PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Bad actors pose as reputable employers, and websites present themselves as reliable platforms for finding freelance work. Even if their target isn’t defrauded by a fake employer, it still costs them money.
The WPTV investigative team asked a company what it was doing to protect paying consumers for its website.
A in Palm Beach Gardens said she avoided a potential scammer, but still felt scammed.
“I tell my kids, ‘Don’t worry about what you’re going to do when you’re older, because I still don’t know what I’m going to have to do when I’m older,'” Paula Ehmer said.
Ehmer spoke to WPTV as she embarked on a new stage in her vast career, in which she spent time as an X-ray technician, IT consultant, salesperson, and science teacher.
“I should paint more part-time and do things that allow me more freedom,” Ehmer said.
He created a profile on the popular freelance site Upwork, where freelancers pay to bid on tasks posted through potential clients. They can’t see visitors’ names, only whether or not they’ve been “verified” through Upwork.
Ehmer discovered a booth with a verified consumer who thought it would be a smart choice, made an offer, and was thrilled to hear it. Immediately, he said the consumer asked him to remove the verbal exchange from Upwork and move it to Microsoft Teams, a violation of Upwork’s terms of service.
“I didn’t think it was uncommon because I had noticed it in some other assignment before it was published,” Ehmer said.
But you discovered some questions in the task request and added an area to provide your banking information. Ehmer said he typed “available to hire” and was later told he had been assigned the task.
It was then that the visitor sent them an invoice to buy a MacBook, a printer and other equipment; as well as the symbol of a check that will be issued and deposited in his bank account, supposedly to pay for the equipment.
That’s when Ehmer learned she was probably being scammed.
In an emailed response to WPTV’s questions, an Upwork spokesperson said the company has a “zero-tolerance policy” for fake ads.
“Upwork conducts payment checks in accordance with industry criteria and hazards that would possibly cause more complex identity verification,” the spokesperson wrote.
According to Jason Kent, a resident hacker who helps corporations in cybersecurity, what’s happening on Upwork is quite popular in the tech industry. He said bad actors are increasingly looking for people to target on all kinds of paid platforms.
“It puts a little stamp on you,” Kent said. You’re on this platform that everyone is on, but you’re not just anyone who can be here. You have to take out a Mastercard. “
Kent said it’s possible to vet users before they post fake gigs; It’s expensive and time-consuming.
“Basically, you just have to take a look at mountains of transactions and see where the trends are. You can see pretty easily when a bad actor is involved,” Kent said. “A lot of those organizations say, ‘Well, I need to have numbers. I need to have as many other people on the platform as possible, so that the numbers look good. He came to Twitter very early. It came to Facebook early on. Like everyone has this kind of problem with fake accounts, and I was just looking. where the market is.
“Trust and security are Upwork’s most sensible priority,” the spokesperson said. “We invest a significant amount of committed resources in our product, engineering and operations groups to proactively detect potential scams and prevent them from reaching our customers. “
Upwork’s spokesperson said it would refund users who bid on fake projects.
Ehmer said he reported the concert but did not receive a refund. In fact, according to her, she said she had violated the terms of service by communicating with Upwork’s outdoor consumer before signing a contract with him.
“This lowers my confidence, so I’m going to go ahead and probably delete my entire profile on Upwork,” Ehmer said.