SIN Number

[sidra14]

Hi,

I'm new to upwork.Currently residing in Canada as student. While filling out tax forms, is it necessary and safe to give my SIN ? 

If we don't give our sin number then what can be the consequences?

Reply will be appreciated.

[759e32fa]

Hi Sidra,

Thank you for reaching out to us. In order for you to not be charged tax by the US and for you to be able to withdraw your earning on Upwork, you have to completely fill out the tax information page. 

[emahootchi]

But SIN number is an extremely confidential number in Canada and we never enter it on any website except for the government websites.

This is also my question, what if I don't feel comfortable sharing my social number with you? 

The tax rules in Canada is that you are responsible for your own tax as a freelancer and you will report your income to the government by yourself. 

[LuiggiR]

Hi Elham,

I understand you are concerned about sharing this information in your Upwork account. Completing your tax information within your account is required to withdraw your earnings; rest assured that this information isn't shared anywhere else and that your information is secure. To learn more about how we protect your personal information, please review Upwork's Privacy Policy in our Terms of Service.

[9e64d951]

May I ask.. did you? I'm currently in the same boat you were. Wondering if it's safe. 

[e9fa24ad]

Also curious about this. Just signed up for Upwork.
In general i've been told to never share my SIN, so it seems unsafe.

Is there any way to bypass it? Or provide some other kind of ID?

[ArjayM]

Hi Marc,

Thank you for reaching out to us. We certainly understand that you're cautious about sharing your personal information. Rest assured that we take all commercially reasonable steps to help protect your information, including encrypting access to our site and the transmission of information. To learn more about how we protect your personal information, please review Upwork’s Privacy Policy in our Terms of Service.

Additionally, in order to get your payment methods active, you will need to complete your Tax Information. That said, you need to add your Tax Identification number and complete the form to avoid delays in getting paid. You may go to Settings> Tax Information to proceed.  

You can check this help article to learn more. 

[micfo07]

Of course its NOT safe.
Dont listen to anyone saying your info is encrypted and safe.
I have had my info stolen by hackers on 2 of the most sophisticated/protected
platforms out there, and they couldnt stop the hacking and ALL my personal info
Was stolen including my passport, aname, address and lot more.
A bank, a well known financial platform, and super protected password manager platform (lasspass) too.

Im in the same boat. Ive had all my info but my SIN number stolen.
They can do me a lot of damage, but with my SIN number the identity
theft would be much easier and beyond repair. You cant change SIN
number and then become a victim for the rest of your life, as they keep selling and sharing your personal info on the dark web.

Im so disappointed upwork requires this SIN number.
I had put ALL my hopes on my freelance career on upwork,
but having been a victim of 3 big cyber theft of my info,
i will not risk having my SIN be forever shared among the worst people out there.
Its ONLY a matter of time before upwork, like all online platforms gets hacked.
And once they get your SIN number theres no turning back ad theres nothing you can do about it.

I request Upwork require other means than SIN number.
Even a sophisticated stock exchange didnt require this.
What about our passport instead? Its already much less bad (even tho still really bad tohave it stolen).

[387b7a4a]

Hi, I am new to this platform and the request for SIN number made me rethink if I should proceed. You guard your SIN with life and the only body of government  that needs to know it is CRA, period. This is extremely unsafe and unless there is a bypass, I am out. Shouldn't your HST and a valid address be enough? Regardless, this is an online platform and in no way protected for fraud. Everyone is responsible for paying taxes for earnings they collect within their country of origin. What does US government have to do with a freelancers working around the globe? Identification theft is of biggest concern. Imagine there are thousands of SIN's available up for grabs all in place, to hackers delight! Careful out there!