Customers cannot engage in Blackmail, Coercion, Extortion, Vandalism, or similar harmful behavior to influence a response from another customer or as a means of Retaliation.
Escalate to CE for Coercion and Vandalism if:
- Report on persuading or attempting to persuade another person to do or give something against that person’s will using force or threats (e.g. Blackmail, Coercion, and/or Extortion)
- Report on harmful or damaging behavior towards another customer (e.g. Vandalism) as an act of Retaliation or revenge
Even if a report isn’t received from another customer and you’re noticing suspicious behavior that relates to the above, please send to CE for review being specific that you didn’t receive a report, but wanted to be sure based on evidence you came across.
When to go to Account Security, instead: If the issue is about a customer threatening the security of another Upwork account, escalate to the Account Security team instead. Please review the **AS escalations directory to identify the proper handling process. Some examples that would go to AS, but are not limited to:
- A customer is threatening to take over another person’s Upwork account if their demands are not met.
- A customer is claiming that someone accessed their Upwork account without permission (e.g. to change account details, delete or alter content, etc.).
When to go to Mediation & Disputes, instead: when the customer qualifies for Mediation or Dispute assistance. See **Mediation & Disputes Directory.
Coercion is the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats; typically seen in the form of a FL manipulating a CL into giving them excellent feedback, more money, etc. and usually comes with the FL vandalising the CL’s property, websites, external accounts, etc.
This is extremely abusive behavior and usually results in a permanent suspension.
Important:
- If demands are anything but feedback, escalate with internal note for coercion and retaliation. Re-assign ticket to Content_Engagement_Tier_1_TS425
- If demand is specifically for feedback, escalate with an internal note for feedback building. Re-assign ticket to Content_Engagement_Tier_1_TS425
Examples include:
- “I’ll repair the damage I caused if you pay me $_____” (coercion and retaliation)
- “I’ll repair the damage I caused if you change the feedback you left for me” (feedback building)
Important:
- If the issue is about retaliation, escalate with an internal note for retaliation. Re-assign ticket to Content_Engagement_Tier_1_TS425
Retaliation is any act of harm committed in response to an actual or perceived harm. One form of retaliation is vandalism.
What is vandalism?
Vandalism is the malicious destruction or altering of content that belongs to another user with the intent to cause distress, harm, or embarrassment to that user i.e. defacement or deletion of a website.
If threats and/or demands are involved, then the situation is considered coercion; see Coercion drop-down above.
Image example here shows how FL defaced CL’s eBay store with a rude message:
Note: Not all claims of vandalism are accurate, but we will take all matters seriously.