Upwork Client Wants Telegram? Feel Free To Say No To That.
It’s cliche but true: better to be safe than sorry.
I’ve been an active LinkedIn user since the year started. In a span of 3 months, I went from 0 to 500+ followers (516 as of writing this!).
And if there’s one thing I see on my feed at least once a week, it’s a saddening post from a freelancer getting scammed on Upwork.
Don’t get me wrong. Upwork is an amazing freelance marketplace especially for newbies who want to try out the path to self-employment. But there’s a major problem nowadays and that’s the rise of scammers in the platform.
Luckily, said freelancer was smart enough to pass on giving away their personal information and reported the scammer client on Upwork. But also, scammer client posted another scam project.
When does it stop?
There’s only so much customer support can do to stop these scams, so as freelancers let’s stay vigilant and proactive. You don’t have to move mountains, don’t worry. Just keep the below in mind.
4 things to remember so you’ll never get scammed on Upwork:
Keep your account to yourself.
Don’t even think about sharing it to your closest friend.
Your account, your territory.
As a small-time freelancing coach, I never ask my coachees to give me their login credentials. Even if having access to that means I can optimize their profiles quicker.
That’s because your details are private and personal.
If someone else gets a hold of your credentials, they will have access to everything you agreed to share with Upwork — your name, address, and your earnings. Worse, you’ll lose the feedback you worked so hard on getting.
Only use Upwork Messages.
Whatever your opinion is on the user interface, set that aside. Please, please only use Upwork messages.
Client is begging you to connect via Telegram? Feel free to say NO.
A lot of clients nowadays try their luck in migrating communication to their preferred apps. And the most popular one being Telegram.
Understandably, they’re the client so you might feel inclined to give in so you can score the project and make them happy. After all, happy client equals 5-star rating.
But in the event you get scammed, support can only resolve the issue if they have a record of your communication.
If you talk to your client outside Upwork and you get scammed, they have no official records of your communication. Which clearly puts you on a bad spot.
Never accept payments outside the platform.
Just no.
Even if it means Upwork takes a percentage from your earnings.
When a client offers to pay you via PayPal, Stripe, crypto, or whatever method they prefer, take it as a red flag. Payments outside Upwork means no payment protection.
The temptation is so strong when it comes to accepting payments outside Upwork. I think we can all agree that the 10% fee is a huge dent to each project we work on. But trust me, the fee is there for a reason.
If you suddenly find out your client is a scammer, there’s no easy way for you to get your money back if you get paid outside Upwork.
Decline work that requires a fee to apply.
I mean, what client would do that right?
If they want you to pay a fee so that you can apply for the job they posted, toss that opportunity in the trash!
Only spend your ‘connects’, never ever your money.
Your Upwork connects exist because you’re supposed to use them to send proposals to clients. Which also means you’ve already spent some currency to apply to a job posting.
I once had a freelancer friend tell me that they applied for a job on Upwork and the client asked for their e-mail address. Turns out, the (scammer) client sent my friend an invoice of $234 USD which she had to pay before they can proceed with the application.
I was like, “girl, no.”
So my dear freelancer, it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s cliche but it’s true!
Remember to protect yourself because freelancing is a business.
And just like any other business, you don’t want to deal with sketchy clients and crappy deals.
No matter where you’re freelancing, always stay vigilant and look out for yourself.
If you enjoyed this, I think you’ll love this story on the 5 Ways To Avoid Freelance Writing For Academic Deceit. I wrote this one with my freelance writer friends in mind. We all work hard to earn money and get better in what we do, but that doesn’t mean we have to turn into low-quality freelancers with questionable values.
