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gacher333
Community Member

Possible scam?

I got a message for a Skype interview for a publishing company. 50 minute interview, asked relevant questions. But they said they were taking ad off upworks since they were paying their employees directly. Asked how I would like to get paid by check or direct deposit. I said check but they wanted the name of my bank. When I told them it wasn’t applicable since I requested payment by check, they seemed persistent. Of course I googled the company which is a real company, but I’m not sure if this is a scam and using their name. The bank question made me suspicious.
ACCEPTED SOLUTION
moonraker
Community Member


Lisa P wrote:
I said check 

Doh! 

View solution in original post

15 REPLIES 15
moonraker
Community Member


Lisa P wrote:
I said check 

Doh! 

prestonhunter
Community Member

Scam.

browning_margie
Community Member

Had this happen to me before and I googled the company and called them directly and talked to their HR department.  They even sent me a check to "buy my office equipment".  Found out, before I cashed it, that it was indeed a scam.  All they were trying to do is get me to deposit the check so that they could get my bank account info.  

 

If in doubt, always google the company and call them directly.  DO NOT use the phone number they provided.

Do NOT Google the company. Especially if you are a newbie. Googling the company name is what the scammers want you to do. That is part of the scam.

 

You would be much better off learning how to use Upwork properly.

 

I have completed over 260 jobs here. I have never googled any company name or client name.

 

But even importantly: Do NOT call the companies whose names are used by the scammers. Leave those innocent people alone. Don't waste your time. Don't waste their time. Don't spread ill will or confusion relating to Upwork. ANY company can have its name used like this by scammers.

 

Don't call a company when a scammer uses their name. It does not provide any benefit to you or Upwork or the company.

 

Just flag the job posting when you encounter this scam.

 

 

Lisa, welcome to Upwork. We want you to succeed. But you need to learn some very important Upwork rules before you continue using the site to try to find work.

 

re: "I got a message for a Skype interview for a publishing company."
You're not allowed to do that.

If a client wants to interview you, then you need to conduct the interview using Upwork's Messages tool.
If a client wants to communicate with you using Skype or any other off-platform tool, then you must first have a contract with the client. The client must hire you first before you can communicate via Skype.

 

re: "50 minute interview"

I don't do 50-minute "interviews".

It doesn't take a client 50 minutes to decide whether or not to hire you.

As a client, I have hired over 100 freelances. I don't interview freelancers at all. I look at their portfolios mainly, and then hire them. Some clients will spend a few minutes interviewing a freelancer. Some will even conduct a video using an audio call or video-conferencing usin Upwork's Messages tool. But not for 50 minutes.

 

This is definitely my opinion, and this definitely applies to the jobs I participate in as a freelancer and client. There may indeed be some jobs that merit a 50-minute interview. But for the majority of situations, if you're spending that much time, it has turned into a consultation and the client should be paying you. I have OFTEN had clients be the ones to insist that they put me under contract and have me bill time before we have live discussions. That is the professional thing to do.

 

But 50-minute interviews for entry level positions? Yes, that is indeed typcal of scammers.

 

re: "But they said they were taking ad off upworks since they were paying their employees directly."

No, that is not allowed. Clients can't just pay freelancers directly. That is a huge violation of Upwork ToS, for them, and it is a violation for freelancers. You could have your Upwork account suspended for just talking with them about that. Freelancers have literally had their accounts suspended just for discussing taking payment off-platform, even if they were never paid anything, and even if they never actually agreed to do it.

 

re: "Asked how I would like to get paid by check or direct deposit. I said check"

 

Yeah, you can't do that.

You are so new that I think Upwork will let this slide.
I am going to ASK RIGHT NOW THAT UPWORK DOES NOT SANCTION your account.
But agreeing to accept a check is a huge ToS violation.

Also: The checks are fake.

Scammers use the fake checks to get money from YOUR bank account.

re: "they wanted the name of my bank. When I told them it wasn’t applicable since I requested payment by check, they seemed persistent."

You were smart at this point.

Good.

 

re: "Of course I googled the company which is a real company, but I’m not sure if this is a scam and using their name."

 

Scammers WANT you to Google the company name that they tell you.

Scammers want newbies to be impressed by how big and wealthy and legitimate the company is. Then the newbies kind of lose all objectivity thinking about they money they are going to earn and they do whatever the scammers tell them to.

 

You DID NOT DO THAT. You were smarter than the scammers.


So even though I wrote this long post saying that you did a bunch of things wrong... and even though you wasted 50 minutes in that ridiculous "interview", you came out ahead.

The newbies who fall for this typically lose between $3000 to $4000 from their own bank account!

You got off easy.

Thank you so much sir. I deeply appreciate the time and advice. I’m glad I understand the rules better now.


Lisa P wrote:
Thank you so much sir. I deeply appreciate the time and advice. I’m glad I understand the rules better now.


Your profile is still there, so it seems upwork has forgiven you for your naivite of posting on a public forum that you want to be paid by check. That is about the biggest offense you can commit against the platform, not even considering your own personal risk of being scammed out of your own money. Before you do anything, read all the information available for newbies!

Thank you I felt the same way.

You should put your mind at ease.
This scam is VERY VERY common. It is the most common scam on Upwork.

 

I have never heard of Upwork penalizing a freelancer who is as new as you are for talking to scammers. Upwork knows all about this scam. Upwork knows that these people offer to pay by a check. Even when freelancers get sent a check, and even if a freelancer deposits the check, I don't think Upwork ever penalizes the freelancer's account.

 

(If the freelancer actually deposits the check, then they get in trouble with their bank and if they send cash via Western Union or Apple iTunes gift cards, then they are punished enough because they lose so much money, and maybe lose their bank account entirely... but Upwork itself doesn't punish them.)

Thank you again. You were a huge help 

I received an email from**Edited for community guidelines**, supposedly. UpWork caught this guy a couple months ago as a scam, but did not catch this one. They want me to contact them thru Telegram. I have barely even used UpWork, and about half of the responses I get UpWork has already have them on a list or something. 

Hi Dan,

 

If you see a job or a profile that seems suspicious, you can report it to us using the flagging option. You can read more on this help article and also, please check out Tips to avoid questionable jobs. You might also want to check out the information here to learn more about staying safe on Upwork. 

~ Joanne
Upwork
JoanneP
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Lisa,

 

Could you please send me a PM with the job post link so I can check? Thank you.

~ Joanne
Upwork

It's in my initial post. 

c0326ab3
Community Member

Just came across another.

 

Claiming to be from **Edited for Community Guidelines**, directing me outside of upwork to chat. Sent (poorly written) pdf claiming to be a rep of some sort.

None of the contact info they give match with actual publisher.

Aware of this same scam with same publisher before:

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

Not today satan #irebukeyou

sparkesusan
Community Member

Scam for sure.  Never, never, never go off of Upwork.  Sometimes they say they can because they paid an "opt out" fee.  No such thing.  I asked one recently to put the funds into escrow and they disappeared fast!  Always insist that they do interviews here on Up work and any messages or funds are all on the up and up.  If they don't want to, dump them.

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