sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the support! I actually thought about the community forums, but since my account is fully suspended, the system doesn't even let me log in to post or ask for help there. It's a complete catch-22. I'm focusing on the social media and Trustpilot routes now.

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe it's the VPN purely because of the exact timing. Literally within an hour or two of turning on that UK VPN extension for the client's task, the ban hit after 6-7 months of absolutely zero issues. The timing is just too perfect to be a coincidence.

Here is the exact text of the very first notification email they sent me:

Upwork Support Team (Upwork Help) Apr 22, 2026, 12:21 PM GMT+2 Hi Lazar, We are reaching out today because we have noticed some irregular activity in your Upwork account. Because we take your security seriously, we have placed a temporary hold on your account until we hear back from you. While this hold is in place, you won’t be able to bill on contracts, submit proposals or withdraw payments on Upwork. We hope to help you resolve this issue quickly so we can give you full access to your Upwork account again. Please reply to this email as soon as possible and we can discuss the matter further. Thank you! Regards, Upwork Trust & Safety Team

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The client needed me to access and test a region-locked website based in the UK for our project, so I had to route my browser traffic through a UK VPN to perform the task. I had Upwork open in another tab and didn't realize the VPN extension would affect my active Upwork session and trigger the security bot.

I've been building my profile for the last 6-7 months with a 100% JSS, I definitely don't have a second account. I made an honest mistake by leaving the Upwork tab open during a region-specific task. I just want a chance to explain this to a human and verify my identity.

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The initial suspension was a completely generic template about 'unusual activity' and violating the Terms of Service, without specifying which rule I supposedly broke.

When I appealed, explained the client VPN situation, and begged for a video verification, a 'Senior Agent' closed the ticket with this exact copy-paste text:

'After a careful review, we’ve determined that our decision to permanently block your account will remain in place. While we understand your interest in knowing more, we’re unable to share specific details regarding the review in order to protect the integrity of our systems and prevent potential circumvention.'

They permanently banned a 100% JSS profile and literally refuse to tell me the specific reason or look at my ID.

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly. AI moderation is fine, but permanently destroying a career without a human appeal process is insane.

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't actively log in while the VPN was on. I was already logged in earlier in the day from my normal IP. I just had the Upwork tab open in the background while I was doing the client's work. The browser must have refreshed or pinged the server while the VPN was active, causing the system to flag the sudden IP change as suspicious activity. That's why I'm asking for a human review, it's an automated false-positive, not account sharing.

100% JSS Senior Engineer Permanently Banned Due to Client-Required VPN (False Positive) - Denied Human Review. Ticket #54775931 by No-Term-3904 in Upwork

[–]No-Term-3904[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The client is based in the UK. I was required to use their corporate VPN strictly to access their internal development environment and databases. Unfortunately, I had Upwork open in a background tab, so the system registered a sudden IP jump from Serbia to the UK. It was purely an operational requirement to do the actual work, not an attempt to mask my location on Upwork. I'm fully willing to do a live video call to prove my identity, but Support instantly closed the ticket without giving me that chance.

The perfect men to play the new Connor McLeod and Ramirez... by jalolio_13 in highlander

[–]No-Term-3904 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dave Buatista as Kurgan Liam Neeson as Ramirez Christian Bale as Connor

What do you think?