email <hiring manager>

[cyndi-green]

Hi everyone!

I am new to Upwork, but I have been submitting proposals pretty regular. However, I received a message about submitting a proposal and then was told to email the hiring manager at a company. I did a search of the company and there is a website and it looks legit. But how do I truly know if it is legit. The client is new with 1 open job, 1 job offer, 6 interviews and 10 to 15 proposals. It could be the client is new to Upwork, but so am I and I really do not have time or money to be scammed. Any suggestions? I thought about reporting the job, but if it is legit, I didn't want to lose a chance to make money. Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions. 🙂

[feed_my_eyes · Accepted solution]

If they used the term "hiring manager" then it's probably a scam. Scammers use fake names and say that they're from well-known companies just to trick you, so Googling them won't help. The real giveaway is that they'll say they want to send you a cheque to "purchase equipment". Accepting any payments off of Upwork is against the terms of service and can get your account banned, so as long as you refuse to go along with this, you'll be able to avoid this particular scam.

Go ahead and use the "flag as inappropriate" link on the job page, and don't worry if there's a [very slim] chance of being wrong; let Upwork investigate it and take appropriate action.

[cyndi-green]

I knew that getting paid outside of Upwork is a no-no, and it actually hasn't gotten to that point. I was just hoping to get a lucrative and legit job offer. 

[AleksandarD]

Hi Cyndi,

I checked the job post you were referring to and it seems that it's already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork ToS and action has been taken on the client account. 

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.

Thank you.

[cyndi-green]

Thank you! After reading the previous reply, I removed my proposal and reported that job offer. Seems I am getting slammed with scammers. 

[martina_plaschka]

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Cyndi G wrote:

Thank you! After reading the previous reply, I removed my proposal and reported that job offer. Seems I am getting slammed with scammers. 

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You are in the US, so you will be until you have a good upwork history and they will assume that you will not fall for it. They use words/terms to gain your confidence, making you believe it's longterm "employment", and because you are so unique, want to purchase equipment for you to the tune of 4K USD. Good for you recognising it so early.