Upwork Scam and Lack of Mediation: Is Upwork Complicit?

[#1]

I want to update my case regarding a scam I suffered on Upwork at the hands of a freelancer named **Edited for community guidelines**, who asked me for advance payments to do a job that he never delivered. After I started a dispute, Upwork opened a mediation between us. However, to my surprise, they replied that they cannot help me, claiming that the job I assigned was related to an account hack, which is absolutely false.

The job was for the freelancer, a supposed social media support expert, to contact the Instagram support team on my behalf. I have seen that there are many profiles here on Upwork offering exactly these kinds of services, which leads me to wonder: If this violates Upwork's rules, how come they allow these freelancers to offer their services without warning users about this risk?

I am attaching a screenshot where you can see how many profiles on Upwork offer similar services.

If they really violate the platform's rules, why don't they make it clear to clients before hiring them? This leads me to wonder if someone within Upwork could be connected to these scam cases, allowing these freelancers to continue operating with total freedom.

I also paid for a plus hiring service, trusting that I would have greater security and support when using this option, but it has been completely useless. The lack of action and transparency on the part of Upwork makes me seriously question the protection they offer to both clients and freelancers.

I am attaching screenshots of several Upwork profiles offering these services as proof that this is a common practice on the platform. If they really violate Upwork's rules, why don't they make it clear to clients before hiring them? This leads me to wonder if someone within Upwork could be involved in these scams, allowing these freelancers to continue operating freely.

I want to alert the community to be careful with these types of services and, to the Upwork team, I demand that they review and improve their policies and protection systems to prevent more users from falling victim to this type of fraud.

If anyone else has had a similar experience or has suggestions on how to proceed, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you for your time,
**Edited for community guidelines**

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Solution thanks support team upwork