Potential Scammer?

[92dc61d4]

Hello! So I'm new to upwork and recently got a job offer to do content writing. The dude said to contact his secretary on telegram and so I did. She gave me a pdf about a report on Climate Change and stuff. The task was to write 5 articles each 1000 words within 3 days on which I'd be paid 2000$ plus a bonus of about 300$ which would be paid via a bank transfer. Now idk if this is legit or not and I recently read that you ideally should be given a contract and paid via upwork itself but even when I asked they assured me that I'd be paid and showed screen shots of others being paid. The guy has a verified payment method and has gotten over 100+ proposals for that job. Idk if it's a scam or not. Please help me!

[rishahb]

Hey Jeet,

It is important to exercise caution when receiving job offers on Upwork. While the job offer you received may be legitimate, there are also many scams out there that can be difficult to spot.

In this case, the offer you received seems suspicious for a few reasons. First, the fact that you were asked to contact the employer's secretary on Telegram instead of communicating through Upwork is a red flag. Additionally, the task of writing five 1000-word articles in just three days for a payment of $2000 plus a bonus of $300 seems too good to be true. It is also concerning that the employer did not provide you with a contract or offer to pay you through Upwork's payment system. While it is possible to receive payment outside of Upwork, it is generally safer to use the platform's payment system to ensure that you are protected in case of any disputes. 

If you are unsure about the legitimacy of the job offer, it may be best to err on the side of caution and decline the offer. Alternatively, you could try to negotiate a contract and payment through Upwork's system before accepting the job. 

Remember to always be cautious when accepting job offers and to thoroughly research the employer before agreeing to work with them.

Hope this help you in this and also be caution while making any proposal and accepting any job. Offers too good to be true are always red flag because everyone wants to save the money that's why they are here finding freelancer instead of hiring an full time guy.