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c90bbb86
Community Member

Freelancer Requesting Personal Information - Tax Prep

G'day, UpWork, 

 

I'm new to the platform as a business owner; however, I understand the basics and have used similar platforms (i.e. Fiverr) for hire in the past. I'm confident that my question has obvious implications, but I cannot help but feel the need to seek your advice. 

 

As a new business owner, I am currently considering hiring a freelancer to assist in preparing a couple of our tax documents. At this point, I have identified a freelancer who is willing to prepare these documents at a price that I am comfortable with; however, it didn't hit me until the freelancer requested personal information that I could be exposing our business and ourselves to undue risk. Obviously, the freelancer needs our financial documents and our personal information to prepare the documents, but should I share this information with a freelancer who hasn't completed many jobs? The freelancer is asking for our EIN and social security numbers. I should also mention that the freelancer stated early in our conversation that we should move off the platform as it would be "easier." I made it clear that I was uncomfortable with that, and the freelancer stated he we could continue using UpWork. 

 

Can I please get some feedback here? Are there any safeguards for sharing personally identifiable information or am I simply taking a huge risk? 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

-Dusty

3 REPLIES 3
lysis10
Community Member


Dusty B wrote:

G'day, UpWork, 

 

I'm new to the platform as a business owner; however, I understand the basics and have used similar platforms (i.e. Fiverr) for hire in the past. I'm confident that my question has obvious implications, but I cannot help but feel the need to seek your advice. 

 

As a new business owner, I am currently considering hiring a freelancer to assist in preparing a couple of our tax documents. At this point, I have identified a freelancer who is willing to prepare these documents at a price that I am comfortable with; however, it didn't hit me until the freelancer requested personal information that I could be exposing our business and ourselves to undue risk. Obviously, the freelancer needs our financial documents and our personal information to prepare the documents, but should I share this information with a freelancer who hasn't completed many jobs? The freelancer is asking for our EIN and social security numbers. I should also mention that the freelancer stated early in our conversation that we should move off the platform as it would be "easier." I made it clear that I was uncomfortable with that, and the freelancer stated he we could continue using UpWork. 

 

Can I please get some feedback here? Are there any safeguards for sharing personally identifiable information or am I simply taking a huge risk? 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

-Dusty


Trying to move off the platform is a serious red flag. Is this person new? Are you sure you're talking to someone in the US? I'm assuming you'd only give your info out to an accountant in the US, right? I would ask for some kind of verification that they are an accountant too.

 

You should probably have a chat with this person on VoIP. The moving off platform is suspicious to me especially when they say it's "easier." 

kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi Dusty,

 

We advise that users exercise caution when sharing private or sensitive information with each other. It's understandable, however, when it's necessary in order for the job to be completed. While Non-Disclosure Agreement language is included in the ToS to protect both Clients and Freelancers, some clients request that a freelancer sign a standard NDA in addition to that. 

 

Please, let us know if you need any further assistance with your hiring process.

Thanks!

~ Valeria
Upwork
tta192
Community Member


Dusty B wrote:

G'day, UpWork, 

 

I'm new to the platform as a business owner; however, I understand the basics and have used similar platforms (i.e. Fiverr) for hire in the past. I'm confident that my question has obvious implications, but I cannot help but feel the need to seek your advice. 

 

As a new business owner, I am currently considering hiring a freelancer to assist in preparing a couple of our tax documents. At this point, I have identified a freelancer who is willing to prepare these documents at a price that I am comfortable with; however, it didn't hit me until the freelancer requested personal information that I could be exposing our business and ourselves to undue risk. Obviously, the freelancer needs our financial documents and our personal information to prepare the documents, but should I share this information with a freelancer who hasn't completed many jobs? The freelancer is asking for our EIN and social security numbers. I should also mention that the freelancer stated early in our conversation that we should move off the platform as it would be "easier." I made it clear that I was uncomfortable with that, and the freelancer stated he we could continue using UpWork. 

 

Can I please get some feedback here? Are there any safeguards for sharing personally identifiable information or am I simply taking a huge risk? 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

-Dusty


 

What exactly did the freelancer suggest to move off-platform? Using other tools for communication is not a red flag and completely allowed by Upwork. Requesting payment through other means is another story. Have an audio/video call with the freelancer and discuss the project in detail. You should be able to tell if he's done this kind of job before or he's just after your data.

 

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