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Detecting and reacting to false job offers and other scams

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polivios
polivios
Local time: 11:04
English to Oromo
Thanks Jun 13, 2010

Very enlightening. I guess these things happen everyday. There are also cases of real translation agencies who never pay for services rendered and there is nothing one can do. Even if you try to avoid them, they come back to you with a different name.
Perhaps, you, as a known organization can get involved in the final agreement and have the customer make, at least, a prepayment.

Regards,

polivios


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:04
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Nigeria, the UK, the USA Jun 25, 2010

the list is endless as is the "business" they're conducting, including the Official(?) UK State Lottery and, of course, the movie and music industries.
I, too, have received the scam emails via ProZ. However, their poor English instantly unmasked them. Every time!

Thank you for this article and your consecutive warning to check the companies prior to doing business with them. Very good advice!

Best
... See more
the list is endless as is the "business" they're conducting, including the Official(?) UK State Lottery and, of course, the movie and music industries.
I, too, have received the scam emails via ProZ. However, their poor English instantly unmasked them. Every time!

Thank you for this article and your consecutive warning to check the companies prior to doing business with them. Very good advice!

Best

Thayenga
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David Moore (X)
David Moore (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:04
German to English
+ ...
Text recognised? Then report it. Jun 26, 2010

How many times have we all had e-mails like the "dating scam" mentioned above?

My answer to these is always and invariably to click on the last line below the e-mail, where it says "Report as spam/unwanted advertising". I imagine the sender's e-mail ID or profile is then blocked by ProZ to prevent this happening again - until they invent a new alias, at any rate.

If we all do that every time, I think the perpetrators will get the (lack of) message. The same in fact goes for
... See more
How many times have we all had e-mails like the "dating scam" mentioned above?

My answer to these is always and invariably to click on the last line below the e-mail, where it says "Report as spam/unwanted advertising". I imagine the sender's e-mail ID or profile is then blocked by ProZ to prevent this happening again - until they invent a new alias, at any rate.

If we all do that every time, I think the perpetrators will get the (lack of) message. The same in fact goes for all the above scams - who, realistically, is going to pay millions of pounds, euros, dollars etc. away for virtually nothing?

Keep up the good work, ProZ, and thank you very much!

David Moore
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Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:04
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Well done! Jun 26, 2010

My most sincere thanks to everyone involved in writing the Wiki. Fantastic!

 
Pablo Bouvier
Pablo Bouvier  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:04
German to Spanish
+ ...
Detecting and reacting to false job offers and other scams Jun 26, 2010

Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:

My most sincere thanks to everyone involved in writing the Wiki. Fantastic!


Indeed, enlightening and useful. My gratitude to all the contributors that made this article possible.


 
Meritxell Asensio
Meritxell Asensio  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:04
English to Spanish
+ ...
Nigeria Translator scam Jun 26, 2010

I have recently received a translation offer and after double checking I discovered it was a scam.
It is a shame that these things still happen but as they say... if it sounds too good to be true, possibly it is!

thanks for all the information provided and for helping us to stay alert!!!

[Edited at 2010-06-26 18:08 GMT]


 
Martha Schwan
Martha Schwan  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 05:04
Member
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Thanks Jun 29, 2010

polivios wrote:

Very enlightening. I guess these things happen everyday. There are also cases of real translation agencies who never pay for services rendered and there is nothing one can do. Even if you try to avoid them, they come back to you with a different name.
Perhaps, you, as a known organization can get involved in the final agreement and have the customer make, at least, a prepayment.

Regards,

polivios


 
Daniele Heinen
Daniele Heinen  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 04:04
Member (2006)
English to French
+ ...
Nigeria scam - a bit of history Jul 8, 2010

Just for a bit of history, having worked in Africa from 1975 to 1985, long before working in translation I can testify to the scams that at the time came by mail, then faxes then as the technology evolves, now e-mail of course.Nigeria was competing hard with Zaire as to level of corruption and both countries had currencies that you could not take out, so in both there was a flourishing currency black market, a situation which trigerred all sorts of make do schemes.

 
Manuela Hoffmann-Maleki (X)
Manuela Hoffmann-Maleki (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:04
English to German
+ ...
Another example of such spam: "Interpreter needed!!!" Aug 12, 2010

Hello,

after reading this, I am sorry to say that I took one of these mails for a real request. Fortunately, I answered that I would just accept bank transfer, not a cheque, but in case they send money - is there anything to do? I gave them my banking details. Hope that doesn't turn out to be a bad idea...

This is the first mail I received via ProZ:

"Hello,

My name is Dennis Rio from United Kingdom . I will
need the service of English to German
... See more
Hello,

after reading this, I am sorry to say that I took one of these mails for a real request. Fortunately, I answered that I would just accept bank transfer, not a cheque, but in case they send money - is there anything to do? I gave them my banking details. Hope that doesn't turn out to be a bad idea...

This is the first mail I received via ProZ:

"Hello,

My name is Dennis Rio from United Kingdom . I will
need the service of English to German interpreter while
i
will be coming to (Bavaria)Germany for a 3day event with
my wife
who is 5month pregnant. My wife does not understand
German
and as such will need English to German Speaking
Interpreter
to assist her in the area of purchasing certain items and
other relevant services. Your services will only be
needed
from thursday23 ,september to Saturday 25 September, 2010
from
9am -2pm
daily.

I will prefer that such an interpreter is someone who is
very familiar with Bavaria places of interest and will
be a
very nice and jovial person that can keep a smile on my
wifeâ?Ts face till I return because she means a lot to
me.

If interested, do get back to me with the fee involved so
i
can make deposit.
best regards
Dennis Rio"

And this is the one I received after I gave him my price details:

"I am okay with the fee.i would have love to come down to pay you by cash, but its going to be stressful and time consuming so i will send you an international Bank Certified check that you can easily catch at your bank.in case you stay outside Bavaria Munich do calculate your Transportation .Do provide the below details for payment.

Name to be written on the check
Full address to send the check
Your phone number
kind regards
Dennis"

So the latter contains almost everything that makes it look like the above-mentioned spam mail.

I reported this mail now by clicking on the link in the last line of the mail.

I hope there is not going to be any more trouble with this one. It had appeared somewhat strange to me, but when I found nothing via Google, I answered it...

Best regards,
Manuela
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Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 15:04
English to Thai
+ ...
Greed and lost Aug 25, 2010

In many scams, greed induces loss. If we are reasonable about what to pay and what to get--under normal practice-- what that is too good to be true will never hit us the translators. Internet today is not the only traffic way of the good and the honest. The ones with good communication skill e.g. English usage, can make fake matters with more conviction.

Soonthon Lupkitaro


 
Gudrun Wolfrath
Gudrun Wolfrath  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:04
English to German
+ ...
Manuela, Aug 25, 2010

I received an identical one and deleted it immediately.

 
Paula Morrison
Paula Morrison  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:04
English to Spanish
+ ...
Direct contact Aug 25, 2010

Hi all,

I have received a couple of these scams and the best thing to do is check, if it doesn't have a proper phone number you can call to to enquire about the job, then you can't simply rely on a fake email address that might look like the one from a legitimate agency.

That's my thought!

Paula

------------------------------------------------------------

Paula Morrison

PM Translation & Interpreting Services
... See more
Hi all,

I have received a couple of these scams and the best thing to do is check, if it doesn't have a proper phone number you can call to to enquire about the job, then you can't simply rely on a fake email address that might look like the one from a legitimate agency.

That's my thought!

Paula

------------------------------------------------------------

Paula Morrison

PM Translation & Interpreting Services

Tel: 0208 244 8278

Mob: 0782 8090 588

[email protected]

www.pmtranslationservices.co.uk



The information contained in this email or any attachment is confidential and intended for the exclusive use of the Individual(s) or organisation specified above. Any unauthorised dissemination or copying of the contents or any misuse or wrongful disclosure of information contained in it, is strictly prohibited and may be illegal. If you have received this message in error, please immediately delete it and any attachments. If you do not wish to receive any promotional material from us in the future, please let us know.



Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to
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mónica alfonso
mónica alfonso  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:04
English to Spanish
+ ...
Nigerian familly is growing!!!! Pity I received it in Spanish; hope many of you understand it. Sep 4, 2010

-
-DESDE: EL ESCRITORIO DE LA DIRECCIÓN PROMOCIONES, PROMOCIONES
INTERNACIONAL / DEPARTAMENTO DE PREMIO PREMIO,

REF NO: K/M-001-23-8

Finalmente hoy, anunciamos los ganadores de la Kia Motors Ltd. Nigeria,
GANANCIAS PROGRAMAS PROMO 2010. Su dirección de correo electrónico
personal, ganó en la categoría segunda de lotería 002, celebrada en
Nigeria. En consecuencia, es tanto, se han aprobado para un pago total de
$800,000.00 dólares estado
... See more
-
-DESDE: EL ESCRITORIO DE LA DIRECCIÓN PROMOCIONES, PROMOCIONES
INTERNACIONAL / DEPARTAMENTO DE PREMIO PREMIO,

REF NO: K/M-001-23-8

Finalmente hoy, anunciamos los ganadores de la Kia Motors Ltd. Nigeria,
GANANCIAS PROGRAMAS PROMO 2010. Su dirección de correo electrónico
personal, ganó en la categoría segunda de lotería 002, celebrada en
Nigeria. En consecuencia, es tanto, se han aprobado para un pago total de
$800,000.00 dólares estadounidenses (ochocientos mil dólares
estadounidenses) solamente. Los datos siguientes se adjuntan a su
solicitud de pago ganancias: abonados a disposición REF NO: K/M-001-23-8.
y Kia Motors (PROMO) CHIP NO: 9465021

Todos los participantes fueron seleccionados a través de nuestro sistema
de votación equipo con Microsoft (TCBS), procedentes del continente
sudamericano, en el marco del derecho internacional "KIA MOTORS"
Promociones Programa, para promover el uso de KIA MOTORS en todo el mundo
para promover el uso de KIA MOTORS todo el mundo. Sus fondos (certificado
bancario de verificación) se han asegurado con su REF NO: K/M-001-23-8.To
reclamar su premio ganador, primero debe, en contacto con el agente de
reclamaciones más adelante los detalles requeridos.

Nombre 1.Full :.......
2.Residential Dirección: ...
3.País :......
4.Occupation :.....
5.Telephone NÚMERO :....
6.Age :....
7.Sex :....
8.Marital Estado :......
9.Nationality :....
10.REF NO :.....

RECLAMACIÓN ADMIN AGENTE DEPTO.
Nombre: Sra. Axa Sawford
Correo electrónico:[email protected]
KIA MOTORS LTD.
Copyright@2010 kiamotors.Ng
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mónica alfonso
mónica alfonso  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:04
English to Spanish
+ ...
And this one even dares to offer openly an 'obscured' (sic) business Sep 4, 2010

Good day,

I am Mr. Ming Yang, Director of Operations of the Hang Seng Bank Ltd, Sai Wan Ho Branch, Hong Kong . I have an obscured business suggestion for you.

Please Get Back to me on my Email Address: [email protected]

Kind Regards

Mr.Ming Yang
Private Email: [email protected]


 
Enrique F Granados-González
Enrique F Granados-González  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:04
Member (2011)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Another one Oct 27, 2010

Hello,I am Thomas Maxwell and i represent Nanjing Textiles
Import & Export Corp Ltd.I write to inquire for the service
of a matured Interpreter/Translator who can work for us in
Spain and Earn 400 EURO to 500 EURO weekly.The nature of the
Job is a partime which will only require about 2 to 3 hours
per week.Only contact us if you feel you are the right
candidate for the Offer so we can furnish you every
necessary details.


Regards,
Thomas Ma
... See more
Hello,I am Thomas Maxwell and i represent Nanjing Textiles
Import & Export Corp Ltd.I write to inquire for the service
of a matured Interpreter/Translator who can work for us in
Spain and Earn 400 EURO to 500 EURO weekly.The nature of the
Job is a partime which will only require about 2 to 3 hours
per week.Only contact us if you feel you are the right
candidate for the Offer so we can furnish you every
necessary details.


Regards,
Thomas Maxwell
Human Resources Manager
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Detecting and reacting to false job offers and other scams






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