Aug 26, 2016 09:38:18 AM Edited Sep 6, 2021 06:56:12 AM by Vladimir G
On occasion, you’ll see someone coming to the Community to ask, “Is this legit?” as they reference a questionable job post or request from another user.
With over 17 million users on Upwork, we recognize the need to remain vigilant about suspicious activity. And though we’ll continue doing our best to prevent or address that activity asap, we also count on you to continue being diligent in protecting your information and access. Educating yourself and trusting your instincts are key to safety.
To that end, here are some tips and best practices that can help you identify and avoid potential scams:
Payment methods: There are a number of approved choices for making payments and withdrawing funds on Upwork that clients and freelancers can select from when making or receiving payments. Only approved payment options should be used or received for payment. Additionally, talent should not send payment in any currency to clients off the platform for any reason, even in exchange for payment on the platform. Be cautious of requests to buy, sell, or transfer currencies of any kind (regular or crypto). Being asked to buy, sell, trade, or transfer any form of currency, even for a fee on Upwork, is prohibited and should be reported. For example, purchasing or transferring Bitcoin or other forms of cryptocurrency on behalf of a client is a violation of Upwork’s Terms of Service and a common scam.
We take security seriously at Upwork. You can find more information about Trust and Safety on Upwork in this Help article. If you think you’re the victim of a possible scam, immediately contact Customer Support – or use one of the “Flag as inappropriate” links throughout the site and in Messages.
In the end, trust your instincts and feel free to continue asking here in our Community. We’re here to help and we’ll continue doing whatever we can to make sure the good users of Upwork stay safe.
See more of our Stay Safe series:
Apr 3, 2019 11:48:53 AM by Bojan S
Hi Mark,
Thank you for reaching out to us with this question. Check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post. Once the job post is flagged, our team review it and take action as per our internal processes if it violates the ToS.
Apr 3, 2019 11:30:25 PM Edited Apr 3, 2019 11:33:20 PM by Preston H
re: "I've witnessed a couple of client jobs that asked to modify existing After Effects templates that they have purchased. I believe this is theft of intellectual property for the purpose of possibly reselling them as their own work. What is Upworks policy when handling these types of requests?"
Mark: If you have questions about this, this is an issue you would need to discuss with Adobe, not Upwork.
As far as Upwork itself is concerned, I'm not sure how this would be seen as any different than somebody modifying an Adobe Illustrator template file to fit the needs of a client. Or a Microsoft PowerPoint template file.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see where there is a violation of any Upwork policy here.
Aug 19, 2019 01:14:14 PM by Chidiebere A
It’s been a while now and my client hasn't given me the work so he can release the escrow payment he funded. However, on getting the job I was asked for a research sample, more like a data entry sample and that took hours. Is it possible I was tricked to working for free and can he withdraw the funds?
Jan 17, 2020 09:00:24 AM by Cesar R
Feb 3, 2020 04:41:05 PM by Carol B
What if the client is asking me to make a purchase on Amazon in order to provide feedback on their product and they said, after I asked specifically, that "everything will be reimbursed for you in escrow".
Feb 3, 2020 05:05:44 PM by Preston H
re: "What if the client is asking me to make a purchase on Amazon in order to provide feedback on their product and they said, after I asked specifically, that 'everything will be reimbursed for you in escrow'."
It's a scheme.
The client wants other people to purchase items on Amazon.com in order to try to circumvent Amazon.com rules against paid product reviews. Amazon.com has specific, strict rules against this sort of thing.
If I want you to review something for me, so that I can get feedback for my own internal purposes, then I will send you the item directly. Or I will order the item myself from an online source and have it shipped to you. You won't need to spend any money.
If that won't work, then I will send you the money upfront, using the "Pay Expenses" tool. And I will pay enough extra to cover the 20% fee that Upwork will withhold from the payment.
You're talking about something that could end up costing you money, and which could also end up costing you your Upwork account and your Amazon.com account.
Feb 3, 2020 06:41:37 PM by Avery O
Hi Carol,
Preston and I have responded to your same post on this other thread. As a gentle reminder, please refrain from posting the same on different threads in the Community as this is considered spam, and in violation of the Upwork Community Guidelines. If you need further help regarding the same concern, please don't hesitate to update the other thread and I'll assist you further.
Apr 2, 2020 03:48:30 PM Edited Apr 2, 2020 04:39:44 PM by Avery O
I just got scammed today. It was my first proposal ever on this site and it was a scam. Really sad people do this...
Here is their information so you can avoid it.
**edited for Community Guidelines** Is the phone number they have tried calling me on after I blocked them only to hang up once answered.
This is the email they used to contact me with job details **edited for Community Guidelines**
Name used:**edited for Community Guidelines**
They offered to send me a check in which I would buy office supplies with. Once I noticed this was a scam I reported them and they were removed. I told them they are a scam and they denied it multiple times. DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! Never take conversations outside of this platform. I have never used it so I was completely unaware how this worked...so now I know. Do your research, don’t give any information out over google hangouts.
Apr 2, 2020 04:52:26 PM by Avery O
Hi Hunter,
I'm sorry to learn about your experience in Upwork and thank you for sharing this with the Community. I wanted to note that I had to edit your post because we do not allow posting identifying information here in the Community. Just the same, I'm glad to know that you were able to identify the red flag, and reported the client to the team.
Let me know if we can assist you with anything!
Apr 2, 2020 05:17:16 PM by Hunter T
Apr 2, 2020 07:59:37 PM by Avery O
Hi Hunter,
I checked your account and I can see that the Connects have already been refunded to you. You can check your Connects History page by going to your Membership & Connects page (Settings > Membership & Connects), and clicking on the "View Connects History" button.
If you are referring to a different job post, please let me know so that I can look into this further.
Apr 13, 2020 06:35:19 PM by Margaret C
This is a very informative and helpful article, but the suggestion to contact customer support at the end is of no use... you can't ever get to a person, and as a freelancer which is having a cut taken by Upwork, we should have a great source for customer service... forums are great, and expert users are great... but sometimes we want to talk to someone within the company, and that seems to have evaporated. At the very best, it's nearly impossible to find. It's disheartening, because I worked with Upwork years ago, had a great experience - no scams, and readily accessible support (and they answered your messages, which hasn't been the case for me since I've come back to the business), and I recently came back to Upwork to find I don't have that security at all.
Apr 28, 2020 09:56:30 PM by Grehys G
Thanks for writing these tips. I came from reading a message that wrote a client and asked me to send him a copy of my passport and my CV. I'm new on the platform and that was my first offer. I'm going to reject the offer 😞
May 5, 2020 03:18:22 PM by Aladin M
Hi, Yeah this was quite helpful especially for newbies like me who are eagerly trying to land a client.
Aug 3, 2020 04:39:46 PM by Susan O
I wish I'd known all this earlier! I have had two online interviews (Skype) with the exact same language, assessment and "opt out of paid fee."
What has been compromised if this is a scam? They did ask for the name of my bank, but that's all.
Aug 3, 2020 07:14:44 PM by AleksandarD A
Hi Susan,
I'm sorry to hear about that. I checked the jobs you are referring to and it looks like they have already been canceled for violating Upwork TOS. You'll notice that the Message room with the clients has also been archived. Apart from recommending this thread for tips on how to avoid questionable jobs, you may also want to check this help article for information on how to use the flag option to report any inappropriate content.
Thank you.
Aug 8, 2020 01:08:52 PM by Arsalan A
I just kudos ! for this
"Free Work: This happens when you’re asked to submit work before a milestone has been funded, or you’re requested to do the job as a “sample.” If a client requests a sample project it should be paid. Avoid this by never starting work before the official contract start date and the first milestone is funded. This is different than asking for samples of your past work or other questions intended to vet your skills before engaging you."
Nov 25, 2020 04:15:04 AM by James R
A really useful post, thanks.
If you suspect a client is carrying out "free work" on a large scale (small samples to a large number of freelancers) should it be reported? If so, where can it be reported?
Nov 25, 2020 04:26:09 AM Edited Nov 25, 2020 04:26:37 AM by AleksandarD A
Hi James,
You can report any suspicious user activity by following the steps outlined in this help article.
Thank you.
Jan 5, 2021 06:43:16 PM by Cat A
Is this necessary, normal information for a client to ask for via Skype chat? This seems questionable to me, but I'm new to Upwork so I'm not sure.
"This project will be temporary removed as we have found all the applicants needed. I need you to provide me with the list of information below.
Full Name. : This will appear on the employment letter you will be receiving soon.
Home Address: This will appear on the employment letter you will be receiving soon.
Email Address: The employment letter will be sent here, when ready for you to review.
Contact Number : A number you can be reached on if necessary.
I need you to provide me with the information above so HR can draft the employment letter.
Let me give you more information about this project."
Thanks in advance for the help.
Jan 5, 2021 09:02:58 PM by Joanne P
Hi Cat,
Please know that it is not allowed to communicate outside of Upwork before a contract is placed. Taking communications with a freelancer or client off of Upwork before a contract is in place is against our Terms of Service. As a result, your Upwork account will be subject to permanent suspension. You can also check this announcement for more information.
Jan 6, 2021 04:01:10 AM Edited Jan 6, 2021 04:03:25 AM by Cat A
This is so frustrating... I'm just trying to get my first accepted proposal and I feel like I'm hearing two different things. I really wish I had been made aware of that announcement you shared before now. I had no idea. Is that something you could show new members somehow? Would have been really helpful, since this was my very first invitation.
Are you saying that MY Upwork account will be permanently suspended? Or theirs? Shouldn't it be their Upwork account since they're the ones trying to scam??
Thankfully I didn't give them any information and asked them to move our conversation back to the Upwork chat program (which of course they never replied back to and closed the job). Am I supposed to report them or something?
May 25, 2021 04:38:38 PM by Mohammed G
Catrina S wrote:Great post. One final question though that I have which might be a red flag when working with clients: is it normal for clients to interview via apps like Telegram, Google Hangouts, etc.?
This might be obvious to others, but I think some further clarification on it might be helpful to myself and others.
Thank you!
You can read the answer of Joanne Marie above:
Please know that it is not allowed to communicate outside of Upwork before a contract is placed. Taking communications with a freelancer or client off of Upwork before a contract is in place is against our Terms of Service.
May 31, 2021 08:53:37 PM Edited May 31, 2021 10:12:57 PM by Joanne P
Just had 2 offers like this for supposed "Recycling Business". Two different people, same song and dance. Do VA type work, but also purchase recycling equipment as needed via them sending me a check and using my credit card for purchasing. Also wanted to pay me a fixed weekly rate directly, instead of the hourly rate through Upwork. Smfh.