Two con artists in one day

[Michael E]

**Edited for community guidelines** listings are scams.

[Bojan S]

Hi Kaila,

Thank you for flagging this to us. I was able to gather more valuable information from your report and will update our team with it to help their investigation.

Please check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs and do use the flag option found on each job post anytime you suspect.

Thank you.

[Michael E]

I don't see an option for flagging a posting after submitting a proposal. One of the listings is still active:

**Edited for community guidelines**

[Bojan S]

Hi William Michael,

I just checked the job you are referring to and it has already been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork ToS and action has been taken on the client account. 

Thank you.

[Joan S]

William - Well, to each his own. Upwork has been great for me.

[Petra R]

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William Michael E wrote:

I used Elance for many years and lost all my work history and ratings when Elance and Odesk merged.

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You had a very long time to migrate your entire Elance history over to Upwork. They didn't merge and then delete your history, you know?

That dumb check scam (which oly works with US based freelancers) is one of the oldest on the web, it is 12 ++ years since I have first seen it and it is all over the entire Internet.  Basically the scammer send you a fake check and then ask you to buy your home office stuff from their "trusted supplier" (the scammer themselves) - a few days later the check (obviously) bounces and the money is gone. On average around $ 3000 

The second someone says "Google Hangout" you know it's not real.nThe second someone wants to send you a check - it's a scam.

Real businesses do not send real checks to random strangers on the Internet.

[Perry P]

Mike,

You keep bringing up eLance and oDesk and how they done you wrong...it kinda sounds like you have an ax to grind about them, and your frustration with Upwork is mostly sour grapes.

As a professional writer, you update your resume regularly with new jobs, right? Just add that to your profile!

I've gotten a couple of hits from scammers, it sucks, but I've also tripled my writing income since joining Upwork this last Spring.

In the words of the great Disney princess... "Let it go..."

 

[Michael E]

Excuse me? I never said anything negative about Elance and I never used oDesk. I believe I said Upwork is the only freelance site where I receive invitations from con artists. That remains true.

Congratulations on your success with Upwork. 

[Andrei T]

Hello, 

I'm curious about the actual nature of the scam. What was the stake for the victim/scammer and also maybe you could mention something about the mode of operation. 

Thanks!

[Michael E]

I believe it is a check fraud scheme.