Sudden Job Removal After Accepting

[hteam]

I had just accepted a job when I suddenly got an email from Upwork that the posting had been removed due to term violations. However, the client is still contacting me wanting to send me money to download software “needed for the job”. Is this a misunderstanding or is something more nefarious going on?

At first, it seemed like a gold job opportunity, but now I am really sketched out and turned off by this experience.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Hayley:

The "client" is a scammer.

He is trying to trick you and steal your money or your personal information.

Upwork was helping you out by removing the job. Somebody else who has more experience than you reported the client and this job. Upwork looked into it and saw they were up to no good.

Don't waste time with criminals and thieves like that. Use the block function in Upwork's messenger tool to prevent that person from contacting you. If they are contacting you via email, Skype, etc., then block them there, too.

[hteam]

Thank you very much—your response was very helpful!

It was not until the last email, after days of contact, that something started to appear sketchy.

[AveryO]

Hi Hayley, 

I would like to confirm that Preston is correct. It is very likely that this client offerred to send you a check to buy for the softwares he has mentioned. Please know that offerring to pay off the platform, and accepting the pay is a violation of the Upwork Terms of Service.

You may want to read up on the Safety First! section of the freelancer resources we have compiled here, and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs for more information about working safely on Upwork.