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I am a business translator/interpreter in Hangzhou, China. A British client said that he is going to China and he will hire me as his interpreter when he is in China. He asked my bank information except the pin. After that he requested me to send him a copy of my passport page. Do you think this request is normal/acceptable? My previous clients never asked me for a copy of my passport page.

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What this have to do with OnStartups? – Ross Aug 19 '11 at 12:29
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@Steven Please see my note below. You are being scammed. Don't provide any more information. And we would love to answer any questions you have about starting up your translation business. – Joseph Barisonzi Aug 19 '11 at 14:30
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@Ross, you think startups are immune from criminal activity or don't need to set up customer service policies? – Huperniketes Aug 19 '11 at 15:48
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@Huperniketes, we know well what type of questions Steven asks here. Maybe I am too suspicious, but it seems like he promotes again his translation business. – Ross Aug 19 '11 at 19:24
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@Ross, isn't whether he's repeatedly promoting his business a matter for the meta site? and a matter entirely different from whether his question has applicability to other startups? – Huperniketes Aug 19 '11 at 19:38
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3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

I suspect the request is probably innocent so that they can see what you look like etc, though to be safe I would say yes and tell him you will be masking out certain items for security precautions (such as part of your DOB or passport number).

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He requested me for a picture of me before he requested me for a copy of my passport page. – Steven Aug 19 '11 at 13:49
+1 for blocking out passport ID, address, etc. – TimJ♦ Aug 19 '11 at 14:36
up vote 1 down vote

Do not underestimate the power of reciprocity. If he asks for a copy of your passport, why don't you ask for HIS copy too?

If all he wants is a picture, you can send him a picture instead of your passport. Do you know who your client is? Do you have good references about him?

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No, I didn't know who my client was. I had no good references about him. – Steven Aug 19 '11 at 13:51
He already got a picture of me before he requested me for a copy of my passport page. – Steven Aug 19 '11 at 13:53
Never heard of that practice before. Does he also have your banking details? – A. Garcia Aug 19 '11 at 14:20
Yes, I gave him my banking details. – Steven Aug 19 '11 at 14:50
up vote 7 down vote

A passport includes lots of information which, when combined with the banking information, could be very useful when trying to steal an identity. Some banks will ask for a copy of your passport page. Beware of people that ask for one thing, then just one more thing, and so on. I bet there will be another request for another piece of personal information. Do a web search on the person and email address.

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