Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 208 posts

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#71

Post by svnpenn »

throwawaysleep wrote: post #48
a_simm wrote: post #42

Just wanted chime in with second a second anecdote that I was going to post. We needed a Django developer. Put an ad on Upwork at the high end of the recommended salary range. The ad specified US Eligible worker for legal reasons. Of the 10 or so applicants, seven flat out refused to appear on webcam so I decided to talk to the eighth. This person claim to be in Seattle. Having lived there I asked them two relatively…

Quoted post unavailable.

> Honest people with more skill are trying to get basic entry level jobs

This is me. Can you please help? srpen6@gmail.com

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#72

Post by throwawaysleep »

refulgentis wrote: post #65
throwawaysleep wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I fully agree. But society sends no signal that I am a problem beyond outrage when I admit it. Nobody would admonish me for being exactly the same without me mentioning it to them.

Sure, but, frankly? That is a form of psychopathy. Please don't take that offensively. I'm not throwing the word around. I don't mean "evil". I don't think it's "evil", I'm even jealous. Not just of money. Of the rationality. The rest of us don't do this stuff because we'd feel horribly bad for doing it, to the point benefits would outweigh the costs. I'd hazard a guess that most people would also say it was fine giv…

Let me give you a new perspective.

You get to see your dying father for just one week as that is all the vacation time you have left and you cannot just walk away from your job due to house/kids/etc. Happened to a friend. Father had 6 months to live. He got 1 week with him in that time. Pile of cash lets you walk away. How horrible will that make you feel to not get to spend that time with him?

My employer, who I will end up leaving in a year anyway (if they do not lay me off as every company I have been with has had layoffs) as the best way to get a raise is to leave, is way, way, way, way down on the list of people it hurts to disappoint.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#73

Post by DoneWithAllThat »

gumby wrote: post #56
bgibbons wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Refusing to be on web cam without a compelling reason is a huge red flag by itself.

There have been good A/B studies showing significant changes in response rate to resumes with and without photos. How someone looks doesn't seem like it should be correlated with their ability to draw a picture or choose a search algorithm.

We’re not talking unconscious bias silliness here. We’re talking about literal fraud/misrepresentation and needing verification that someone is who they claim to be. Using our eyebulbs isn’t inherently problematic.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#74

Post by gwbas1c »

a_simm wrote: post #42

Just wanted chime in with second a second anecdote that I was going to post. We needed a Django developer. Put an ad on Upwork at the high end of the recommended salary range. The ad specified US Eligible worker for legal reasons. Of the 10 or so applicants, seven flat out refused to appear on webcam so I decided to talk to the eighth. This person claim to be in Seattle. Having lived there I asked them two relatively…

> Second, what color is the bubbly music museum next door? Obviously, this is a trick given it’s multicolored.

I went to the Space Needle three years ago and I wouldn't be able to answer that question. I wouldn't assume that someone who lives in Seattle goes through the Space Needle area on a daily basis; it's quite touristy.

This comes from someone who lives in touristy areas. Ask me what color a building is next to my statehouse (just walked by a few weeks ago,) or next to the famous place that Elvis was photographed by that I drive by almost every day, and I wouldn't be able to tell you.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#75

Post by impersonated »

dpifke wrote: post #45
impersonated wrote: post #18

I'm looking for advice on a similar issue. Somebody is impersonating me on dating sites and blackmailing women. They convince their victims to send nude photos, and then they threaten to send the photos to their families. The scammer (or scammers) use photos of me that used to be publicly available on social media. They also use my real name, presumably so that the victims see a legitimate LinkedIn profile when they…

If you can prove you've suffered damages due to this (which maybe you can, if it affected your employment), you could sue John Doe, which would get you subpoena power against OKCupid. You probably wouldn't be able to collect from the scammer (who is likely in another country), but I guarantee you'll get OKCupid's legal department's attention, and they might be able to put a stop to it. The lawsuit would also create a…

Thank you. I hadn't considered legal options. I would prefer not to have a public lawsuit attached to my name -- I know, that's the point, but I don't want to call attention to this.

I'm thinking about doing something private but formalized, like having a lawyer send a letter to OKCupid summarizing recent events and demanding they take down profiles impersonating me. I could share that letter with my (new) employer if another victim ever contacted them directly. I know it wouldn't really prove anything, but it might be convincing to HR. Last time, the HR representative didn't seem to believe me, which definitely made me feel terrible and theoretically could have affected my career.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#76

Post by valdiorn »

gwbas1c wrote: post #74
a_simm wrote: post #42

Just wanted chime in with second a second anecdote that I was going to post. We needed a Django developer. Put an ad on Upwork at the high end of the recommended salary range. The ad specified US Eligible worker for legal reasons. Of the 10 or so applicants, seven flat out refused to appear on webcam so I decided to talk to the eighth. This person claim to be in Seattle. Having lived there I asked them two relatively…

> Second, what color is the bubbly music museum next door? Obviously, this is a trick given it’s multicolored. I went to the Space Needle three years ago and I wouldn't be able to answer that question. I wouldn't assume that someone who lives in Seattle goes through the Space Needle area on a daily basis; it's quite touristy. This comes from someone who lives in touristy areas. Ask me what color a building is next to…

The point is, if he can see the needle out his window right now, he can just look out the window to look at the building next door.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#77

Post by jamiek88 »

ChildOfChaos wrote: post #59
throwawaysleep wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

This is an interesting read, i'm thinking more and more about how to play the system a little better because I feel like if you don't you are the one getting played. In most big companies, unless you actually do something wrong or there is a hardcore metric they are monitoring you by, then it's very easy to do a fairly poor job and slip underneath the radar, because there are only a few things people see you doing, e…

I’m starting to really believe in life there are only screwers and screwees.

The complete lack of consequence at the top of society can only lead to us at the bottom ignoring the rules too and frankly? There’s waaaaay more serfs with pitchforks than castles to storm.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#78

Post by throwawaysleep »

SheinhardtWigCo wrote: post #64
throwawaysleep wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

> Eh, a lot of it is simply that society doesn't really punish non violent bad behaviour and gives you nothing for integrity. I assume you're not religious, then? The prevailing view seems to be that the punishment for an amoral life will come when it's too late for apologies or take-backs.

I am not, but unless the religion is corporatism, I am a fairly unremarkable sinner. Doing a poor job in adtech doesn't seem like a burn in hell offense.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#79

Post by jamiek88 »

throwawaysleep wrote: post #69
marviel wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you justify the morality of this action to yourself?

I don't view it as a moral question. My employer doesn't view hiring or firing me or rewarding me as a moral one. I just treat myself like top shareholder of my own company.

I admire your anonymous candor.

Re: Tell HN: Upwork has an impersonation problem

#80

Post by stevenjgarner »

I am not affiliated with it at all, but I am considering using a service like https://www.idcheck.io/ for my own business. Sure there are a lot of users that find such things invasive, but I have had a lot of our users ask for stronger user verification. It would be a great solution to Musk's bot problem with Twitter. Anyone have experience with such a service?
Post reply on HN