Freelancer.com has made it easier for you to hire and work from anywhere in the world. You can conveniently communicate, send, and receive payments within the site, all from the comforts of your own home.
You might, however, have encountered a user who has requested for the conversation and/or payment of a project to be completed outside of Freelancer.com. Avoid falling into this trap, as this puts you at risk of not getting the work or the payment you are expecting from a project, as well as many other risks.
Consider the following points when you are falsely requested to ‘offsite’ your project:
Our Messaging system is equipped with text, audio and video calls, and file sharing features.
For smooth communication within the site, our messaging board is complete with text, audio and video calls, and file-sharing features. You can also create group chats for brainstorming ideas and allowing a wider discussion of your projects.
Conversations kept within the platform also serve as handy evidence in the unlikely event of issues between parties in a project.
Our Milestone Payment system protects you in case of payment disputes.
The Milestone Payment System is the recommended mode of payment on the site. It offers you protection by giving both employers and freelancers equal control over created payments for awarded projects. Only employers can create and release Milestones, and only freelancers can cancel and return them to employers.
The Dispute Resolution Service is available to you if you use Milestone Payments. It allows you to stake a claim for the return or release of a payment in the unlikely event that your project doesn’t go as planned.
We keep you from fraudulent transactions that may likely happen offsite.
We secure our users through early detection of suspicious behavior to prevent fraudulent activity. We cannot do that for you if you communicate and transact outside the website.
Offsite communication and payment is against our Terms and Conditions.
Prompting other users to communicate and pay outside Freelancer.com puts you and them at risk of not only fraud, but also of non-payment or non-completion of work agreed upon. Penalties are warranted to users who are proven to commit this violation.
If you encounter any users requesting to bring your conversation or payment outside Freelancer.com, feel free to report them to our Support Team. We would appreciate your help in making Freelancer.com a secure freelancing platform for everyone.
