[a_simm]

Definitely is a societal problem; to me that means we need a societal solution.

Namely individuals have to call out bad behavior to the point it’s regulated. Not so much in this case by the market but by government regulation to hold two sided marketplaces accountable for almost literal fraud by one party.

In this case it’s easier as more a legal question as opposed to a skill question.

I would penalize Upwork for the wage differential times three. Notice Upwork would be responsible, not the other side.

It should also be easy for the ”wronged” side of this transaction to pursue such a claim.

The non-irony here is the tremendous amount of effort, ie periodic screenshots, logs etc. that make sure Upwork gets paid.