Working outside of Upwork

[85ae5a8d]

Hello, 

Currently new to Upwork and I wanted to know, I had about 3 clientes that message me about the proposals and they suggested to go to Telegram, two got deleted after a few miuted along with the message and I did not go, but there was a third one and I tough, lets see what this is about, she asked me to work outside upwork and I said I would stick to the rules and not work without a contract, she asked me do so and that she would pay me trought Upwork, I told her that sorry but not without a contract again. So I was wondering since im new to this, is that ok to accept something like that as long as they pay in here or still no good? I just went be what seemed like the right thing to do. 

Thanks!

[anna_babicheva]

Your initial pre-contract conversations should always stay on UW. And I can not emphasize this enough > N E V E R talk to anyone on telegram or other messengers. It is a scam. 

There is a mere possibility, that your client is new to UW and doesn't know the rules. It's up to you to determine that and politely communicate, that you CAN NOT go outside of UW. If the client is genuine, they will understand and open a contract with you on UW. 

After the contract is opened, you can switch to whatever method of communication the client desires. And needless to say, you can only accept payments through UW. 

Please read ToS and millions of posts here in the community.

We're here to support each other, but it can be very draining if people ask the same questions repeatedly. 

[pgiambalvo]

No, they are scams. Hopefully now that you've applied to them, you will be able to recognize them in the future and not waste your time. As you have already seen, there are many scams posted here every day.

[85ae5a8d]

Thanks so much, I sure will! Glad I did the right thing! 

[yofazza · Accepted solution]

Hey you should read this before doing anything else:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Community-Blog/Top-Red-Flags-for-Scams-From-Community-Member-Wes-C/b...

The link is back on some sidebar I see.

[85ae5a8d]

Thank you so much, this was a great help to me, I will keep all of this in mind and save it.