to ask questions. 

[sofia2008]

This is most likely a scam. Keep in mind communicating outside Upwork before having a contract on Upwork is a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service.

Providing you contact details before being hired on Upwork is also a violation of Upwork's Terms of Service. Clients do not need to have those details because everything goes trhough Upwork. So no employment letter as you are not an employee.

No need to check people or companies on the Web as scammers use real names.

It is good that you are being cautious to avoid being scam, but keep in mind people are taking part in scams because they act before understanding how the platform works.

Make sur to read the main article of the post link below and click on all the links before sending proposals or accepting work.

Solved: Re: To all freelancers looking for help - Page 15 - Upwork Community

[64abed3c]

Thanks! It is a scam. I kept referring to working through Upwork, which was never confirmed. I did my due diligence because it seemed too easy in certain parts of the process by researching the person I was corresponding with and the names used. I got the email, "We will send a check to purchase equipment." Scammers are getting very crafty and using corporate emails. 

[mwiggenhorn]

Anytime anyone mentions "HR" with regard to a freelance job, I'm pretty sceptical.

[6bfcdaf8]

A company can not provide equipment to a contractor. Because if they do, then they almost always have to hire them as employees. That's a legal issue with some exceptions but you can ignore those exceptions and live your life happily by having this one single rule : Anyone talking about providing equipment to you is a scammer.