Potential employer is asking for a scan of my diploma and transcript

[pskenny]

Hello,

I am new to Upwork and just received a message from someone wanting me to apply for a job they have helping them with editing their research. We went into a chat and they asked my education and then asked me to send them a copy of my diploma and transcript. When I click on their profile I get no other information other than their name and a photo. 

It seems like information on my transcript is sensitive and could open me up to identity theft. I would feel more comfortable with someone who has hired clients successfully on here before.

Does anybody have any advice on how to handle this and if this request is normal?

I don't want to turn off a potential job but want to be safe.

Thanks!

[yitwail]

Pamela, how about blurring all sensitive parts of the transcript? No one's ever asked me for this, but seems to me there are easier ways to accomplish identity theft, so I don't think the request by itself is cause for suspicion.

[pskenny]

Okay, thanks! Is there a way I can see the employer's profile on Upwork? Anywhere I click the only thing I can see is name, photo & country (not US). Should I be wary since this is potentially my first job on here? 

[BojanS]

Hi Pamela,

Please, make sure you don't share any private information directly with clients on Upwork. All the information needed to hire and pay you via Upwork is available on your profile.

When working on Upwork, please make sure that you have a contract with a client before doing any work. Ensure that they have a verified billing method so that the work you do can be covered by Upwork Payment Protection.

Please, check this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

Client's feedback history shows on every project they had with Freelancers, at the bottom of their job posts. Unfortunately, there is no separate client profile area.  

Thank you.

[martina_plaschka]

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Pamela K wrote:

Okay, thanks! Is there a way I can see the employer's profile on Upwork? Anywhere I click the only thing I can see is name, photo & country (not US). Should I be wary since this is potentially my first job on here? 

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Again, not employer, but client. Clients don't have profiles, all the information you can get is what you see on the job posting. 

Did this client contact you unsolicited?

Newbies don't get invitations from clients. There is an abundance of established experienced people on the platform, people seeking out newbies are looking for cheap work or much worse. 

[browersr]

They are clients not employers. This is an important distinction to make. I cannot fathom a good reason a client needs these documents. An employer could make the case but not a client looking for freelance work. Perhaps point them to other areas, such as LinkedIn, if you have a profile. If you don't I'd consider creating one as it can give you that public professional profile should people be interested. Regardless, given how simple it would be to have you do a little work and if they didn't like it they could cancel the contract, and I think these additional document requests are bunk. This could be the start of an eventual scam or it could be a client that just doesn't understand how freelancing works. It's best to just educate the latter. Generally speaking the only document that it makes sense for freelancers to sign is an NDA if it's requested and after you ensured that it's just an NDA and nothing more.