Freelancer paying to get payment?

[1364cb87]

SOS HELP Greetings, I am new and I took a Data Entry job with a company called ATYPON, I completed the required work and was asked to join a Universal bank system, which I looked up and it appeared to be real. However, upon seeing the payment in my new bank account, I was told I would need to provide the fees to transfer funds out of escrow to be released for $250 which would be refunded. I did the fee release. HOWEVER, now they are saying I need to pay additional fee to release to my bank account to complete the transaction. I'm feeling defeated. HELP.

[spectralua]

You have violated ToS.

It is scam but not a job.

Read rules before you scammed or banned.

[prestonhunter]

re: "I'm feeling defeated"

You are NOT defeated!

You made a mistake, and you learned from your mistake.

This experience is now in your past.

And you have new knowledge and power which will help you move forward into the future.

I am certain that you will never again make this same mistake.

[ArjayM · Accepted solution]

Hi Victoria,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting this. I'm sorry to learn about this disappointing experience. Please be reminded that a real clients will never ask you to give them money to start working, cash a check for them, work for free, or provide your personal information.

I have shared your report to the appropriate team for further review. Rest assured that they will look into this and take action accordingly if necessary.

I also want to let you know that sharing contact information before a contract has started is against Upwork's Terms of Service and that all communications before the contract start must take place on Upwork. We also encourage you to let us know if you find anything suspicious has happened by using the Flag as Inappropriate option throughout the platform. You can learn more about user reporting here.

We suggest you check this help article and this thread for more information on how to stay safe on Upwork.

[1364cb87]

To be transparent I did not give out any PII until after the work was completed that was tasked to perform. Neither did the "company" ask of any PII prior to work performed. It was AFTER completion of "scam assignment" when I learned that it was in fact a scam as they proceeded to ask for payment information. 

[gudariak]

These people are back. They have a new account, from November 1st, and asked me to contact them on Telegram. Upwork should ban them.

[1364cb87]

Thanks everyone, A. HARD LESSON LEARNED, just because the client maybe approved by Upwork doesn't mean they are legit. I'll be doing tons of research before taking any more copyright freelance jobs. 

[40716f41]

I'm also new here and I rendered my services to ALPHASURE TOTAL, completing the tasked given. And now they said the their payment is Pending, and I have to pay for a Linking Fee amounted to $50 which is refundable to be able to receive their payment..What a horrible experience from the 1st client..I hope Upwork can screen this clients who really can't afford to pay for their job offer..

[ReaGretchelL]

Hi MARIA,

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding this concern. I am sorry to hear about your experience with the client. 

I took the liberty of checking into your account and would like to know more about this issue so I can assist you further. 

Could you please click on my name and share more information via PM?

[852b7846]

Unfortunately I experienced the same fraud situation tonight. I got a translation document writing job from English to Turkish. The company name is ATYPON. I handed in the job on time. Then they said to me I need to send them 100 USD so that they can create my company ID. It was such a waste of time for me to handle this translation job for nothing at the end. If you hear the name ATYPON, you should think hundread times before moving on the next step.

[7031efca]

Hi dear,

Were you able to flag this company as scam?

I also finished a project for them and i had received a contract from them.

After informed that my project had been aproved they requested me to send 100$ to open id member to send me the payment.

I did not send the payment and informed them i would complain. Immediataly my project  was refused in system and now i am not finding at all this company to fleg them as scam.