🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Skype Interviews
Page options
ecbconsulting
Community Member

Skype Interviews

I'm new to Upwork and I received a message back on a proposal. The message states:"Your portfolio published on UPWORK has been reviewed by our HR Department and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview and kindly click the link below here." Then there is a link to an image on instructions to add someone on Skype to schedule an interview. On my Upwork proposal section the listing is under "Active Proposals" NOT Invitations to Interview. Is this normal? I am uneasy because right out of the gate I'm being asked to leave the Upwork platform and I thought that this was an all inclusive system for contract work. 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Liz B wrote:

I'm new to Upwork and I received a message back on a proposal. The message states:"Your portfolio published on UPWORK has been reviewed by our HR Department and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview and kindly click the link below here." Then there is a link to an image on instructions to add someone on Skype to schedule an interview. On my Upwork proposal section the listing is under "Active Proposals" NOT Invitations to Interview. Is this normal? I am uneasy because right out of the gate I'm being asked to leave the Upwork platform and I thought that this was an all inclusive system for contract work. 


What gives them away as scammers is NOT that they want a skype interview, but this sentence: "Your portfolio published on UPWORK has been reviewed by our HR Department and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview and kindly click the link below here." No serious client will ever say something like that, nobody has an HR department to review your profile. This is not about employment in a permanent position, this is freelancing. You will learn to recognize these scams very quickly. 

This month upwork is implementing a new policy forbidding contact outside of the platform BEFORE hiring anyway to protect people from these scams, but of course these people will have no problem hiring an unsuspecting freelancer and rope them in. They of course never intend to pay anybody, just steal your money. 

View solution in original post

34 REPLIES 34
prestonhunter
Community Member

Liv: those people are scammers. Looks like the standard fake check scam. Freelancers lose between $2200 and $3000 from their bank account if they continue.

 

Just block them.

martina_plaschka
Community Member


Liz B wrote:

I'm new to Upwork and I received a message back on a proposal. The message states:"Your portfolio published on UPWORK has been reviewed by our HR Department and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview and kindly click the link below here." Then there is a link to an image on instructions to add someone on Skype to schedule an interview. On my Upwork proposal section the listing is under "Active Proposals" NOT Invitations to Interview. Is this normal? I am uneasy because right out of the gate I'm being asked to leave the Upwork platform and I thought that this was an all inclusive system for contract work. 


What gives them away as scammers is NOT that they want a skype interview, but this sentence: "Your portfolio published on UPWORK has been reviewed by our HR Department and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview and kindly click the link below here." No serious client will ever say something like that, nobody has an HR department to review your profile. This is not about employment in a permanent position, this is freelancing. You will learn to recognize these scams very quickly. 

This month upwork is implementing a new policy forbidding contact outside of the platform BEFORE hiring anyway to protect people from these scams, but of course these people will have no problem hiring an unsuspecting freelancer and rope them in. They of course never intend to pay anybody, just steal your money. 

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Liz,

 

Thanks for flagging this report. I've checked and it looks like the job has already been taken down because it was in violation of the Upwork TOS and action has been taken on the client's account. 

 

Please check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post or message to report any suspicious or inappropriate content. Also, check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

 

Thank you!

~ Bojan
Upwork
lenakara
Community Member

Hi there!

 

I'm also new in this community and I have a small issue. Is it ok if I share it here please? I'm still trying to find out what to do, where!

 

I submited a proposal and I got directions to login to Slack for work related istructions. I was told that "All contracts and payments will be sent on Upwork." but I got directions from Slack platform to act steps in Facebook as "a first task". Is this suspicious or not? No contract is set yet...

 

thanks a lot for your support!

Lena


Lena K wrote:

Hi there!

 

I'm also new in this community and I have a small issue. Is it ok if I share it here please? I'm still trying to find out what to do, where!

 

I submited a proposal and I got directions to login to Slack for work related istructions. I was told that "All contracts and payments will be sent on Upwork." but I got directions from Slack platform to act steps in Facebook as "a first task". Is this suspicious or not? No contract is set yet...

 

thanks a lot for your support!

Lena


Very soon a new upwork policy will be implemented forbidding any communication outside of upwork before hire. So you can always tell the client you prefer to stay on the platform. And yes, it is suspicious. Seems like they don't intend to pay you. 

Hello!

I'm having the same issue. I'm a little confused on how to ask the same kind of question. Hopefully nobody minds if I ask. 

I've also been approved for a job. Just not sure if this is a scam. 

"You have an impressive resume and we are willing to give you an opportunity,follow the instructions on the invitation link below to get interviewed" the link sends me to something similar to something i've seen before that ended up being a scam. But when I responded asking if we can stay on Upwork, they responded with, "Not me maam, the procedures as been set up, and the 0pting 0ut fee' has been processed so you have nothing to worry about"

Any suggestions would be helpful.

re: "the procedures as been set up, and the 0pting 0ut fee' has been processed so you have nothing to worry about"

 

No "opting out" fee has been paid. These people are simply trying to trick you and steal your money.

 

Use the "Flag as inappropriate" link button in the top right hand corner of the job posting page to report them (if still available). And block them.

Will I be able to receive my connects back?


Victoria M wrote:
Will I be able to receive my connects back?

Yes, if upwork takes this down because it's suspected to be scammy. 

yeah I just reported 4 different posts that are obvious scams that tried to hire me and I haven't gotten my connects back so I hope upwork will actually give me them back, I've been having a terrible experience on this website, every day I just get scam job offers that look legitimate but as soon as they message me back its a scam saying to do things outside of upwork. I legitimately dislike this website now because of how abundant this is.

Hi Brendan, 

 

Thank you for reporting this and I'm sorry to hear about this disappointing experience. Please note that we return Connects when a client closes their job without hiring or we find a job post has violated our Terms of Service.

 

I've checked your Connects History and Connects was added to your account for canceled jobs. You may want to check this help article here to learn more.

 

~ Arjay
Upwork

Hello, I received something similar to this and began messaging with a 'client' on skype. Can I report the job offer profile I've been messaging with?


Carissa D wrote:

Hello, I received something similar to this and began messaging with a 'client' on skype. Can I report the job offer profile I've been messaging with?


You absolutely should flag the job posting. You seem to be unaware that you are not allowed to skype before hire, so don't do that anymore. 

c27bb13f
Community Member

Upwork should credit us the connects we've used for these fraudulent projects.  Is there such a process?


Justin L wrote:

Upwork should credit us the connects we've used for these fraudulent projects.  Is there such a process?


It's an automatic refund process. Nothing you need to do. 

Hi,

 

The client sent this message.

 

"You will be having a Short interview with Mr. Dane Adams as he will be the one to brief you more about the job position on Skype as he is available now. Kindly send an instant message to him by searching the Username (live:.cid.c7445c965ce45de3)Do that now as he is currently online waiting for you. Good luck"

 

Do I need to have an interview on Skype?

 

Since I am new to Upwork I don't know what to do now.

 

Thanks


Ondre D wrote:

Hi,

 

The client sent this message.

 

"You will be having a Short interview with Mr. Dane Adams as he will be the one to brief you more about the job position on Skype as he is available now. Kindly send an instant message to him by searching the Username (live:.cid.c7445c965ce45de3)Do that now as he is currently online waiting for you. Good luck"

 

Do I need to have an interview on Skype?

 

Since I am new to Upwork I don't know what to do now.

 


You need to go to the job post and click on the green "flag as inappropriate" link and report this person for trying to scam you. Then you need to read this: https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/List-of-red-flags-for-scams/m-p/1017044

dan_ortiz
Community Member

Bojan - beyond flagging the post, is there anything more that can be done? This exact same scenario has happened to me 3 times in the last month by someone claiming to work for an agency that wanted to hire me but upon calling the agency they said that they worked for, the receptionist told me that no one worked there with that name. 

These kinds of scammers make finding work on Upwork a demeaning chore and no one at Upwork seems to care what this does to our community. 

I believe they do care and are doing their best to protect us.

ef23b64d
Community Member

I just got the exact same thing. I thought it strange that the link took me to an image of instructions for a Skype interview. Another strange thing, the person that I am supposed to interview with has an outlook email address. I will be flagging the posting right now. 

It's also quite discouraging that I am in desperate need of work and the two I do get my hopes up for are scams. 

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Dave,

 

Thank you for flagging this for us. Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with more information about your report? I'll check that further and escalate accordingly.

~ Bojan
Upwork

i got exact the same thing as you. its a skype interview. and when i ask if we can contact on upwork, that person told that because they already completed the # they were supposed to hire,that's why the proposal was closed and removed....

 

Hi Yihua,

 

I can see that you already submitted a ticket to our team regarding this issue. One of our agents will update your ticket and assist you further. 

~ Joanne
Upwork

re: "i got exact the same thing as you. its a skype interview. and when i ask if we can contact on upwork, that person told that because they already completed the # they were supposed to hire,that's why the proposal was closed and removed..."

 

Yeah, they're just lying.

That's just a silly excuse. They say that because once the job posting is flagged, upwork deletes it. Not the job poster. 

c27bb13f
Community Member

I'm also new to Upwork, and of the 8 projects I've sent a proposal, 6 of them had this generic response and to either contact via Skype or Telegram.  Rather disappointing as it is a waste of my time.  Is there a way to tell if a project is a scam of some sort.  I've noticed all were new posts with no payment verified.  So should I only apply to payment verified projects?  Thank you for this.  I was very excited to receive the first message, only to do some research when it sounded too good to be true.  Thus, I came across this and other similar posts stating to report.  Of course, now all those messages have been deleted or projects deleted from the user.

Good luck out there and stay safe!

Hi Justin,

 

I would like to confirm that we return Connects when a client closes their job without hiring or we find a job post has violated our Terms of Service. 

I can suggest to check out this Post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs. You can also check out our resources Here and learn more about getting started on Upwork. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork


Justin L wrote:

I'm also new to Upwork, and of the 8 projects I've sent a proposal, 6 of them had this generic response and to either contact via Skype or Telegram.  Rather disappointing as it is a waste of my time.  Is there a way to tell if a project is a scam of some sort.  I've noticed all were new posts with no payment verified.  So should I only apply to payment verified projects?  Thank you for this.  I was very excited to receive the first message, only to do some research when it sounded too good to be true.  Thus, I came across this and other similar posts stating to report.  Of course, now all those messages have been deleted or projects deleted from the user.

Good luck out there and stay safe!


Yes, stay away from payment not verified for now until you gain more experience. It is definitely not a sign of a scam, but it could be. Don't risk it. Payment verified on the other hand is no guarantee it isn't a scam. Be vary of any invitations, too. 

Only apply to jobs that have solid descriptions, a good history and a high hiring rate. 

1a769265
Community Member

I'm new here and got my first ever proposal response, and yes, it's from a scammer!

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

1a769265
Community Member

Here's my 2nd proposal response, and yes, it's from a scammer as well! Impressive! How do I get a refund for these 2 FAKE bids?  😡 Please let me know. Thank you.

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

 

 

re: "How do I get a refund for these 2 FAKE bids?"

Simply use the "Flag as inappropriate" link option on the job proposal page. Report the job as a scam. Upwork investigates, removes the job posting, and then you AUTOMATICALLY get a refund for the connects you used. Everybody who applied to the job gets their connects refunded.

97dacc14
Community Member

First time in upwork. I have just been sent instructions for a Skype interview, but look very sketchy. The post has already been removed.

 **Edited for Community Guidelines**

e7f73d51
Community Member

How to report these kind of messages?

Hi Nida,

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. Please feel free to use the "Flag as Inappropriate" option throughout the site to report any suspicious activity.

 

Thank you,

Pradeep

Upwork
Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths