Recent Nigerian scam -money order Thread poster: Marie-Christine Nguyen
|
|---|
Dear all,
I replied to a job post on ProZ 3 weeks ago and was contacted by a Spanish doctor who asked me to translate a 6 pages document related to environment. Name, address, profile looked genuine when searching the internet (identity thief ?).
Barely discussed my quote and deadlines, very happy of my translation, very happy to pay me right now, but he has to go to South Africa for heavy surgery, something related to cancer. And when he said, whoops, his client, for... See more Dear all,
I replied to a job post on ProZ 3 weeks ago and was contacted by a Spanish doctor who asked me to translate a 6 pages document related to environment. Name, address, profile looked genuine when searching the internet (identity thief ?).
Barely discussed my quote and deadlines, very happy of my translation, very happy to pay me right now, but he has to go to South Africa for heavy surgery, something related to cancer. And when he said, whoops, his client, for whom he's working for, purchased a money order at my name, but wrong amount, 7 times what I was asking for... Would I mind to cash the whole and reimburse him the difference ? My red flag was up. The guy kept sending me mails, even call me from a number from South Africa. I told him some days ago I've been talking to lawyers friends of mine who gave me advices. No news since then.
I'm happy to have found out infos about Nigerian scams thanks to this forum and actions you can take against it. Careful, two days after I've accepted the job, I saw a new post from him on ProZ offering "long-term and fruitful collaboration" in Economics/Environment field....or maybe was it that time the real person?
Anyway, careful, I think some scams are around targeting at young freelance translators. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalie 
Poland
Local time: 17:46
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER | | Hi Natalie, I've done it. | Apr 10, 2013 |
It's too serious not to do anything against it, I have benefited from precious informations here and it's normal that in my turn I can help
| | | | | The same happened to me! | Jun 4, 2013 |
Oh no, Marie, I wish I had seen your post earlier, the same happened to me, just with a different name. Unfortunately, I did cash the cheques and sent him the large part of it by Western Union order. Exactly the same, with cancer and being in a South African hospital and all. I hope they get these people.
| | |
|
|
|
Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 21:16
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
I fell for the same scam. The modus operandi was exactly the same. The only difference was in my case it was a football coach, Ralph Damani, who was coming to India to talent scount and he wanted to get a contract translated into Hindi.
I did some research and the coach was a well-known Jamaican footballer who had a page of his own on Wikipedia. Obviously the scammer had hijacked his identity.
The rest of the details were the same. He accepted my rate without quibbling... See more I fell for the same scam. The modus operandi was exactly the same. The only difference was in my case it was a football coach, Ralph Damani, who was coming to India to talent scount and he wanted to get a contract translated into Hindi.
I did some research and the coach was a well-known Jamaican footballer who had a page of his own on Wikipedia. Obviously the scammer had hijacked his identity.
The rest of the details were the same. He accepted my rate without quibbling, gave a generously long time (one month) to finish the translation, and when the translation was submitted, expressed his satisfaction with it and commended me on a job well done. He then said his secretary (a name was mentioned - Scott Brown) would send me the payment by a moneygram cheque as he had no paypal account.
Promptly the cheque came by post, only the amount was three times more than the amount I had invoiced. I wrote to him about the mistake, and he replied that there had been some miscommunication with his secretary and the amount included the payment to an Arabic interpreter whom he was employing in Dubai next week. Could I kindly send the balance amount (after deducting whatever bank charges would be involved) to the Arabic translators whose bank details also he furnished.
I wrote to him that I will deposit the cheque in my bank and when the money comes through I will see what I can do, normally I don't entertain such requests.
A month later, the bank informed me that the cheque was a fictitious one.
I have sent several emails to 'Ralph', and predictably there has been no response.
Fortunately my loss was only the translation fee for the work I had done for him, some 300 USD. But had I paid his Arabic interpreter (who is hundred percent the actual scamster), I would have actually lost money from my pocket to the tune of 600 dollars. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | SAME FRAUDSTER SAME MODUS OPERANDI | Jun 17, 2013 |
I have had absolutely the same experience as mentioned by Mr Balasubramanium. I completed an assignment and received a money order with several times higher amount. I was told to take my money and transfer remaining amount to an unknown person in Egypt which I REFUSED. Same excuse - financial accountant Scott is out of town and hence money order cannot be cancelled and new money order with the correct amount cannot be sent. After the translation was received, no more mails from the client.
... See more I have had absolutely the same experience as mentioned by Mr Balasubramanium. I completed an assignment and received a money order with several times higher amount. I was told to take my money and transfer remaining amount to an unknown person in Egypt which I REFUSED. Same excuse - financial accountant Scott is out of town and hence money order cannot be cancelled and new money order with the correct amount cannot be sent. After the translation was received, no more mails from the client.
ALL TRANSLATORS BEWARE THERE IS A BIG SCAM GOING ON IN THE NAME OF RALPH DAMANI!!! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sanjay Ray
India
Local time: 21:16
Member (2002)
English to Bengali
+ ...
| The same person has also cheated me | Jul 10, 2013 |
This person, called himself Ralph Damani who also calls himself a foot ball agent wanted to translate a document into Hindi. The tactic was the same as with other translators.
He wanted me to translate a document f from English to Hindi as he will be coming to India next month to scout for football player.
The price was good for me,deadline is towards the end of the month.
He said he can only pay by an International Money order.
His finan... See more This person, called himself Ralph Damani who also calls himself a foot ball agent wanted to translate a document into Hindi. The tactic was the same as with other translators.
He wanted me to translate a document f from English to Hindi as he will be coming to India next month to scout for football player.
The price was good for me,deadline is towards the end of the month.
He said he can only pay by an International Money order.
His financial assistant(Scott Brown) made out a moneygram check for much higher amount. He asked me to have the check paid/deposited and send the rest to his linguist in Egypt.
I refused to do that but insisted he sends me the correct cheque for translation.
I am waiting for 4 months and no reply yet. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Another scam? | Nov 25, 2014 |
Seems that I got some scam as well, although not finished - I never got the cheque. But also not the payment for my translation.
Name: Williams Gaye
Supposed occupation: Sports manager (wanted to have a contract translated)
Financial assistant: Mary Romeo
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Recent Nigerian scam -money order | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
