Translation of a 43 page document Thread poster: Gloria Černoch
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Gloria Černoch
United States
Local time: 04:50
English to German
+ ...
Hello everyone.
I am just getting started and literally just set up my profile yesterday. Today, I have received an email from a non-member regarding a 43 page translation (general) with the offer to send a cashiers check once completed. Are services sometimes paid via cashiers check or am I just being gullible?
Any tips and advice for a newbie would be helpful. I would really appreciate it.
| | | | | I have moved your post to the Scams forum because this is a common scam. | Mar 3, 2020 |
Dear Gloria,
Welcome to ProZ.com! Glad to have you here.
I'm sorry to say that you have been contacted by a scammer. The check scam is very common across most online industries nowadays (illustrators, programmers and graphic designers are targeted as well). As a general rule, my advice is that you simply do not accept payments via check; unless you are working for the government or a local, legally registered, physically reachable company.
These two are ... See more Dear Gloria,
Welcome to ProZ.com! Glad to have you here.
I'm sorry to say that you have been contacted by a scammer. The check scam is very common across most online industries nowadays (illustrators, programmers and graphic designers are targeted as well). As a general rule, my advice is that you simply do not accept payments via check; unless you are working for the government or a local, legally registered, physically reachable company.
These two are the fake check scams that show up most often:
http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Translator_scam_alert_reports#August_26.2C_2019:_Advance_payment_.2F_impersonation_of_ProZ.com_member:_translation_of_Research_Project_on_Agricultural_reforms_in_EU
http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Translator_scam_alert_reports#July_01.2C_2019:_Advance_payment_.2F_overpayment_scam:_Document_worth_11.2C643_words_.2844_pages.29:_.22Public_Organisations_Procedures_Research.22
Now, allow me to share some risk-management resources with you, for the future:
First, if you go to ProZ.com's Translator Scam Alerts, you can find a dedicated page with a list of all the reported scams. Some of the entries include email addresses and/or email formats that scammers use to trick translators, along with information about their modus operandi: https://www.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts
Next, you may also want to check ProZ.com's Scams forum, where translators share their experiences and any information that comes their way to protect each other: https://www.proz.com/forum/scams-946.html
Last, but not least, looking up the email addresses in this database of known scammers might be of help: http://www.translator-scammers.com/translator-scammers-emails.htm
Now, if you have received a job offer that seems kind of suspicious, but the previous resources didn't help in clearing your doubts, don't despair. Submit a support request with as much information as possible, and ProZ.com staff will be happy to help.
Last, if you want to forward your exchanges with this scammer so that I can block their email and IP address, please send a support request. You can get to the form quickly using this link: https://www.proz.com/support?mode=ask
Stay safe, and don't hesitate to reach out to the ProZ.com team if you need help getting started with the site.
Kind regards,
Andrea ▲ Collapse
| | | | Gloria Černoch
United States
Local time: 04:50
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you so much | Mar 3, 2020 |
Andrea - thank you so much for your quick response and your detailed input. I've sent a copy of the email received to the indicated email address in order for you to be able to add it to the scam list.
Again, I really appreciate it.
Gloria
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 09:50
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Is there nothing that can be done to stop/reduce this problem? | Mar 3, 2020 |
Andrea Capuselli wrote:
I'm sorry to say that you have been contacted by a scammer. The check scam is very common across most online industries nowadays (illustrators, programmers and graphic designers are targeted as well).
We keep hearing from newbies who have been contacted immediately after they register -- well, we've heard from at least a few, so there are bound to be a lot more than a few. Could ProZ.com do more to give a warning when people register? Something more than a link to somewhere that might not get followed?
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| Some measures ProZ.com takes to protect translators | Mar 3, 2020 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
We keep hearing from newbies who have been contacted immediately after they register -- well, we've heard from at least a few, so there are bound to be a lot more than a few. Could ProZ.com do more to give a warning when people register? Something more than a link to somewhere that might not get followed?
Dear Sheila,
Thank you for your input.
ProZ.com staff takes measures every day to fight off scammers. We detect IPs and browsers that are mass-emailing and swiftly block them, track the "spam lists" from different sources (such as StopForumSpam), and have multiple filters in place that detect suspicious word combinations (such as "44 pages"), as well as keep an eye on the forums and contact people who may have useful information.
However, while the ProZ.com support team is comprised of about a dozen people, these scams make up a multi-million industry, the scale of which is still mostly unknown. At the moment, the most effective method to combat these scammers remains informing as many people as possible of their methods.
I, and the entirely team, appreciate the time you take to warn and inform your colleagues.
I hope this clears your concern to some degree. Thank you for your support of the site!
Kind regards,
Andrea
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 04:50
Romanian to English
+ ...
| Exactly my thought | Mar 4, 2020 |
Sheila Wilson wrote: Andrea Capuselli wrote:
I'm sorry to say that you have been contacted by a scammer. The check scam is very common across most online industries nowadays (illustrators, programmers and graphic designers are targeted as well). We keep hearing from newbies who have been contacted immediately after they register -- well, we've heard from at least a few, so there are bound to be a lot more than a few. Could ProZ.com do more to give a warning when people register? Something more than a link to somewhere that might not get followed?
Could the staff post a warning to new members?
Lee
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 03:50
English to Russian
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| Maybe my old suggestion will sound less crazy and more justified now | Mar 4, 2020 |
For what it's worth.
We all know about the sites where you absolutely can not move forward, say, open an account, before entering certain data and/or hitting Accept buttons. The site will simply stop you in your tracks. Is there a way to create a warning page somewhere in the middle of the registration process, a page short but flashy enough to force people to read it, accept and only then finish the registration? Just like you can't buy a plane ticket online before accepting the ru... See more For what it's worth.
We all know about the sites where you absolutely can not move forward, say, open an account, before entering certain data and/or hitting Accept buttons. The site will simply stop you in your tracks. Is there a way to create a warning page somewhere in the middle of the registration process, a page short but flashy enough to force people to read it, accept and only then finish the registration? Just like you can't buy a plane ticket online before accepting the rules about hazardous materials.
It will save Proz team a lot of time and energy, otherwise spent on ... I better stop here ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 04:50
Japanese to English
+ ...
| Once again, cashier's checks | Mar 4, 2020 |
You can protect yourself from being scammed by telling the prospective client: "Sorry, no checks accepted. Bank wire transfer or PayPal only". If they are legit, they will have no problem. I think if enough translators read these prospective scammers the riot act, they will get the idea and move on to other things, like money laundering, etc.
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Gloria Černoch
United States
Local time: 04:50
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for chiming in. I've missed most of these responses. I'm still getting acquainted with this site and reading through forums, working on getting my profile finished. Everyone's input is greatly appreciated. I do have to say, while it will take me a while to navigate through everything, I do appreciate the quick response and help that I have gotten from our administrator here and from all of you guys. Gives a newbie like myself comfort. So, thanks again.
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 04:50
Romanian to English
+ ...
| The new old overpayment scam | Apr 18, 2020 |
Just received in my e-mail box:
David Jackson [email protected]
To lee
Hi, I'm contacting you in regard to an English document content worth 11,668 words (43 Pages). I need this document translated into Moldovan and I would like to know if you are interested and available to get this done for me. Please get
back to me as soon as you possible, Thank you.
... See more Just received in my e-mail box:
David Jackson [email protected]
To lee
Hi, I'm contacting you in regard to an English document content worth 11,668 words (43 Pages). I need this document translated into Moldovan and I would like to know if you are interested and available to get this done for me. Please get
back to me as soon as you possible, Thank you.
Best regard,
David.
PS. They are getting "cheaper" - they reduced the translation to 43 pages (from 44) in order to pay less. What cheapskate!
Stay safe,
lee
[Edited at 2020-04-19 03:49 GMT]
[Edited at 2020-04-19 15:43 GMT]
[Edited at 2020-04-19 15:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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