Potential risk with the content of this message?

[#1]

I can't believe how frustrating my experience on upwork has been so far. I composed a messag to a freelancer which includes a number of details related to the job but now the message has been replaced by "Upwork has detected a potential risk with the content of this message." That's it. No explanation what the threat might be. No hint as to what I should do. And, most frustratingly: I cannot access or edit the message. Which means I have to compose the entire message again...

And now I just spent 15v minutes trying to find a way of contacting support to get this issue sorted out, but there is simply no email address, not even a web-form that would allow me to contact support. All I can find is this forum. Am I missing something, or is that just how upwork (doesn't) work?

Could someone please explain to me how I can get access to my message and perhaps why the message is seen as a potential threat?

Thanks in advance!

Christoph

[#2]

Hi Christoph,

Thank you for your message. I am sorry to hear about your experience. When you post, messages and attachments are auto-scanned for viruses and other malware. Any messages with a possible risk of malware or malicious links will be removed immediately to protect our users. Check out this help page for more information. We are unable to retrieve the removed message but you resend the message by removing the links or attachments included in your message. 

A quick way to contact support is by clicking the "Get Support" button that shows at the bottom right corner of this page. You may be asked what type of account you need help with, please select the best option for your situation. If you don't receive the information you're looking for, you can click "Get Support" for more options, including contacting our support team. We'll also be happy to assist you with your issues here if you need further assistance.

Thank you,

Pradeep

[#3]

Thank you, Pradeep for getting back to me. However, I have not sent any malware or malicious link so if your system removed it because of that, your system is broken. The link I included in the message was a link to a folder that contrained three files: an MP4 file, a WAV file, and a text file. Is it even possible to send malware in an MP4 or wav file? Certainly not in a txt-file. 

I don't understand how you can let a faulty system completely delete messages beween freelancers and their clients. Ever heard of quarantaining suspicious files?

On the page about  "Trust, safety, and security" to which you sent me a link, I cannot find any information about why my message has been deleted.

As for the Get Support button: I tried that and made the accquaintance of the worst support chat-bot ever. It gave completely non-sensical answers that weren't even close to the topic I was asking about. So thank you for that hint, but no thank you. When I say: contact support I mean: contact someone who can actually provide support.

[#4]

Hi Christoph,

Thank you very much for following up. I've shared the details of your concern with the Customer Support team and one of their members will be contacting you via a support ticket to assist you further.

[#5]

Same problem just happened with me. I am frustrated to see entire messages deleted overnight out of blue. 

The profile of the freelancer is no longer available too. 

Please advise how I can get the urgent work done. How will the payment be done?

[#6]

I exactly had the same experience right now. The long message with all the important details disappeared. Its very very frustrating.