Scams

[lajuania]

I am new to Upwork and have been receiving many offers to work from clients that want to use Skype, Telegram, and other communication platforms to discuss the details of the job. I did get my first client through the platform and everything was done through Upwork.  Now I have one that is trying to send me a check for purchases and office set up.  I have seen this before and believe that it is a scam.  Should I be worried? How do I report this client?  I have read the policy and gone through the online videos on how to use Upwork.  Please advise.  Thank you.

[ArjayM · Accepted solution]

Hi LaJuania,

We truly appreciate you reporting this here. Please note that sharing contact information before a contract has started is against Upwork's Terms of Service and that all communications prior to the contract starting must take place on Upwork. Also, a real client will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information. 

I have escalated your report to the appropriate team for further review. They will surely check this job and the client then take action accordingly if necessary. We encourage you to let us know if a TOS violation has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

[056f629d]

Hi, I registered on Upwork a couple of days ago and received my first job offer. I got an email asking me to contact project manager via Telegram. I'm afraid this might be scam from what I've read on forum, so please advise on this matter. Thanks

[sofia2008]

Communicating outside Upwork before being formally hired on Upwork is a violation of Terms of Service freelancers agree to when they create an account. Please review them at the bottom of this page, and make sure to take Academy Courses - Upwork Community

to better understand how to use Upwork.

[d297db63]

I am new to Upwork as well. I applied for a job and boosted my proposal and I was so excited to receive a proposal. It asked me to go to Telegram. Since I use telegram as one of my key communication channels, I contacted the person, they sent me samples and asked me if its my 1st job then they sent me a  "contract" & upon reviewing the contract, I saw that something was off with the document as well (payment channels are not the usual, pay up front before work rendered)

While I may be new to this platform, those items flagged me as scam. Will report it to Upwork for deletion

[735ba46b]

LaJuania,

The same exact thing happen to me just now, i am wondering why this guy don't want to talk about the project in this platform but is eager to discuss the specifics in telegram, i did not reply to him since the job posting was already deleted.

-Raphael

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[martina_plaschka]

That is simple - in telegram upwork can't monitor the conversation and flag certain words. 

[2ac6bc15]

The same happened to me. But I have already done the job.... They didn't ask me for money. But the did everything out from upwork... I'm worried now

[yasmin_gruss]

Contact Upwork ASAP to explain what happened to protect yourself. As long as you communicate your concerns, you will be ok. 

[03b1b40d]

Hi,

This is exactly what happened to me as well. I received a notification from Upwork for a message that was sent to me via the platform and before I reply, checked the proposal and the job details again, the post has been deleted already. They provided me a link for tele. Never opened it.

There was no prior communication with the client before this. I did not reply.

- Ghecel

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[tonilouisa]

I am new here too and looking at work for the first time, I have noticed posters including Gmail addresses or alternative methods of contact that bypasses Upwork.  This is giving me cause for concern. Am I right to be worried?

[martina_plaschka]

You don't need to worry about these job posts, just avoid them. 

If you know the ToS and adhere to them, you will be safe from scams. 

[0fa0e2be]

Part of the problem is that upwork doesnt seem to screen these  "companies" properly and seem more interested in penalizing the members than they are about securing the platform and protecting us from scammers.

[kurt_yocum]

Just received a suspect invite to interview... first they tried to get me onto Skype (a flag for me from the start). Then they said that they were an Upwork affiliate and exempt from issues related to hiring people off-platform. They had some random misspellings and other things that seemed pretty weird. Unfortunate that it was so sketchy, I really could've used that fake job 😤. Also - I threw a lot of connects at it. Would I be able to get them back? 

[ArjayM]

Hi Kurt,

Thank you for reaching out to us and reporting this. I'm sorry to learn about this disappointing experience. It's also great to know that you're well aware of Upwork's ToS. I can also see that you were able to flag the message and job itself as inappropriate. 

Our trust and safety team will look into this job and the client's account, then take action if necessary. Yes! The Connects used in submitting the proposal for this job will automatically be credited to your account once removed due to an Upwork ToS violation.

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.

[kurt_yocum]

Thanks Arjay, 

It looks like the job was cancelled and I did get my spent connects back. Thanks for the info.

-Kurt

[ArjayM]

Thank you for your response and confirmation, Kurt! We truly appreciate your cooperation in keeping Upwork a safe environment for all members.