Suspicious Email.
Thread poster: A. Deb
A. Deb
A. Deb  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:01
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
May 14, 2010

Hi

I'm not sure if this is the right forum in which to post this issue, but I felt that I should at least share with you all a suspicious email that I have just received. It was copied to me and a whole host of other people (who I do not know and who may or may not be ProZ members / users). It reads as follows:

Dear ,

We hereby request for your service as an interpreter in Spain. Our Director with four management staffs are coming to inspect a property p
... See more
Hi

I'm not sure if this is the right forum in which to post this issue, but I felt that I should at least share with you all a suspicious email that I have just received. It was copied to me and a whole host of other people (who I do not know and who may or may not be ProZ members / users). It reads as follows:

Dear ,

We hereby request for your service as an interpreter in Spain. Our Director with four management staffs are coming to inspect a property proposed to be our corporate office in Madrid. They speak more of Arabic than English. Our schedule dates is 24th – 28st of May between 9 A.M - 3 P.M. Daily.

We require you to confirm your availability for this service and note that transportation shall be dully paid for if you dont recide in the city.

Please, advice ASAP if you wish to offer your services and we can proceed with arrangement

kind regards.

Dave.

Sounds very dodgy, don't you think? No contact details and and a "@mail.com" email address.

I just hope no-one is taken in by it.

Ana
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megane_wang
megane_wang  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:01
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...
You're right: this would better be sent to the Trash May 14, 2010

Hi Ana,

Thanks for sharing. These sort of unprofessional contacts occur from time to time and I'm sure that at least it's a good point to post a comment for less experienced people.

Even if this were a "bona fide" asker, they will learn to sign their e-mails appropriately with a full identification and enough data for you to be able to double check their identity.

And other colleagues who are not aware enough of that may now know that they must be careful w
... See more
Hi Ana,

Thanks for sharing. These sort of unprofessional contacts occur from time to time and I'm sure that at least it's a good point to post a comment for less experienced people.

Even if this were a "bona fide" asker, they will learn to sign their e-mails appropriately with a full identification and enough data for you to be able to double check their identity.

And other colleagues who are not aware enough of that may now know that they must be careful with that kind of messages.

Best regards,

Ruth @ MW

[Edited at 2010-05-14 18:41 GMT]
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Stanislav Pokorny
Stanislav Pokorny  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 22:01
English to Czech
+ ...
Advance payment May 14, 2010

Hi Ana,
if I were in your shoes, I'd ask the prospect to send an advance payment for my travel expenses through PayPal or wire transfer. If they offer you a cheque and nothing else than a cheque, I'd suggest you read the following thread carefully: http://www.proz.com/forum/business_issues/159334-scam_.html


 
Translation-Pro
Translation-Pro  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:01
English to German
+ ...
Check the IP address May 16, 2010

Hi Ana,

I received this e-mail:

"Hi,
I am XXXXX from Liverpool, UK.I will need the service
of an interpreter while i will be coming for a 4days
program in GERMANY.The service would be for duration of
2hours 10am-1pm daily from, June28 Monday through July1
Thursday,2010.

I would want you to get back with the price quote for the
service , so i could make deposit payment to reserve this
spot for me from your schedule.I
... See more
Hi Ana,

I received this e-mail:

"Hi,
I am XXXXX from Liverpool, UK.I will need the service
of an interpreter while i will be coming for a 4days
program in GERMANY.The service would be for duration of
2hours 10am-1pm daily from, June28 Monday through July1
Thursday,2010.

I would want you to get back with the price quote for the
service , so i could make deposit payment to reserve this
spot for me from your schedule.I will furnish you every
necessary further informations needed.

Waiting to read back from you at your best convenience.

Rev. XXXXX"


Here's the IP address of "Rev. XXXXX from Liverpool":

IP Address Location
IP Address
XXXXXXXXXXXX
CityLagos
State or RegionLagos
CountryNigeria

Best,

Christa
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Daniel Grau
Daniel Grau  Identity Verified
Argentina
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
This is what will happen May 17, 2010

You may quote outrageously high rates, which they'll pay in advance by check without blinking, only that they will "inadvertently" pay more than you quoted and will eventually request a compensation payment from you.

You will diligently pay the difference, while their check takes a couple of days to bounce. You'll never hear from them again.

Regards,

Daniel


 
Vito Smolej
Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 22:01
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
bull´s eye May 17, 2010

Daniel Grau wrote:

You may quote outrageously high rates, which they'll pay in advance by check without blinking, only that they will "inadvertently" pay more than you quoted and will eventually request a compensation payment from you.

You will diligently pay the difference, while their check takes a couple of days to bounce. You'll never hear from them again.

Regards,

Daniel


+1

see for instance http://www.hoax-slayer.com/overpayment-scam.html


 
Ulrike G.
Ulrike G.  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:01
Member (2006)
English to German
Nigeria Connection May 18, 2010

This is exactly what they are: http://www.data-wales.co.uk/nigerian.htm

 
A. Deb
A. Deb  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:01
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Solutions? May 19, 2010

Isn't there somewhere where such emails can be reported?

Ana


 
Sophie Govaere McConnell
Sophie Govaere McConnell
France
Local time: 22:01
Member (2008)
English to French
Got the scam emails too... Jun 19, 2010

Twice... from different email addresses, the message was almost identical. Maybe there's a way for ProZ to warn all their users about this? Not everybody is reading all the forums' threads (there's too much to read for that...)
Regards,
Sophie


 
A. Deb
A. Deb  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:01
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Me too - again! Jun 21, 2010

Yes Sophie. I received another almost identical one recently after posting this thread.

 


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Suspicious Email.







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