Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] >
SCAM: translation of a 11,643-word document (various email addresses, payment with a check)
Thread poster: Thomas Szabo, MD, MS
Ricardo Franca
Ricardo Franca
United States
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I just got this e mail today 01/10/2020 Jan 11, 2020

"Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to a Portuguese content document worth 11,643 words. I need this document translated into English. 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. Thank you.



Best regards.
"

Felicia Jordan


 
maribol
maribol
United States
Local time: 11:23
English to Spanish
+ ...
Looks like a scam... Jan 11, 2020

A ProZ.com user visited your ProZ.com profile and sent the following message.

Author: Cheryl Kutscher [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 205.251.148.82

-----------

Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to an English content
document worth 11,800 words (69 Pages). I need this document
translated into Spanish , I would like to know if you are
interes
... See more
A ProZ.com user visited your ProZ.com profile and sent the following message.

Author: Cheryl Kutscher [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 205.251.148.82

-----------

Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to an English content
document worth 11,800 words (69 Pages). I need this document
translated into Spanish , I would like to know if you are
interested to get this done for me. Please get back to me as
soon as you can via email ([email protected]).
Thank you,
Mary


How did I figure out that this is a scam? It is awkwardly written and incoherent. Cheryl Kutscher? Mary? I requested her local address and more information, and the document. A company, an author with nothing but a gmail is bad news. In the past I followed through. They wanted my physical address and I provided. Then I received two checks for a little less than 10 000 dollars. I called the said bank and they claimed the account was valid and active. There was something in the voice, the banks name that did not give me a good vibe. I called the better business bureau and did a report. They had thousands of those fake accounts. They bank, apparently on your ignorance (ours, for that matter). Those who run to deposit the checks do not hear from their banks but after a few days or weeks that the check bounced. By that time they talk you into reimbursing the difference, since they over pay you. I don't know of anybody who has fallen trap of their scam but the guy at the Business Bureau warned me that this is the way to scam people. Be careful. I researched ways to avoid these scammers. Here are some steps.
1. Request their LOCAL address and full legal name.
2. Check the information against the bureau and run it through google.
3. You are entitled to request recommendations from previous providers, with emails and phone numbers.
4. If they are in business, somewhere abroad, you can request to view their page and to receive a number where you can check that they are real.
5. Do not take any checks from them, request a money order. But beware, money orders can also turn up bad.
Collapse


 
Marcel Theboul
Marcel Theboul
Local time: 13:23
English to French
+ ...
El moron strikes again Jan 16, 2020

I was first contacted by said moron "jeansmith" 3 months ago and - although suspicious - I quoted on it, specifying it should be paid ahead of time. I knew full well about the fake check scam, but I did not intend to start any translation until 2 weeks after depositing the check and verifying that it was legit. No more emails from jeansmith.

Now fast forward to early January and "Brightbritten" contacts me, same type of text needs to be translated from English to French. I immediat
... See more
I was first contacted by said moron "jeansmith" 3 months ago and - although suspicious - I quoted on it, specifying it should be paid ahead of time. I knew full well about the fake check scam, but I did not intend to start any translation until 2 weeks after depositing the check and verifying that it was legit. No more emails from jeansmith.

Now fast forward to early January and "Brightbritten" contacts me, same type of text needs to be translated from English to French. I immediately recognized the following: not a proz.com user and not logged in. I quoted again and pointedly asked what was the source language and what language it needed to be translated to.
Answer: from French to English. Not so bright britten also asked for a name, a physical address and a cell phone number ASAP so they could send the check rapidly.

Now the real mystery is this: what kind of a cretin would pick Bright Britten as a name?
Collapse


Liviu-Lee Roth
Tatiana Bobritsky (X)
 
rcastri
rcastri
Canada
Local time: 14:23
French to Spanish
+ ...
Same message but translatio into French Feb 13, 2020

Haesoo Yoo wrote:

Hi Everyone, I report this phishing scam to you guys!

***********************************************
Full name: Frank Brandon (fake)
Phone number: 302-348-9426 (fake)

FedEx envelop that had check
Mailing address: 5260 W. Baseline Road LAVEEN VILLAGE, AZ 85339
Sender: David A Ramirez
Origin ID: NOLA
Phone #: 360-523-2404
Tracking: 7773 5590 8320

Hi,My name is Frank ,Am contacting you in regarding of
English content document , I need this document to be
translated into Korean . I will like to know if you are
available to get this done for me . Kindly get back to (
[email protected] ) Thanks. Frank

***********************************************

This guy approached sneakily to my private gmail account after seeing my profile in proz.com,
and paid me $3780.30 through the fake check from Corliam Fabricating Company, and delivered by Fedex with very fake address which is Petco which is located at 5260 W. Baseline Road LAVEEN VILLAGE, AZ 85339. He forced me to deposit it right away and asked for return of amount for phase 2 via Cash App, which would be wired transfer.


*******
Hi,
I also received the same email but with a hotmail address.
I doubted when I read it.

"Vous avez reçu un message via ProZ.com.

Auteur: Frank
[NOTE : l'auteur n'est pas un membre de ProZ.com ou n'était pas identifié lors de l'envoi de ce message.]
Adresse IP de l'auteur: 173.236.176.103

-----------

Hi,My name is Frank ,Am contacting you in regarding of
English content document , I need this document to be
translated into French, I will like to know if you are
available to get this done for me . Kindly get back to
( [email protected] ) Thanks. Frank"



I thought it was suspicious and searched for such incidents regarding scam, and appeared to be usual "my sponsor had death in family" scam.
Obviously, the name is fake and the phone number used for text message would also be fake using computer.
Not sure if the name on FedEx package is real, but if indeed it is real and he sent package from Petco, I hope police can sort it out and jail this m***** f*****.


 
Ricardo Fonseca
Ricardo Fonseca  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:23
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Same document, same scam today 02 May 2020 May 2, 2020

Today I got the following message:

Author: Scott Miller
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 192.200.158.194

Hello, hope you're fine today! I have a new translation
task from English to portuguese let me know if you can help
with this task, waiting to hear from you soon. Kindly get to
me via email ([email protected])

Thank you,
S
... See more
Today I got the following message:

Author: Scott Miller
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 192.200.158.194

Hello, hope you're fine today! I have a new translation
task from English to portuguese let me know if you can help
with this task, waiting to hear from you soon. Kindly get to
me via email ([email protected])

Thank you,
Scott

Unfortunately I replied asking for advanced payment via Paypal or bank transfer and received the famous 44 pages "Public Organisations Procedures Research" .doc attachment and the following answer:

Hello, I'm pleased to know you are interested in handling this
project. However, I will require your service to translate the
attached English document. In the mean time, could you also confirm
your charges per page, per source word or for the entire translation?
The deadline for this Project is 1 month starting from 15th/May/2020.
Finally, I'm proposing a cashier check or bank certified check for the
payment. Please do not hesitate to confirm if this is okay with you? I
look forward to reading from you soon.

Best Regards,
Scott

Translator be aware!
Collapse


 
Thibaut Courtin
Thibaut Courtin
France
Local time: 19:23
English to French
+ ...
Scam Lisa Griffin Spanish to English 12750 words May 5, 2020

Hi,
A couple of days ago I received a message from Lisa Griffin on another website for a Spanish to English translation, telling me the same story and to reply to her gmail address: [email protected]

"She" even provided "her details" after I kept asking for more info, and told me she was an "independent researcher":
13954 Sawmill Run Ln
Houston, TX 77044
2102531714

We exch
... See more
Hi,
A couple of days ago I received a message from Lisa Griffin on another website for a Spanish to English translation, telling me the same story and to reply to her gmail address: [email protected]

"She" even provided "her details" after I kept asking for more info, and told me she was an "independent researcher":
13954 Sawmill Run Ln
Houston, TX 77044
2102531714

We exchanged a couple of emails that look just like the ones previously mentioned. I sent "her" a quote for "her" to sign, before realising it was a scam.

Hope this helps,
Thibaut
Collapse


 
Michael Blaskowsky
Michael Blaskowsky  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:23
Member (2018)
Japanese to English
They Strike Again May 21, 2020

Received the same email from Flecia Jordan, [email protected]

"
Felicia Jordan
4:14 PM (53 minutes ago)
to me

Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to a Japanese content document worth 11,643 words. I need this document translated into English. 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. Thank you.
<
... See more
Received the same email from Flecia Jordan, [email protected]

"
Felicia Jordan
4:14 PM (53 minutes ago)
to me

Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to a Japanese content document worth 11,643 words. I need this document translated into English. 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. Thank you.

Best regards."

No signature, nothing.
Collapse


 
Ivan Rorick
Ivan Rorick  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Japanese to English
Same today May 21, 2020

I just now got this, from "Felicia Jordan", for the usual 11643-word document, this time in my pair Japanese to English.

Ryan Shevlane
 
LaToya Washington
LaToya Washington
Local time: 14:23
Japanese to English
Scam Mindy Collins [email protected] 11643 words Japanese to English Sep 7, 2020

Just received contact from this scammer directly via my old portfolio website's contact form. I thought that was odd, considering that site is virtually not in use and removed from all major social media. When I thought of how they might have found it, I realized it might still be connected here on my profile, and sure enough it was.

This is the message the so-called Mindy Collins submitted:

12:29PM EST
"First Nam
... See more
Just received contact from this scammer directly via my old portfolio website's contact form. I thought that was odd, considering that site is virtually not in use and removed from all major social media. When I thought of how they might have found it, I realized it might still be connected here on my profile, and sure enough it was.

This is the message the so-called Mindy Collins submitted:

12:29PM EST
"First Name: Mindy
Last Name: Collins
Email: [email protected]
Message: Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to a Japanese content document worth 11,643 words. I need this document translated into English. 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 can via my email.
Thank you.

Best regards."

I felt something a bit off about the "worth" and "get this done for me" portions of their message since they are the one reaching out to me for my services, as well as the fact of being contacted via my old rather inactive site. Red flag sensors went off, googled the email with proz, and sure enough this thread popped up with the key 11643 words.

Stay safe everyone.
Collapse


Liviu-Lee Roth
 
Ryan Shevlane
Ryan Shevlane  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:23
Member (2021)
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Felicia Jordan Sep 14, 2020

"Hello, I'm contacting you in regard to an portuguese content document worth 11,643 words (38 Pages). I need this document translated into English. 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 can via email ([email protected]). Thank you.

Best regards."


 
C. MASKA
C. MASKA
France
Local time: 19:23
Member
English to French
+ ...
Same scam, large document, payment with a check Sep 15, 2020

I received a request (contact via ProZ directory, visitor is not logged in) from
[email protected]
For the translation of a 9,000 words file about climate change. I knew this was a scam.
She insists on paying by check or wire transfer. The funniest part was when she agreed to my rate
and delivery time, when I had not sent these informations. Don't fall for it.


Liviu-Lee Roth
 
rcastri
rcastri
Canada
Local time: 14:23
French to Spanish
+ ...
Nancy Bill Scam <[email protected]> Nov 3, 2020

Hello,

I just got this message.

"I hope this message finds you well, I'm contacting you in regards to an English content document, I need this document translated to Spanish, I need to know if you will be available for this job in order to send you the document for review".

It's always suspicious.


 
emora71
emora71
Canada
Local time: 14:23
Nancy Bill again Nov 5, 2020

I got the same email and "project" from Nancy Bill a couple of days ago, a colleague sent me her referral and I was in the process of interchanging information when something "smell" weird for me, I asked her to provide a phone number to reach to her and she replied me that she is hearing impaired.

I just told her that I was not available and to stop sending the check.

Happy to see that our community is actively reporting these kind of scams and save many of us from bi
... See more
I got the same email and "project" from Nancy Bill a couple of days ago, a colleague sent me her referral and I was in the process of interchanging information when something "smell" weird for me, I asked her to provide a phone number to reach to her and she replied me that she is hearing impaired.

I just told her that I was not available and to stop sending the check.

Happy to see that our community is actively reporting these kind of scams and save many of us from big problems.

Thanks to everyone!
Collapse


 
Ulla de Stricker
Ulla de Stricker
Canada
Local time: 14:23
Danish to English
+ ...
11,643-word document is back after a few years! May 30, 2023

After a few years of silence, the attempt is made again. "Public Organisation Procedures."

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:23
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Debra Jeff Jun 7, 2023

and "her" 11,643 words document are still around. Got an email today, went directly to the bin!

 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Lucia Leszinsky[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

SCAM: translation of a 11,643-word document (various email addresses, payment with a check)







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »