Ask HN: Is Upwork contracting through other people's accounts a thing?

I just received a rather odd email from a Chinese developer, asking me to provide access to my Upwork account in exchange for a slice of their Upwork commissions. Seems insane but I wondered, is this actually something that happens or just a scam?

Happy new year! Hope you have had great holidays. I wish you the best luck in your business this year. I am Cui and I am from China. I saw you on GitHub.

As a senior full-stack developer who had 8+ years of large experience, I have worked in my local company for a long time. But I want to work as a freelancer on Upwork using the European Upwork account now.

- Why do I need to use an European Upwork account?

As you know, Europeans are easier than Asians to work on Upwork and to get a high hourly rate. Really it is so difficult to get good jobs using the Asian Upwork account on Upwork. So I don't use a China(Asian) account and want to only use the European Upwork account.

- How can I use your Upwork account?

If you have an Upwork account and don't use it, I wanna use it on your local computer via Teamviewer or Anydesk. If not, you can create a new account for me. Also, I think if you use your Upwork account part-time, you can use it with me. Only I will use your account while you don't use your account.

- How can we transfer money with each other?

You can add Payoneer or Paypal to your Upwork account and If I earn some money using your Upwork account, we can withdraw it via your Payoneer or Paypal. And then you can get 10% of the money from there and you can send the rest of the money to my Paypal or Payoneer.

- Why do I need access to your locale via Teamviewer or Anydesk?

If I use your Upwork account using a virtual server such as VPN, VPS, AWS, Upwork detects the proxy server IP and blocks your account. So If I can use your account, I must absolutely use it on your local computer via Teamviewer or Anydesk. If you worry about your personal secret data on your computer, you can set a VM on your computer and I can use your account on the VM of your computer.

- You don't have to worry about me stealing and have your Upwork account. Why?

Really there isn't a need to steal and have your Upwork account without you. If I use your account on another location using VPN, VPS, your account will be blocked because of an IP location change. Also, Upwork requires video chat sometimes, I can't do it without your help.

If you can collaborate with me, please feel free to contact me.