| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | a scan of my passport needed for potential collaboration Thread poster: alz
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alz 
Croatia
Local time: 14:02
English to Croatian
+ ...
Dear All,
recently I've got a mail from a newly established agency offering a potential collaboration and asking me to send all kind of data: my CV, rates etc etc, a lot of personal data, my bank account details, a signed "non disclosure form", references, my tax number etc etc. Everything seems very serious.
The last thing I was asked was the scan of my passport. Now I am a little bit concerned. With all those stories about stollen identity I do not feel confortable wi... See more Dear All,
recently I've got a mail from a newly established agency offering a potential collaboration and asking me to send all kind of data: my CV, rates etc etc, a lot of personal data, my bank account details, a signed "non disclosure form", references, my tax number etc etc. Everything seems very serious.
The last thing I was asked was the scan of my passport. Now I am a little bit concerned. With all those stories about stollen identity I do not feel confortable with this.
I've been in translation business as freelancer for over 20 years. I had never been asked for a copy of my passport before. Is this a common practice nowdays.
What is your opinion, please. ▲ Collapse
| | | | djovasilj
United States
Local time: 07:02
Croatian to English
+ ...
| Oni traže previše informacija | Jun 19, 2009 |
While I do not know all the details, in my opinion, they are asking for quite a lot of very personal information. It is unlikely that all of this information is necessary in order for a collaboration (although I am not sure of the nature of it).
I would suggest telling the agency that you are uncomfortable giving them a scan of your passport and other forms of identification you do not wish to share. ANY professional entity will understand your concern. They should provide you ... See more While I do not know all the details, in my opinion, they are asking for quite a lot of very personal information. It is unlikely that all of this information is necessary in order for a collaboration (although I am not sure of the nature of it).
I would suggest telling the agency that you are uncomfortable giving them a scan of your passport and other forms of identification you do not wish to share. ANY professional entity will understand your concern. They should provide you with some sort of reassurance, and if not, you should not do business with them. However, I would never provide that much information for ANY business venture. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Ask them why they need it... | Jun 19, 2009 |
It is hard to tell why they may need it... The possible reasonable explanation I see is that they may need it for some accounting/paperwork purposes... Or may be they want to be sure that you are real person and not faked your profile?
On the other hand, what they can do with a scanned passport? They cannot use it as official document (tell me if I am wrong). So it is really a mystery how they can steel your identity that way.
In any case, this is surely not a common... See more It is hard to tell why they may need it... The possible reasonable explanation I see is that they may need it for some accounting/paperwork purposes... Or may be they want to be sure that you are real person and not faked your profile?
On the other hand, what they can do with a scanned passport? They cannot use it as official document (tell me if I am wrong). So it is really a mystery how they can steel your identity that way.
In any case, this is surely not a common practice, and another possible explanation is that the "newly established agency" is a newbie that does not really know how the cooperation should start and how the business of this kind works...
But all above may be not true and dozens of other suggestions are possible, so you'd really have to check it yourself... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 14:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| An observation | Jun 19, 2009 |
alz wrote:
Dear All,
recently I've got a mail from a newly established agency offering a potential collaboration and asking me to send all kind of data: my CV, rates etc etc, a lot of personal data, my bank account details, a signed "non disclosure form", references, my tax number etc etc. Everything seems very serious.
The last thing I was asked was the scan of my passport. Now I am a little bit concerned. With all those stories about stollen identity I do not feel confortable with this.
I've been in translation business as freelancer for over 20 years. I had never been asked for a copy of my passport before. Is this a common practice nowdays.
What is your opinion, please.
Hi there,
I believe they are asking for the copy of your passport to verify your identity, as that's the only official ID document in English (+ the other home language) with a photo. I think that's a fair practice when working remotely.
I believe I've been required to provide a photo ID copy (mostly passport or driver's license) almost every time when signing an NDA ( no, I didn't get their ID/ passport copy back ).
And no, stealing one's identity is not as easy as you may think, don't fall for the TV/ movie and Internet journal stories. For starters, a potential identity stealer would have the copy, and not your original passport ( with verified original signature, holographic foil, etc). It is only YOU who is in possession of your original passport.
However, hypothetically, I agree that it could create problems to you meanwhile ( by the time you prove your identity with original passport to the police).
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:02
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I would be suspicious | Jun 19, 2009 |
alz wrote:
Dear All,
recently I've got a mail from a newly established agency offering a potential collaboration and asking me to send all kind of data: my CV, rates etc etc, a lot of personal data, my bank account details, a signed "non disclosure form", references, my tax number etc etc. Everything seems very serious.
The last thing I was asked was the scan of my passport. Now I am a little bit concerned. With all those stories about stollen identity I do not feel confortable with this.
I've been in translation business as freelancer for over 20 years. I had never been asked for a copy of my passport before. Is this a common practice nowdays.
What is your opinion, please.
You say this is a new agency with no track record. The first thing they are asking for is a great deal of personal information that is completely unnecessary to operate a translation agency. None of the agencies I work for have ever asked me for all this information, and most of them have been in business for many years.
I would be highly suspicious about this new agency. Instead of giving them all my information I would be investigating, first of all, who they are.
Do they have a website? In what country is this website hosted? Are there contact details on that website (names and postal addresses)? Who are the directors? What do you know about them?
I certainly would not give them the information they claim to need. They certainly don't need it, so the question must arise: why are they asking for it?
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They never need such information. Don't do it.
If you end up working for them and they can show you proof (copies of articles of law etc.) that they need it, you may consider it. At this stage, it is completely outrageous that they request such a thing.
I have worked for companies all over Europe and America for 15 years and was never asked for such a thing. Something is fishy here.
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"newly established agency"
...asking for a scan of your passport....
It sounds strange. Would be interesting hear the answer of: "Why are you asking for this if no one agency do it?
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May Turgeon
Canada
Local time: 08:02
Member
English to French
+ ...
| never heard that one before | Jun 19, 2009 |
I surely wouldn't give out a copy of my passport nor any of my official ID as a matter of fact.
I don't even send a copy of my diploma when they ask me!
All the info they need to know are found on my CV.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 14:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Just one more info | Jun 19, 2009 |
I must point out that when I was asked for an ID/passport copy it was always a reliable agency/ company with a proven track record. I've never had any problems at all.
You certainly must check who they are, as Tom has said, regardless of what they are asking from you. Even if they don't ask any info from you that a standard agency would ask, you still need to do a bit of research on the background of their business.
| | | | | | | The topic is discussed here before and it is serious. | Jun 20, 2009 |
Hi, to my knowledge this topic/issue is discussed here before.
That time it was with a Chinese agency. Here we do not know, from where you are contacted.
To steel ones ID for a limited cause is, knowing Full name, Fathers Full Name, Mothers Full Name, Permanent Address, Birth Date, Bank Account, Passport details. All those Internet banking/credit related frauds are made with this information. The other part is Passport forgery, If I have some real-time material and real-time detail... See more Hi, to my knowledge this topic/issue is discussed here before.
That time it was with a Chinese agency. Here we do not know, from where you are contacted.
To steel ones ID for a limited cause is, knowing Full name, Fathers Full Name, Mothers Full Name, Permanent Address, Birth Date, Bank Account, Passport details. All those Internet banking/credit related frauds are made with this information. The other part is Passport forgery, If I have some real-time material and real-time details I can make a perfect forged passport. Which ppl need for human trafic.
Unless I expect you to travel to any place on my behalf, I don't need your passport details. I suggest, do not give your passport details. It is suspicious. ▲ Collapse
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Özden Arıkan
Germany
Local time: 14:02
Member
English to Turkish
+ ...
| I wouldn't give it | Jun 20, 2009 |
In addition to everything else said by everyone else, it is a well-known fact that the more red tape, the less jobs. Agencies who make a lot of fuss with detailed registration procedures never send you jobs. These are only the bad ones, though. There are also the terrible ones: lots of fuss, no jobs, and, on top of all this, spamming you with newsletters and company news you've never signed up for!
| | | | | For Heaven's sake | Jun 20, 2009 |
they go too far, that's really suspicious. DON'T do it.
Sometimes agencies ask too personal or irrelevant information, I just tell them I don't see the point in giving them certain information. Serious agencies understand it and we find another solution satisfying for both of us.
For example, I NEVER EVER give my bank information when applying for a job or negociating a new collaboration. They only get it after the job has been done and I send them my invoice. There is ... See more they go too far, that's really suspicious. DON'T do it.
Sometimes agencies ask too personal or irrelevant information, I just tell them I don't see the point in giving them certain information. Serious agencies understand it and we find another solution satisfying for both of us.
For example, I NEVER EVER give my bank information when applying for a job or negociating a new collaboration. They only get it after the job has been done and I send them my invoice. There is no reason whatsoever to distribute your bank data just because they ask for it.
I don't know why they want a copy of your passport, but there's no reason why they should have it. They might want to check your identity indeed, but as nobody else does it that way (in the translation industry), it really seems suspicious.
Tell them that's a bit too much for the beginning.
And please keep us informed !
Good luck ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 14:02
French to German
+ ...
| Been there, seen that | Jun 20, 2009 |
Sushan Harshe wrote:
Hi, to my knowledge this topic/issue is discussed here before.
That time it was with a Chinese agency. Here we do not know, from where you are contacted.
I was asked 2 times to provide ID and this Chinese agency, according to their own declarations, needed a copy of my passport in order to ensure that I was native in the language I pretended to be.
This didn't prevent them from asking me for test translations to be made towards the source language (English) from German and French.
Both requests sounded absurd, so I stopped communicating with them after a final explicative statement.
Laurent K.
[Edited at 2009-06-20 10:50 GMT]
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