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286e7e2d
Community Member

Upwork freelancer identity verification

I would like to know, that Upwork has verified that freelancers are whom they portray they are.
I know some freelancers would think it odd for a hiring company to ask that their verification be confirmed but it is quite reasonable.
I ask contractors who do work on by building for insurance papers, licenses, etc because it is standard business practice. I required direct hire contractors to fill out W4 and I9 documents which the US government requires. 

I depend on Upwork as the vetting entity to exercise due diligence in verifying the money is going to the person I am lead to believe I have hired and am trusting with proprietary and confidential information.

So my question is does Upwork verify the identity and receive W4 or I9 documents from US-based freelancers?

 

6 REPLIES 6
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "I would like to know, that Upwork has verified that freelancers are whom they portray they are."

 

Bob:

Upwork is doing their best.

This is a topic that Upwork takes seriously.

There are MANY initiatives designed to verify the identities of freelancers, including Upwork employees actually doing face-to-face identity verification interviews with freelancers via live video conferencing.

 

There are also automated algorithms in place designed to check that the location freelancers claim as their place of residence corresponds to their location as indicated by various back-end Internet protocols.

 

There are also requirements that users submit government-issued identity cards such as driver's licenses and national ID cards in order to verify their locations.

 

It is a violation of Upwork's TOS for freelancers to falsify their names and location information. Freelancers can have their accounts suspended or terminated for trying to falsify their identity information.

 

But there are LOTS of freelancers on Upwork and Upwork CAN NOT GUARANTEE every freelancer's identity information.

 

If knowing an Upwork freelancer's real name or location or other information is important for you and your business, you will want to do additional verification for yourself.

If knowing an Upwork freelancer's real name or location or other information is important for you and your business, you will want to do additional verification for yourself.

Are you serious? 

I'm Tokyo and have been using Upwork and similiar services for several years. And I'm expected to verify a contractor in India somewhere? What's the Upwork platform for then? This advice is not only unintelligent but why foist verification responsibility on clients? Who decided this was an alternative to doing your job? Clients are the ones paying Upwork and the contractor. If a contractor can't be verified within a specific time Upwork should unequivocally not allow them to post their services. No ifs, buts, or maybes. But Upwork is allowing unverified contractors to post their services and I've had to deal with it. After spending considerable time interviewing a contractor halfway through the job Upwork tells me; 'Oh, by the way, your contractor is not verified so you should get involved and make him verify himself. Or we might close his account'. Huh? I engage contractors with the understanding that they've been properly vetted. It's not my job to vet them. Spending many hours trying to find a reliable, qualified contractor is my job, supporting the contractor with a clear outline of task needs is my job, and paying the invoice is my job. If it turns out later on that I can't trust someone I've hired I have to start again and repeat the process over and over and over again. This is a stupid waste of time and money. Foisting contractor verification responsibility on the client is inexcusable  management sloppiness. I guess if it's my responsibility to verify a contractor then it's not my responsibiliy to guarantee Upwork that my payment method is valid? That would be a fair trade off. Most of the contractors I've employed have not had verification or other problems. It's apparent now, however, that I have to double, triple and quadruple check contractors and read every line of Upwork's fine print to make I'm not getting swindled.  

  

 

Ken:

I appreciate your excellent post.

 

What my hope for every client would be is that they understand what Upwork does and does not do.

If a client understands what services Upwork is providing, then the client will be in a better position to make decisions about how to use Upwork.

 

It sounds like you have a pretty clear concept about what Upwork currently does.

And, apart from that, you also have a clear vision of what you would like Upwork to do.

 

This Forum is the most appropriate place to explain how you would like to see Upwork operate. (You and anybody else interested in this topic could of course add their ideas about this topic using this very thread.)

 

Many positive changes that have been put into effect on the platform originated right here in the Forum.

Hi Ken,

 

While we do take action when we learn a freelancer is not following our Terms of Service, we do not vet freelancers or guarantee that the information they provide in their profile is true or accurate. All earning freelancers are required to verify their identity and you can find more information about it in this announcement. Additionally, we do offer certain payment protections and, in certain cases, dispute assistance because we know that occasional issues can arise between a client and freelancer. 

~ Valeria
Upwork


Valeria K wrote:

Hi Ken,

 

While we do take action when we learn a freelancer is not following our Terms of Service, we do not vet freelancers or guarantee that the information they provide in their profile is true or accurate. All earning freelancers are required to verify their identity and you can find more information about it in this announcement. Additionally, we do offer certain payment protections and, in certain cases, dispute assistance because we know that occasional issues can arise between a client and freelancer. 


Well, maybe it's time to start doing it the other way around.
If when creating a profile, the data is verified (photo, country, name, presentation and portfolio), then you will not have to take action on so many freelancers because they have broken the TOS.
Just a thought 🙂

gmfaysal
Community Member

Hi Bob!

Upwork try to give their best Hope Upwork will more efficient in future.

 

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