Yesterday, I shared a technical breakdown of the infamous "Upwork Account Renting" scam targeting our community. I honestly posted it just to share a funny scambaiting story where I messed with a scammer using Kali Linux.
But today, the impact became real.
I woke up to this message from a fellow developer:
Just in Time
He received the exact same email from the scammer "Marko". He felt something was off, googled the name, found my content, and stopped communication immediately.
This saved him from potentially compromising his laptop, his network, and his Upwork reputation.
Why This Matters
Scammers rely on silence. They rely on junior developers being too desperate or too ashamed to ask. When we expose their TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures), we break their business model.
If you are freelancing, please watch out for:
- Requests to "rent" your account.
- Requests to install AnyDesk/TeamViewer.
- "Recruiters" asking for immediate access to your machine.
** You can watch the full breakdown here:**
https://youtu.be/zx8K6s2X_zM
Side Note: Dogfooding My Own Tools
To respect the developer's privacy, I had to blur his personal info in the screenshot above. I used my own open-source desktop tool, DotScramble (Python/OpenCV), to handle the privacy redaction.
It felt great to use code I wrote to protect a user who was saved by content I created! circle of life? 😄
Stay safe, everyone!
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