Review Time
As a freelancer on this platform, there seems to be a lot fewer genuine clients than in the past, as a client the quality of the freelancers seem to vary a lot so you need to do a thorough vetting before hiring
“Hello Upwork team. You people are thieves. You steal people’s money. As soon as the amount comes into the account, you block the account. You do not listen to any appeal; all appeals are rejected without any reason. Then you withdraw the money yourselves. I am willing to provide any necessary proof or documentation related to this matter upon request.
My experience on Upwork has been overwhelmingly positive. What struck me most was the system's transparency and the diversity of opportunities available internationally. No matter where you're from, if you're skilled, organized, and persistent, you can truly find assignments suited to your level.
The platform emphasizes professionalism: detailed profiles, client reviews, payment protection, contract tracking… Everything is structured to foster trust between freelancers and clients. It's an environment that encourages continuous improvement and the development of strong work discipline.
In my opinion, its strengths lie in the payment security, global visibility, and the opportunity to build a solid, long-term reputation. Upwork isn't just a job site; it's a true ecosystem for building a sustainable freelance career.
I hired Octaloop Technologies for an AI project with a clear, signed "Definition of Done" requiring 85%–95% accuracy. After 1.5 years and two separate contract scopes, the agency not only failed but the product actually regressed from 70% accuracy to a non-functional 10%–15%.
The Agency (Octaloop):
Contractual Breach: They officially admitted that reaching the milestones they signed for is "not feasible".
Payment Extortion: Despite our agreement stating payments are due after milestones, they held my project hostage and demanded $4,000 upfront to continue.
Incompetence: I provided a massive dataset of 2,000+ drawings, yet they could not deliver basic functions like window/door editing (Task #7).
Manipulation: They pressured me to close the first contract to "protect their metrics," a clear tactic to hide their inability to finish the work.
The Platform:
I am deeply disappointed that the platform refused a refund despite clear evidence of a material breach of a signed contract. By failing to intervene when an agency admits they cannot deliver what they were paid for, the platform is protecting bad actors rather than honest clients.
Summary: Octaloop focuses on high-quality front-ends to hide the fact that their back-end AI is a "joke" and does not work. If you have a complex project, stay away—they will take your money, miss their targets, and demand more to fix their own mistakes.
I spent a month going through the verification process, only to have my account blocked in the end. I failed the identity verification despite submitting different documents three times, including utility bills and other requested paperwork. I even purchased Connects, and shortly after that, my account was blocked.
As a result, I permanently lost access to my account.
Based on my experience, I wouldn’t recommend this platform to beginners. It seems they are primarily interested in highly experienced specialists. In my opinion, it’s very difficult to get started there, so new users should carefully consider whether it’s worth their time and money.
I used Upwork when it first started as another company. I left tons of connects behind as the jobs posted are really junk jobs and they charge 20 percent of the fee collected. Not worth the time but there is even a fee now to leave the platform so I stay on not using my connects and never bidding on any jobs.
It's also clumsy as you must stay on the platform for all communication. I just don't have the time to use this platform nor will I pay a fee to leave. It's abominable.
We are currently going through the most difficult period of our lives, watching everything we have built and sacrificed for crumble right before our eyes.
We are a group of young people with big dreams. Our goal has always been to create better opportunities for others. We started our journey in 2020, and since then, we have helped many people change their lives for the better. Our dreams grew until we set a goal to help employ one million people—a mission that requires us to establish a formal company. When we approached companies for projects to create more jobs, they rejected us because we lacked a proven track record.
We searched for solutions until we found Upwork—a trusted, global platform where a freelancer’s history is transparent and verified. We began our journey there, helping many find work, completing over 1,000 hours, and building a portfolio worth approximately $60,000. We were preparing to finalize our company’s legal paperwork using this record by the start of 2026. However, at the end of 2025, we woke up to a nightmare that still haunts us: our account was permanently closed.
We were shocked. We operated exclusively through the platform and never attempted to bypass it, even though doing so would have saved us the 5% fee. Now, we are watching years of hard work and dreams vanish. We are psychologically devastated. When we contacted support, we were told the closure is final. We have tried every possible way to resolve this, but to no avail—as if we had caused a global catastrophe.
Did we make a mistake? Even world leaders and ministers are human and prone to error. We have apologized and offered every guarantee that no mistake will ever be repeated. We even explained that we don't necessarily need to use the platform for new transactions; we just need our work history to show as a portfolio when applying for jobs elsewhere. Our request was rejected.
We are living a nightmare every single day. All our dreams and hard work evaporated with a single click of a button from your side. Please, have mercy on us. What we are building is the seed of a company that could provide millions of opportunities and improve countless lives.
I swear, we are not bad people. Our only ambition is to provide a better life for those who work with us. We receive so many messages of gratitude from people saying we saved their lives—people paying their bills, their rent, and supporting their families.
Please, help us. We are ready to provide any promises or guarantees to never violate any terms again. Please, do not let our dreams vanish. We only want to make our lives and the lives of those around us better.
please contact us if you can help!
Sorry I can only give them a 1 star review. I requested a connect with a freelancer via Zoom. The freelancer never showed up. To request a refund...it was all for the worker and not friendly to the client. It was only $21...but the time I spent chasing a refund that never materialized was exhausting. I highly recommend other services.
I unfortunately have to give Upwork a negative review. The platform itself works great and I have found really excellent work in the people on the platform.
However when I showed them that they had someone that was committing a phishing scam on my clients and using Upwork as the platform for payment, they did nothing about it. I showed them the emails, the profile, everything. The profile was not removed and they told me they can't tell me anything about it.
I have lost all trust in them as a platform.
My Experience Hiring Freelancers on Upwork – A Serious Warning
I’m writing this to share my experience and to warn others, especially individuals hiring freelancers on platforms like Upwork. This is not meant to attack honest freelancers, there are many skilled and genuine professionals out there, but there is also a recurring pattern of scams that people must be aware of.
Rule #1: Never Leave the Upwork Platform - Never, under any circumstances, communicate, chat, or transfer funds outside the Upwork platform. No matter how convincing the freelancer sounds, or how they try to move you off-platform (for example, by sending a PDF with their phone number or asking you to contact them directly), do not do it.
This is one of the most common pathways to being scammed. Once you leave the platform, you lose all protection.
Rule #2: The Emotional / Love Trap - If you make the mistake of taking their number and start chatting outside the platform, what often follows is an emotional manipulation or “love trap.” Almost all the time, the freelancer will: Try to build emotional intimacy very quickly, Share personal stories about their hard life, Send photos of their local area, market visits, or daily routine, Talk about suffering, poverty, or needing to escape their country. Make you feel like you are “special” or “different”, trap you in romantic fantasies. This is not accidental. It’s a calculated strategy to emotionally hook you and lower your defences.
Rule #3: The Emergency Money Request - In nearly 99% of these cases, an “urgent situation” eventually appears: A mother suddenly hospitalized, A sister who urgently needs school fees, A medical emergency with a deadline. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that requires immediate money. The amounts often start small but can quickly reach thousands of dollars.
No matter how convincing the story sounds, do not send money. These stories are almost always fabricated to scam you.
Personal Safety Warning, The first major red flag is when they: Ask for your photos, Ask for personal details, Ask about your finances, location, or private life
Never share personal information. Ever. Sweetness can turn into poison very fast. Once they have enough information, some scammers move into blackmail or extortion. Never allow them to have access to your Amazon/Canva or any other platforms.
If you want to protect yourself: Stay on the Upwork platform at all times. Never share personal contact details. Never send money outside Upwork. Always use milestones. Split payments into 3–5 milestones. Release payment only after checking and approving the work. Verify work quality before approving any payment. Trust actions, not stories.
Final Advice - No matter how kind, emotional, desperate, or convincing someone sounds, do not fall for stories. Professional freelancers do not need emotional manipulation or personal emergencies to get paid.
How This Attempted Scam Ended in my Case-
In my case, the woman who tried to scam me did not succeed, because I recognized the pattern early. I never shared my photos, personal details, or any “raw material” that could be used to emotionally manipulate me or pull me into a love trap.
As expected, the situation escalated into an urgent financial plea. She claimed her sister urgently needed college fees and that the payment had to be made immediately. This was the final tactic. When I told her that I was willing to help only by paying the college directly, her attitude changed instantly. She rejected the idea outright, clearly revealing the real intention behind the request.
Before this, she had repeatedly spoken about coming to the UK, marrying me, and building a future together. From the very beginning, I made it clear that I was only being friendly and that I was not in love. Despite this, she continued to push emotional boundaries and refused to step back.
By this point, I had already studied and recognized this common scam pattern: emotional attachment first, urgency second, and money last. Once the final tactic failed, the story collapsed.
This experience confirmed one important lesson: when help must be rushed, emotional, and indirect, it is almost always a scam.
Stay alert. Stay professional. Protect yourself.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
Our vision is simple: we want to connect businesses with great talent to work without limits and our mission is to create economic opportunities so people around the world can have better lives.
handbucks.com
vintagewholesalespain.com
stellarscientific.com
gifthampersinternational.com
www.theautopartsshop.com
rillabox.com
au.interparcel.com
neonific.com
pagepilot.ai
supliful.com