**Edited**

[#1]

Dear Upwork community,

I wanted to share my recent experience with a scam that I encountered on Upwork. The job was titled "**Edited for Community Guidelines**" and the client asked me to send money to a Payoneer account. I became suspicious and decided not to go through with the transaction.

What was even more concerning was that the client's Upwork account was initially suspended, but was later restored. This made me wonder if other freelancers had fallen victim to this scam and if the client was able to continue their fraudulent activities.

I wanted to ask the community for advice on how to figure out the status of the transaction. Is there a way to report this incident to Upwork? Are there any other actions that I should take to protect myself and other freelancers on the platform?

It's important for us as a community to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities to prevent fraud and protect ourselves and others. Thank you for your input and support

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[#2]

Hi Sarthak,

I'm sorry to learn about this disappointing experience and we truly appreciate you reporting this to us. Please note that 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. 

With that said, I've shared your report with our Trust & Safety team for further review. They will surely look closer into this and take action accordingly if necessary.

We encourage you to let us know if you find anything suspicious has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here. You may also want to check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork. 

[#3]

How do I understand the status of a current transaction?

[#4]

Hi Sarthak,

Since the payment was processed outside the platform, we suggest you contact Payoneer or your bank to check on the status of the transaction. They will definitely look into that for you.

[#5]

No no. He paid me on Upwork and the payement has appeared on my transaction history. I want to know whether the payement has been processed i.e whether the client has been charged. If so, there's nothing to worry. If not, I am surely scammed

[#6]

Hi Sarthak,

Thank you for your message. I checked the job you are referring to and noticed that the client account has been sanctioned for Upwork's TOS violation. The payment will be released to if we are able to charge the client's card successfully. You can check the status of your earnings on the Report page. 

Thank you,

Pradeep

[#7]

By when can I know whether the client's payement method has been charged sucessfully? Because the payement is already showing up in my transaaction history as pending.

[#8]

You will know for sure within week-two.

[#9]

But I need to know right away as I have already done the job. If the payement doesn't get through Upwork, I need to talk to Payoneer or take some legal action as I will be looking at huge losses otherwise.

[#10]

Hi Sarthak,

We certainly understand that you really need the funds and how you want this resolved immediately. Please note that your earnings will show as pending on your Transaction History while payments are in the review and security periods. The date that the funds will be available for withdrawal is shown in the Date column on the left-hand side of the report.

I can also see that you've already raised a support ticket regarding your concern. You can access your support tickets here. Note that support requests are responded to in the order they are received. Kindly allow 24-48 hours for the team to follow up with you and assist you further. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while sorting this out for you. Thank you!