Is It Halal to Earn Online Income by Misrepresenting My Identity or Location?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

I live in Kenya and want to do online work like data labeling and content evaluation for US-based platforms.

To complete their onboarding, I use a VPN and a friend’s US phone number, since my Kenyan number isn’t accepted.

After signing a contract, I do real work and get paid. Is this income halal, haram, or makruh?

Summary Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The work you are doing is allowed, and earning money for honest work is also allowed. The issue is not the work itself, but how you access the platform.

Whether your method is allowed depends on the platform’s terms and conditions regarding who can join and how identity is verified.

If the terms do not allow people from your region or do not allow misrepresentation of your identity or location, then using these methods breaks the agreement and constitutes deception, which is not allowed, even if the work itself is fine.

You should check the terms directly before relying on this income.

Direct Answer

There is no issue with the type of work. Data labeling and content evaluation are allowed jobs, and in general, things are considered allowed unless proven otherwise (al-asl fi al-ashya’ al-ibaha).

Money earned for real work belongs to the worker. So, the real question is not about the work, but about how you access it.

There are two steps in your onboarding that need careful thought.

First, you use a friend’s US phone number to verify your account. Even if your friend agrees, the platform uses this step to confirm who you are and where you are located.

Using someone else’s number makes the platform think you are someone you are not. Your friend’s permission only settles things between you and your friend, not with the platform, which is the one being misled.

Second, you use a VPN but are not sure whether the platform’s block is a technical issue or an actual policy.

You need to find out, because the answer depends on this point.

Contract and Law

The main issue is the contract. When you sign it, you agree to its terms.

Allah (Most High) tells believers to keep their promises and to speak the truth. He says: “O you who believe, fear Allah and speak a word that is true. He will set right your deeds for you and forgive you your sins.” [Quran, 33:70-71]

Allah (Most High) also says: “O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” [Quran, 4:59]

This essentially means we must follow the rules set by those in charge, including the terms of any contract, as long as those rules do not go against Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).

The platform’s rules about who can join and where they can work are part of this. If their rules do not involve sin, we must respect them.

We must always be truthful in our actions. The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Whoever deceives us is not one of us.” [Muslim]

This hadith clearly forbids getting a contract or its benefits through deception.

So, if the platform’s rules do not allow people from your region or do not allow misrepresenting your identity or location, then hiding these facts to get the contract is a form of deception and breaks the agreement you accepted.

Money earned this way is not as pure as money earned honestly, even if the work itself is real.

If the terms do not say anything against your region and the block is only a technical issue, then the situation is much easier.

The main concern left is the use of a borrowed phone number. You should try to verify your account in a way that honestly shows who you are.

Principle and Practical Guidance

Read the platform’s terms and conditions yourself, especially the parts about who can join and how identity and location are checked.

Let what you find guide your decision. If the terms do not allow what you are doing, do not look for ways around the rules.

Instead, look for platforms that legally accept workers from Kenya—there are several.

If the terms allow you to join and only the phone number is an issue, find a way to verify your identity honestly.

Keep your promises, be truthful in your work, and do not let your income depend on misrepresentation. What is built on honesty is always stronger than what is built on deception.

And Allah (Most High) knows best.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

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Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.