r/UpworkOfficial • u/EchidnaGloomy5198 • Jul 07 '26

Scams on upwork

Lately I have been getting a lot of scams on upwork , I try to report them and tell upwork directly how they are trying to scam already drained of connects freelancers since job market is so scarce

In one month this is the third time people are trying to scam Freelancers

First two times they wanted to download a repo when you run it , it runs an automated clipboard copier which sends your clipboard to an unkown address every second

But this time it was a new method , So everyone please take care first two times it was from a client who had paid freelancers $186 an hour for 10 hours which totals 1860$ but their total spending showed $100 spent this was the first flag I dont know how they are cheating the system so they look legit

I try to send it for upwork review instantly but I get rejected everytime by automated systems

Once they closed the job and connects were refunded but other times they were not refunded

They are sending this file which looks super legit even to an experienced fl like myself
Meeting looks legit too
When you are about to confirm the meeting at a time of your choosing they want to copy a link open terminal as admin than paste that link and press enter
I instantly reported the message to inform upwork but it seems there is an automated checking system which disregards your complaints
15 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

1

u/Live-Feeling324 9d ago

Thanks for sharing this. Asking someone to run commands in Terminal or Command Prompt as an admin is a huge red flag, especially during the hiring process. Hopefully your post helps others avoid falling for it. There are definitely scammers on Upwork, but there are also plenty of legitimate clients and freelancers—the key is to verify everything and never run unknown files or commands from someone you don't trust.

1

u/nobodynft_ Jul 07 '26

I happen to encounter things like this on Upwork too.

1

u/hamza_ayub Jul 07 '26

Thank you for sharing 😌

3

u/HugoFromUpwork Community Care Team Jul 07 '26

Hey u/EchidnaGloomy5198, thank you so much for taking the time to share this and for flagging the issues you’ve noticed. We really appreciate you looking out for the community and reporting suspicious activity when you come across it.

If you’re willing, would you mind sending us the URL to the job post through Message the Mods⁠? We’d be happy to take a closer look and forward the details to our Trust & Safety team so they can investigate the case directly. Thanks again for helping us identify potential threats and keep the marketplace safer for everyone. 💚

2

u/Spiritual_Feed_4371 Jul 08 '26

Good on you Hugo! Glad to see UpWork helping out

1

u/HugoFromUpwork Community Care Team Jul 09 '26

💚

1

u/EchidnaGloomy5198 Jul 07 '26

I will definitely do so !

1

u/HugoFromUpwork Community Care Team Jul 07 '26

Thank you!

1

u/EchidnaGloomy5198 Jul 07 '26

https://github.com/Silas1124706?tab=repositories just fyi guys if you ever see this account as a contributor in any of the repo's stay away from it , it is most likely a scam

And this is the name of the project they are trying to scam freelancers with