Upwork

I hired a freelancer through Upwork to manage my Google Ads. Instead of improving my campaigns, they created fraudulent $25,000/day campaigns for an unrelated product and website. Google flagged the activity as fraudulent, suspended my Ads account, and I lost both money and valuable campaign time. I provided Upwork with Google Ads logs, Google's own support emails, and WordPress login records showing the same account was behind it. Despite overwhelming proof, Upwork dismissed the case as "no violation" and closed it. Here's the reality: A freelancer can abuse access and cost a client thousands. Upwork's Trust & Safety team will look the other way. The client is left exposed with no accountability from Upwork. Upwork claims to be a safe platform. My experience shows the opposite: zero protection for clients, zero accountability for abuse.

I had been using Upwork as a freelancer and went through their identity verification process. I provided documents (driver ID and bank bills), but instead of requesting additional documents or clarifications, Upwork permanently suspended my account. I later submitted more documents (including bank statements from multiple banks and proof of residence), but by then my account was already closed. Since then, I only receive automated responses and no real opportunity to resolve the issue. This feels very unfair — freelancers should at least be given a proper chance to provide additional documentation before being permanently banned. Losing access to my account also means losing access to clients and pending funds. I hope Upwork improves its verification process and gives freelancers a fairer opportunity to resolve issues instead of closing accounts without recourse.

Stay away. Absolutely horrible experience. Upwork seller disappeared with money and upwork refused to closer Fraudulent seller account. Obviously, covering fraud.

Scammer Freelancer from Upwork! Several months ago, our employee contracted a freelancer named Anam Karim from the United Arab Emirates. In our communications with this freelancer, it was clearly stated that she was publishing a media article about one of our company's technologies. After one publication by this freelancer, the media platform's author deleted it due to unprofessional writing. The freelancer claimed it was beyond her control, but misappropriated the money transferred to her as a deposit. She then began claiming she had completed her work. We have retained all correspondence! BE CAREFUL when working with UPWORK freelancers! The Upwork support team apologized for the inconvenience and THAT'S IT!

Upwork's Verification Team confirmed my identity on June 9,2024 (Case #******* — Solved). Two days later I was permanently suspended for "inability to verify identity." I pointed this contradiction out in every appeal. The response was always the same: decision is final, we won't respond further. I never received an explanation of what I actually did wrong. The original flag was "irregular activity" — not a named TOS violation. After years of no access I created a second account, earned the Rising Star badge proving my legitimacy, and was banned again for duplicate account. 8+ appeals. Emails to Hayden Brown, Anthony Kappus, Brian Levey — all ignored. I've written the full documented story here: https://medium.com/@abuzarmirza918/upwork-verified-my-identity-then-permanently-banned-me-for-being-unverifiable-c7732d9126e0 — Case refs: #*******, #*******, #*******

I hired a freelancer on Upwork to develop a custom dashboard for my company (contract no. *******). The total project cost was $255, fully paid through the platform. The freelancer missed every deadline, failed to deliver what was agreed, and even closed the contract without my approval. I provided all the evidence — including the contract, messages, and specific sections clearly describing the required scope — yet Upwork took no effective action. The mediation process was completely useless. The mediator only forwarded messages between us without any real analysis or decision. After weeks of waiting, Upwork's "solution" was to ask me to pay $337.50 to move the case to arbitration — the freelancer would need to pay the same amount. The most absurd part is that if I paid and the freelancer didn't, the case would be closed and I still wouldn't get my money back, even though I was clearly scammed. In other words, Upwork left me completely unprotected, transferring all the risk and cost of the dispute to the client, despite the obvious breach of contract by the freelancer. I paid, didn't receive the service, wasted time, and the platform provided no fair resolution. Upwork urgently needs to rethink its mediation and client protection system, because right now the customer pays the price for the platform's inaction. I request that Upwork review my case and issue a full refund of $255, ensuring that situations like this don't happen to other users. I couldn't attach screenshots because the platforms only accept images up to 300x300 pixels, which makes them unreadable. The resolution limit prevents uploading visible or legible proof.

I had been gaining traction on other platforms and decided to get started with Upwork. I purchased connects and paid for their ID verification. I purchased more connects and was able to interview for a couple of roles that were available that suited my expertise. I then randomly had my account suspended. I appealed and asked for information about what exactly I did that was in violation, I received no response. I went through with the verification process again, this time I was told that the utility bill I uploaded for ID verification was "edited." It certainly wasn't edited. I left the whole document unredacted in fact, even though I don't trust anyone(not even a large tech company) with my PII. When i wrote them back explaining that they needed to accept the document as it was unedited they permanently suspended my account. And told me that they cannot reverse the decision. This smells like a total scam to me. Get people to purchase credits over and over again and then boot them with no recourse. Don't waste your time. If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.

I never thought I'd say this after years of loyalty — but Upwork has completely lost its integrity. After years of hard work, 5-star reviews, verified clients, and constant dedication, my account was suspended overnight — with no proper explanation, no warning, and no human support. What's worse is the cold, robotic responses I received. The same copy-paste replies again and again, no one even bothered to check my record or respond with basic respect. It's absolutely shameful how Upwork treats the very freelancers who built this platform. People pour their time, skills, and careers into this site, trusting it as a fair platform — but it turns out freelancers are treated as disposable. If you're a freelancer relying on Upwork, be careful. You could wake up one day to find your account gone — your income, reputation, and years of effort vanished without reason or accountability. This isn't just unfair — it's unethical. Upwork should be held responsible for how it's destroying careers in silence while pretending to "support freelancers." Enough is enough. Freelancers deserve transparency, real communication, and respect — not automated replies and sudden bans. #Upwork #FreelancersDeserveBetter #UnfairSuspension #UpworkScam #FreelancerRights #StopUnfairBans