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Agency asks for my SSN
Thread poster: Evgenia Mussuri
Evgenia Mussuri
Evgenia Mussuri
United States
Local time: 13:46
Member
English to Russian
+ ...
Jan 27, 2015

Dear colleagues,
Not so long ago I was approached by a US agency, they said they won a large contract and asked me to send them my CV and fill out their form online. After I did that, they asked me to send them my W-9 form. Since I have an LLC, I sent them the form with details and EIN for my LLC. But they said (and I quote) "this number is used for billing purposes, but we need to clear your social security number".

I have been working through my LLC for many years and nobo... See more
Dear colleagues,
Not so long ago I was approached by a US agency, they said they won a large contract and asked me to send them my CV and fill out their form online. After I did that, they asked me to send them my W-9 form. Since I have an LLC, I sent them the form with details and EIN for my LLC. But they said (and I quote) "this number is used for billing purposes, but we need to clear your social security number".

I have been working through my LLC for many years and nobody has ever asked specifically for my social security number, the EIN is enough for all my other clients.

I did not give them my social security number, because it feels a little strange and I do not want to take any risks. Researching this agency showed that they did get a big contract. But I found one negative review about this agency, in which the person said that the actual company and all its staff is located in Latin America and they use US SSNs to make clients believe they work with US translators here.

I did not find any other negative feedback about them. So, I am wondering, if I missed a good client with just an odd request or was it the right thing to do. Has anybody had any similar situations


[Edited at 2015-01-27 01:08 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-01-27 05:49 GMT] ▲ Collapse
 
The Misha
The Misha
Local time: 13:46
Russian to English
+ ...
You said it yourself Jan 27, 2015

The IRS is very clear on this: either SSN or EIN. If you have a corporate ID, they have no business asking you for your personal SSN. Moreover, if they are located in Latin America they have no business asking you for either.

A wise man once said in a classic movie: if there is a doubt, there is no doubt.
 


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Agency asks for my SSN







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