I’m here to vent a little—this is my first time posting. I’m a product photographer based in China, though I occasionally take on other tasks, such as helping clients set up social media accounts within China. A few days ago, I took on a client whose project required making payments in China. Initially, the job involved organizing payment documentation, but later, the client asked me to assist in paying other technical staff located in China. I had never encountered this type of work before, but since a job offer was on the table—and naturally, I wanted to earn the money—I didn't give it much thought and simply asked the client to send over the requirements. The client explained that they would transfer funds to me via Upwork; I would then convert that amount into my local currency (RMB) and pay the technical staff. At first, I honestly didn't spot anything amiss—especially since I could see that the client had already initiated the payment. However, what raised my suspicions was their insistence that I make the payment to the Chinese technical staff *immediately*. I wasn't sure how fixed-sum payments worked within an hourly contract framework—specifically, whether the funds were truly available to me yet—so, fearing a scam, I told the client I needed to verify the details before proceeding with the payment. I reached out to Upwork’s AI support assistant, who informed me that this type of scenario is highly likely to be a scam. Furthermore, by the time this chat was taking place, it was already approaching 1:00 AM where I live. I told the client to provide me with the contact details for the Chinese technical staff, promising to verify everything and make the payment the following day. By this point, I felt there was a very high probability that this was a scam. However, what kept me second-guessing was the fact that my account clearly showed those few hundred dollars listed in a "pending" status. Since the vast majority of my previous work had been via fixed-price contracts—where funds typically remain in a "pending" state for six days after contract completion—I assumed that the client had indeed paid the money. I truly didn't realize it was a scam at the time. Sure enough, the very next day, my account was suspended. I felt deeply wronged. I appealed to Upwork’s Trust & Safety team and provided them with the entire chat log between myself and the client. However, their stance seemed to be that I *was* aware it was a scam, yet I proceeded to actively cooperate with the client in committing fraud. This feeling of being distrusted is deeply upsetting to me. Freelancing on Upwork is one of my primary sources of income. I intend to continue using the platform, but from now on, I will make a concerted effort to promote my work across multiple channels rather than confining myself solely to this one platform. I wanted to share this experience in the hope that others might avoid falling victim to similar scams. My English proficiency is limited, so the text above was composed using translation software; please kindly overlook any inaccuracies.
