Should I proceed with this Business? Unsure of Legality..

[All_In52]

Hey guys,

So after working for an indian guy on upwork doing copywriting, he's telling me about a business plan where I open an AMAZON Mturk account (Honestly I don't know what this was before he brought it up but its basically jobs robots can't do) and have him and his partners work on the projects I sign up for.

He said when I make $100 I'll transfer $80 to him and then keep $20 to myself. I basically don't do anything except have the account open. To me, this seems like easy money but sort've unethical.. I just would like to know your guys thoughts on this, especially since you all have so much experience in Entrepreneurship.

I am a naive and curious individual so sometimes I'm unsure of whether something is too good to be true or worth it. I guess my bullshit meters going off right now haha..

 

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[amp0193]

Hey guys,

So after working for an indian guy on upwork doing copywriting, he's telling me about a business plan where I open an AMAZON Mturk account (Honestly I don't know what this was before he brought it up but its basically jobs robots can't do) and have him and his partners work on the projects I sign up for.

He said when I make $100 I'll transfer $80 to him and then keep $20 to myself. I basically don't do anything except have the account open. To me, this seems like easy money but sort've unethical.. I just would like to know your guys thoughts on this, especially since you all have so much experience in Entrepreneurship.

I am a naive and curious individual so sometimes I'm unsure of whether something is too good to be true or worth it. I guess my bullshit meters going off right now haha..

Nothing illegal about that. It's called sub-contracting.

What you'd want to find out, is if that's against amazon's terms of service... that, I couldn't tell you.

If you're bullshit meter is going off, then walk away. Always go with your gut.


The biggest question in my mind, is why this guy needs you to open an account.

 

[All_In52]

Nothing illegal about that. It's called sub-contracting.

What you'd want to find out, is if that's against amazon's terms of service... that, I couldn't tell you.

If you're bullshit meter is going off, then walk away. Always go with your gut.


The biggest question in my mind, is why this guy needs you to open an account.

I think mturk only used US and UK accounts and have now only allowed indian accounts to be made but they must be accepted first.

I think it was due to the poor quality of Indian accounts.

I just don't want to do it. I rather do something else but I'll think about it and look into the terms of service.

 

[All_In52]

Nothing illegal about that. It's called sub-contracting.

What you'd want to find out, is if that's against amazon's terms of service... that, I couldn't tell you.

Can an account holder subcontract on Mturk? • r/mturk

Just came across this. My bullshit meter was right, and thanks for the reminder of always listening with my gut Need to trust that guy more

 

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[jon.a]

If I had my own Amazon account, I wouldn't do anything that might put it into jeopardy.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Sounds like sub-contracting, not illegal but might be against Amazon's terms.

 

[Xavier X]

I'm pretty familiar with how Mturk works. If you did that, your account will certainly be suspended down the line.

That's not even the biggest issue.

Your Mturk account requires your SSN, and has full access to your regular Amazon.com account.
Therefore, if anyone has access to your Mturk account, they can also access your Amazon profile.

If you're an active Amazon user with credit cards, bank accounts etc on file, that can get interesting.
Good thing you've decided not to do it, but I thought I'd add this, in case the guy tries to convince you further.

 

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[All_In52]

I'm pretty familiar with how Mturk works. If you did that, your account will certainly be suspended down the line.

That's not even the biggest issue.

Your Mturk account requires your SSN, and has full access to your regular Amazon.com account.
Therefore, if anyone has access to your Mturk account, they can also access your Amazon profile.

If you're an active Amazon user with credit cards, bank accounts etc on file, that can get interesting.
Good thing you've decided not to do it, but I thought I'd add this, in case the guy tries to convince you further.

Scary stuff man. The guy was too desperate and eager to get started too which made me take a set back.

 

[Brad S]

You certainly made the right decision not doing it. Amazon is very strict with their standards. I've had some involvement with a few different Indian developers recently and let me tell you they have all been very unethical bordering on con men. Definitely a get-rich-quick mentality where deception and illegality make no difference. I think this is a much bigger problem in India then people realize. Similar to all of the counterfeiting in China with websites like Alibaba.

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