Client asking for illegal project

[#1]

I'm a freelance editor, and I just started a contract to work with a client to proofread a medical handbook. Unfortunately, the client's "book" turned out to be hundreds of pages taken entirely from another publicly posted but explicitly copyrighted medical guide. He (or another one of his freelancers) changed many of the original words for synonyms to disguise the theft, and some sentences are internally rearranged to the point of incoherence. Still, looking at them side by side, my client's text follows his source sentence by sentence and detail by detail, and the original source is never credited. While medical sources can be expected to have some similarities, even a glance at other, legitimate sources shows much more variation.

I generally don't try to be the copyright police with my clients (I know US copyright law can be murky), but this is very clean-cut. I can't find any original content at all in the sections I've read so far or in spot-checking later sections, and the "substantial similarity" is obvious. The client intends the book for sale in the US (it's a prep book for a US licensing exam), and he's based in Canada, which also has copyright laws.

I tactfully notified the client of my concerns about the legality, and he told me "thanks for your note, let's proceed as planned anyway."

So, two questions:
1) Will Upwork penalize me in any way for quitting this job? Regardless of the legal aspect, I'm also uncomfortable with this job ethically -- it's pretty straightforward theft, and also something of a scam for the medical students who purchase this badly garbled text, when they could have read a good version online for free. 
2) Is there any point in reporting this client to Upwork so that he can't rehire for this job?  

[#2]

re: "Will Upwork penalize me in any way for quitting this job?"

No.

Upwork does not penalize freelancers for quitting a job.

That has nothing to do with any legal or ethical aspects of the job.

Freelancers are allowed to end a contract at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all.

[#3]

Upwork won't penalize you, but unless the job is removed as a TOS violation the client will have an opportunity to leave feedback that will impact your JSS.

[#4]

Thanks, Tiffany. I'll continue trying to reach Upwork on the subject (so far my ticket's unanswered, and chat agents appear to be offline), but I may just have to take the hit on this one.

[#5]

Consider that, to minimise the chances for a revenge feedback from the client, you may find a credible and diplomatic excuse to quit the contract. I see you as entitled to it as this is an illegal piece of work and you may risk legal consequences for supporting a crime. 

[#6 · Accepted solution]

Yes definitely report this to upwork. And definitely quit that job. There's nothing to be scared about doing the right thing. I believe upwork will remove the job post and even if they dont and the person leaves a bad review you can write an answer underneath kindly stating the reason.

[#7]

Thanks, Alper! Will do.

[#8]

Hey there, I'm a video editor and I once quit on a job for a crypto scam because of similar reasons that I learned about once I had already started the job.

Nothing really happened, I don't think the client even bothered to leave a bad review (don't even know if he had the possibility of doing so) and I don't really know what happened to him. 

So maybe I was lucky to encounter a scammer that didn't bother with leaving bad feedback, but my advice is to quit the job and report the client. If he leaves a bad review I think UpWork could remove it given the situation if you talk to support. 

[#9]

Good to hear, thanks.

[#10]

If a client is asking for an illegal project on Upwork, you should report the job posting to Upwork immediately. Upwork's terms of service prohibit clients from posting illegal or unethical jobs on their platform, and they have a team dedicated to reviewing job postings to ensure that they comply with their policies.

To report a job posting, go to the job posting page and click on the "Report Job" button. You will be asked to provide a reason for the report, and you can select "Illegal or unethical" from the list of options. You can also provide additional details about the job posting and why you believe it is illegal or unethical.

It's important to remember that engaging in illegal activities is not only against Upwork's terms of service, but it is also illegal and can have serious consequences. Therefore, you should never accept a job that involves illegal activities or ask a client to engage in illegal activities.

[#11]

According to me report a job posting, go to the job posting page and click on the Report Job button. Kindly provide a reason for the report, and you can select "Illegal or unethical" from the list of options. You can also provide additional details about the job posting and why you believe it is illegal or unethical. Upwork not penalize freelancers for quitting a job if freelancer not breach terms and condition.

[#12]

Hello,

I've been asked to do an illegal task and I've done it, and only then realised it is illegal.
The job is still open, I've deleted the message with the file, what should I do?
I am willing to close the contract, but I don't want it to affect my JSS and show a bad review on my page.

[#13]

Hi Nikita, 

It looks like you also reached out to me via a PM. I will continue assisting you there.