Fraudulent translation company (scam case) Thread poster: Trang Pham
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Hello everyone,
I just want to share with you my worst experience with Freelancer.com and I hope that this can be helpful for you.
I was new to this platform and I got my first project right after my application. The client asked me to talk via Whatsapps, I didn't think much and agreed. He introduced that he is from XL Translating Global Business Company (note that he can change the name into another) and sent me some docs about his project and other relevant info. I started working ... See more Hello everyone,
I just want to share with you my worst experience with Freelancer.com and I hope that this can be helpful for you.
I was new to this platform and I got my first project right after my application. The client asked me to talk via Whatsapps, I didn't think much and agreed. He introduced that he is from XL Translating Global Business Company (note that he can change the name into another) and sent me some docs about his project and other relevant info. I started working but after I submitted it to him. He asked me to pay a fee (that he called CCIC fee - a commitment fee which makes no sense to me). I refused because there is no proper reason to pay for what we worked for and without commitment. So he didn't pay me and disappeared. I am sure that I got into a scam case. It was a painful lesson when I first started working as a freelance translator.
Therefore, I just want to share with you so that you can avoid such a scam and money loss. Please be careful and note the following things:
- Don't agree to pay any fee (except for platform fee if it requires to guarantee the client's payment)
- Check the info of clients carefully (you can contact the company to verify if he is truly from their company since I bumped into another scammer and he told he was from a big translating company but he acted like the above scammer)
- Contact the company to verify the client's identity if necessary (whether he is truly from this company or not)
- Only chat on the platform and ask clients to make payment milestones.
I hope that you won't get into this terrible case like me. Let's protect ourselves to get rid of those scammers for a better and healthier freelance environment. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 09:20
Dutch to English
+ ...
I'm sorry this happened to you, that is a very negative first experience. Don't let this set you back but you can learn from it. As you say, always check the company out. But that can be done fairly simply by checking the company's website and see if their contact information shows the same email address as your prospective client (John@company name). Once you have access to the Blue Board, always check there first.
Often you can tell that something's fishy right away from the firs... See more I'm sorry this happened to you, that is a very negative first experience. Don't let this set you back but you can learn from it. As you say, always check the company out. But that can be done fairly simply by checking the company's website and see if their contact information shows the same email address as your prospective client (John@company name). Once you have access to the Blue Board, always check there first.
Often you can tell that something's fishy right away from the first contact email: the sender does not call you by name but just says 'hi' or 'hello' (in other words, they have not really looked at your profile) and does not provide a company signature with name and address, etc., of the company. Check the sender's email: is it the senders own, a company email, or just some address that is totally unrelated.
It looks like you accepted the job via whatsapp. Never start working before you have a confirmation email from the client, including details about the timeline, your rate, and payment terms. These are just a few points but I suggest you check the previous posts about scams and I'm sure you'll learn more from other people's experiences. Good luck with your next job!
[Edited at 2021-10-04 15:58 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-10-04 16:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I was recently contacted via proz message (my email then) by someone who asked me if I could do a job which did not correspond to my qualifications and asked me to get in touch by WhatsApp phone so that he could explain the project to me. That sounded rather fishy. I did not respond. What do you think of such practice?
| | | | Edward Potter 
Spain
Local time: 17:20
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Always talk voice with a new customer | Oct 6, 2021 |
New customer? Voice call. Always.
Peace out.
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| Global Gang called ( XL Translating and Business Company ) Based in London | Dec 5, 2021 |
The company offered me a translation project 1. The project consisted of 90 images to be translated from English to Arabic. The payment was 4500$. The job took me nearly 100 hours of hard work; translating and copying. The agreement included a bonus of additional 500$ in case I finished the project in less than 15 days. Any how, I finished the project in ten days and I submitted it to the company in the tenth day in the best form and I attached my bank account details to receive my payment. Afte... See more The company offered me a translation project 1. The project consisted of 90 images to be translated from English to Arabic. The payment was 4500$. The job took me nearly 100 hours of hard work; translating and copying. The agreement included a bonus of additional 500$ in case I finished the project in less than 15 days. Any how, I finished the project in ten days and I submitted it to the company in the tenth day in the best form and I attached my bank account details to receive my payment. After that, I was surprised when they asked me to pay them 300$ to make an ID deposit card fee so as to send me my payment. They said this is a condition. Of course I didn't agree and up till now they haven't sent me my payment. I have all the details of the company including their address in London and the person who agreed with me is called Gary Cork, the project Admin and his tel. is +1617213-2611. Here is the details of the company:
A brief introduction about our company:
We are (XL) Translating global business COMPANY Located in London,Ontario,canada
We are a publishing company where we republish some crucial documents for huge companies like Google, amazon in the USA Jobberman in africa. We have our headquarters in North America (6023 INNOVATION WAY CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92009 UNITED STATES 🇺🇸), United Kingdom (NORTHERN DESIGN CENTER, GATESHEAD TYNE AND WEAR, NE8 3DF UNITED KINGDOM), London Branch(33 ALFRED PLACE, BLOOMSBURY, LONDON WC1E 7DP UNITED KINGDOM ), European (EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS THE PIER GROBE BLEICHE +1 (617) 213-2611MANZ GERMANY 🇩🇪 ).And also help in translation of English to different languages and some content writing jobs. We are currently recruiting new staff members to work from their various homes, l am Gari cork an employee of the Xl translating global business company thanks for applying to work with us.
What can I do to get my payment ? Did I make a mistake to trust those people ? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 11:20
German to English
| You were scammed | Dec 8, 2021 |
Some inconsistencies in the proposal give it away (plus capitalization errors typical of scams)
mahmoudhassa145 wrote:
A brief introduction about our company:
We are (XL) Translating global business COMPANY Located in London,Ontario,canada
We have our headquarters in North America (6023 INNOVATION WAY CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92009 UNITED STATES 🇺🇸),
It pays to read proposals very carefully.
You're out of luck.
Sorry.
| | | | | Be wary of WhatsApp | Jan 29 |
I received an email today
They want to communicate by WhatsApp
RED FLAG
I will be VERY wary going forward
I'm assuming it's a scam......
Trang Pham wrote:
Hello everyone,
I just want to share with you my worst experience with Freelancer.com and I hope that this can be helpful for you.
I was new to this platform and I got my first project right after my application. The client asked me to talk via Whatsapps, I didn't think much and agreed. He introduced that he is from XL Translating Global Business Company (note that he can change the name into another) and sent me some docs about his project and other relevant info. I started working but after I submitted it to him. He asked me to pay a fee (that he called CCIC fee - a commitment fee which makes no sense to me). I refused because there is no proper reason to pay for what we worked for and without commitment. So he didn't pay me and disappeared. I am sure that I got into a scam case. It was a painful lesson when I first started working as a freelance translator.
Therefore, I just want to share with you so that you can avoid such a scam and money loss. Please be careful and note the following things:
- Don't agree to pay any fee (except for platform fee if it requires to guarantee the client's payment)
- Check the info of clients carefully (you can contact the company to verify if he is truly from their company since I bumped into another scammer and he told he was from a big translating company but he acted like the above scammer)
- Contact the company to verify the client's identity if necessary (whether he is truly from this company or not)
- Only chat on the platform and ask clients to make payment milestones.
I hope that you won't get into this terrible case like me. Let's protect ourselves to get rid of those scammers for a better and healthier freelance environment.
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