Client asking for ID

[lestersandrino]

Hello everyone,

I was hired to create 50 instructional videos and my wife is the Instructor/Speaker in that video. We have done 2 videos so far.

Client suddenly told me that my wife and I will need to sign an agreement stating that he has all the rights to these videos. And he is requesting to attach our id like passport or driver's license. I am not comfortable with sharing our personal information to someone as we all know there's a lot of identity theft and phishing going on now, but i'm really not sure maybe I'm wrong. 

Is it safe to share a copy of your ID to anyone online? I attach the contract of agreement he sent.

I know the people in this community are very helpful and kind so thank you very much in advance!

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[holymell · Accepted solution]

No.

Tell your client that Upwork has that information already when it comes to your identification.

Signing an NDA is pretty standard, though.

And Upwork also has it set up so that as long as the work is paid for, the client retains all the rights to said work. I don't have a link handy, but it's in the Upwork terms of service.

So if I were you, I would simply say that actually you don't need my ID because Upwork already has it, and I'd be happy to sign an NDA as well as a statement that any work you pay for in full belongs to you.

But asking for IDs is shady. I would never give a client my ID. Don't do that. What need did the client say they had for your identification? No.

[lestersandrino]

Thanks melissa, i am now talking to my client.

Can you help me find where it is written in the Upwork terms of service? So that i can show it to my client that he must not ask for my id

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Lester,

If your client requests to see your ID, we highly recommend that you refrain from doing so unless you trust your client and feel they have valid reasons for the request. Often, such requests are done for fraudulent purposes.

If your client needs more details about you he can contact us directly and our team will assist them further. Note: private details will not be shared with your client.

[ella_sherr]

Hi there,

I have just signed a new contract with a client, and he is asking for my Passport number. I really don't want to share this, but he seems to have made other hires and spent money.

What should I do?

Thanks,

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Ella

[g_vasilevski]

Hi Ella,

If your client requests to see your ID, we highly recommend that you refrain from doing so unless you trust your client and feel they have valid reasons for the request. Often, such requests are done for fraudulent purposes.

If your client needs more details about you he can contact us directly and our team will assist them further. Note: private details will not be shared with your client. Thank you.

[ella_sherr]

Thanks for this, Goran.

[cgequilan]

Hi Melissa, 

I have my very first client and is asking me to send an id for W-2 filing on his end. I sent one but I covered my date of birth and the ID number. He sent me a screenshot that he's trying to file it using it but it was rejected. Is it okay If I send it to him without covering like the id number and my date of birth? Thank you

[petra_r]

---

Cristoto G wrote:

Hi Melissa, 

I have my very first client and is asking me to send an id for W-2 filing on his end.

---

Why in the world would your client do any W-2 filing when you are neither in the USA nor an employee? Tell the client he does not have to file a W-2 for a freelancer abroad. (Don't send anything unless you want your Identity stolen.)

[cgequilan]

Thank you so much, Petra! I really appreciate your help. Stay safe!

[iamchunchunchun]

Everything Melissa said. And I am concerned that the client had posted a lot of jobs, is interviewing a lot of people, hired some freelancers but does not seem to have paid any money yet.

Have you completed a milestone or two by making those two videos?

[lestersandrino]

you are correct. He has not paid me any money yet. Actually he changed the contract 3 times. In the 2nd contract he made i asked him to activate the milestone first before i start making videos. so he funded the whole amount for 50 videos which, then after 2 weeks he requested that we change it to a price per video done, so he will fund a $ per video as milestone.

I have done the work for the 2 milestone but he asked for some changes in the videos so..

[holymell]

So he's an unrepentant time waster, a perpetual interviewer of more than ten freelancers and always wants to change your contract? This guy sounds super fishy. He's changed the terms of your contract three times? So now you have two contracts with no money exchanged on them? And now he won't find the whole milestone??

This guy sounds horrible. Those two contracts that have been ended may not show up on your profile, but they will get calculated into your job success score, which this guy is going to destroy through being a cheap flip flopper.

I wish I had advice for you. I'm sorry Lester, this is a terrible situation for you to be in.

You're probably going to get a Job Success Score after your complete your next job or two (as long as you've worked five jobs with three different clients and they all paid you), and those two cancelled contracts from this client are going to drop that score, which is unfortunate because you did nothing wrong.

I would love to tell you to quit this contract, but then you would have three unsuccessful contracts to calculate into your approaching JSS.

Is this guy trying to only pay you $5 per video? 🙄 I guess, due to the situation with your score likely being hindered by this single client, I would advise you to wait and see if he pays you the agreed upon amount. But it seems to me that he's trying to perpetually keep you doing $5 videos at his request. If you get your JSS in the next couple of updates and it isn't super low... end that contract. You appear to have decent work history so just keep trying to get jobs and do them well before this guy does any more damage to you. I'm sorry this is happening to you and really do wish you the best.

Edit so sorry for the lengthy reply, but if you've had two contracts with him where he did pay you already and they ended well, I might just tell you to cancel the current one. It doesn't sound like it's worth the pain and you can bounce back from one negative contract much more easily than you can from three.

[lestersandrino]

yes, that's the sad part.

Actually, the project was posted with a budget of $850, but during interview he told me he will only pay in AUD (australian dollar) which is lower than USD. So i realized that's a lot of work for a very very low price because the work also requires script writing(lesson), video editing, audio. and it turns out he is just paying 12$ for each video.

So I said to him to make it 850USD for the 50 videos, 10mins long each video. I guess he can't find someone who can help him produce a video so he hired me.

to give you an update. After showing him the Upwork's terms of service, and all the replies in this forum, he didn't asked for id anymore and to my wife, he just made me sign Confidentiality Agreement and Contract Agreement, only my name and signature so. Thank you guys, thanks Melissa.

[holymell]

I'm glad he at least doesn't want your ID anymore. I hope the project goes well for you 🙂

[kat303]

---

@lester S wrote:

yes, that's the sad part.

Actually, the project was posted with a budget of $850, but during interview he told me he will only pay in AUD (australian dollar) which is lower than USD. So i realized that's a lot of work for a very very low price because the work also requires script writing(lesson), video editing, audio. and it turns out he is just paying 12$ for each video.

Be very careful with this client. Make sure each milestone is FULLY funded for the agreed upon price before you start working on that milestone.

So I said to him to make it 850USD for the 50 videos, 10mins long each video. I guess he can't find someone who can help him produce a video so he hired me.

I would advise you to raise your rates. Figuring out roughly for those 50, 10 minute videos with requires script writing, lessons, video editing audio and the recording the client is only paying you about $2.25 per hour for all that work. So, you are perfectly right in saying that this client couldn't find anyone else at the rate he's paying to help him produce a video, ...... until he found you. And, I hope I'm wrong, but I feel that you'll be working with this client a long time, because already, he's asking for revisions. Expect quite a lot more revisions to come.

IMO, rates should reflect the quality of the work you do, your experience, and expertise, Not the area you live in.

to give you an update. After showing him the Upwork's terms of service, and all the replies in this forum, he didn't asked for id anymore and to my wife, he just made me sign Confidentiality Agreement and Contract Agreement, only my name and signature so. Thank you guys, thanks Melissa.

---

[lestersandrino]

Thank you for your advice.

Yeah, a lot of work for $17 per video now. He is from Australia and he based his budget in their currency which is lower than USD. And he think that he is overpaying me because he made a conversion of 850 AUD to Philippine peso. But I explained things and told him about the service fee which he doesn't know i guess.

Sometimes I'm thinking that maybe he's new to upwork and not so familiar of how things work so I just want to help him despite of the issues, still trying to offer him help.

Thanks Kathy.

[kat303]

Lester - I'm not an Upwork employee, so I don't know exactly how this works when a client from another country is paying a freelancer. But I'm assuming that Upwork charges that client using USD. and the client pays that amount in whatever that converts to in their country. If I'm wrong, I hope someone steps in and corrects this. So I'm sort of confused when your client, from Australia would need to convert their payment to philippine pesos. Everything is, I assume, conducted in USD and the conversion rate is done by the bank of the freelancer.

I don't think being "new" here has anything to do with payment conversion transactions as everything is handled by the bank. So, once a client and freelancer establish their financial accounts USD conversions happen when money is automatically taken from the client and automatically when a freelancer is paid.

for example. a client is charged using USD. The bank converts that to the currency of the country the client lives in and the client pays that converted amount, When a freelancer withdaws their payment it's withdrawn in USD and then the bank converts that to the currency of the country the freelancer lives in and they get paid in their country's currency.

Again, I may be wrong, but I'm assuming that's how it works.

The only help a new client may need is navagation on this site such as, "where do I go to xxx" or "How do I add another milestone." etc.

[lestersandrino]

You are correct Kathy, and yeah I am also giving him tips like- he doesn't need to hire me for each video with a new contract,just activate a new milestone for the next video we are going to make.

Thanks kathy

[cupidmedia]

Kathy is correct. All prices on Upwork are in USD, and non-US customers are either charged in USD or (in some countries) they can choose to use a local billing method in their local currency, in which case Upwork will convert it.

I agree that Upwork isn't super great about making it clear that all $ amounts are $US - but as an Australian client myself, I don't understand clients who don't check. Personally, unless I *know* a website is local, I assume any $ amount displayed on the Internet is $US.

There is generally no reason a client should be calculating a contract value based on their currency or your currency or anything else. The price on Upwork is in USD.

[lestersandrino]

Hi, i would like to ask a follow-up question regarding this matter.

Can you give me an idea of How much should I get paid in this project, let's say per video that is 10 mins long?

I do all the english-filipino translation, script writing, audio video recording and editing. I am not really professional but i think i am good and he likes my work.
He's paying me 17$ per video, there 50 videos to be done.


Thanks!

[0fc1070a]

As a client, i object to this. Upwork has at best poor control on managing identification. Your terms of service state that the contract is between Client and Contractor and you are not a party.

Your verification methods are clearly not adequate with so many people faking their location and saying they are in US or Canada, when they are actuallly offshore.

What is additional level of privacy protection is neeeded? I have a part of a project i outsource to a freelancer who then starts touting it as if the work they performed for the end client (rather than me) - i havent seen Upwork enforce the irresponsible usage anywhere. I see nothing wrong in seeking an additional level of verification. As a valid company, i am happy to provide a certificate of good standing to any freelancer. Why should it be a one way street?

[lysis10]

---

Rajat B wrote:

As a client, i object to this. Upwork has at best poor control on managing identification. Your terms of service state that the contract is between Client and Contractor and you are not a party.

Your verification methods are clearly not adequate with so many people faking their location and saying they are in US or Canada, when they are actuallly offshore.

What is additional level of privacy protection is neeeded? I have a part of a project i outsource to a freelancer who then starts touting it as if the work they performed for the end client (rather than me) - i havent seen Upwork enforce the irresponsible usage anywhere. I see nothing wrong in seeking an additional level of verification. As a valid company, i am happy to provide a certificate of good standing to any freelancer. Why should it be a one way street?

---

lol are you saying you're mad because you farmed out the work and the freelancer put the end client on their resume? I'm guessing you're mad about something like that because the client doesn't know, does he? lol

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Rajat,

I understand that clients often need to confirm that the information on the freelancer's profile - about both, their identity and skills - is correct. A lot of clients have shared with us that for this reason they prefer to interview freelancers via a video call. As long as the freelancer is okay with that, this is an acceptable way to hire.

When it comes to users requesting and sharing private information with each other, such as ID documents, we advise that they exercise caution. 

The ID badge process we have in place consists of two steps: uploading an official government-issued ID and meeting with us for a short video call. Occasionally, we also ask freelancers to re-verify to confirm that the information is still valid. All the information submitted when verifying identity is kept secure. Access to the information is reserved exclusively for Upwork agents who have passed strict background checks and our third-party vendor.

If you have any concerns about the information a freelancer provide in their Upwork profile or portfolio, feel free to use the flag option to notify the team. 

[nextva]

I had the same experience. My client asked for my passsport which I sent to him here in Upwork. I was excited because he was my first client and forgot to cover my details. What should I do?

[tinker_bell3]

Hi Elaine,

We would encourage you not to share your ID or any of your personal information with your client unless you trust them. You might want to read this help article to learn more about staying safe on Upwork. 

[68fe965d]

What should I do if I already shared with the client my ID card ?