Some tools for detecting scams and risk management
Thread poster: Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 12:19
SITE STAFF
May 3, 2011

The Translator scam alert center is an area that will be used to provide organized, concise information regarding false job offers and other scams which may be aimed at or are affecting language professionals. Information provided in the center is based in part on reports made by ProZ.com members through the online support system and in the Scams forum. Scams are categorized by type and the outstanding characte... See more
The Translator scam alert center is an area that will be used to provide organized, concise information regarding false job offers and other scams which may be aimed at or are affecting language professionals. Information provided in the center is based in part on reports made by ProZ.com members through the online support system and in the Scams forum. Scams are categorized by type and the outstanding characteristics of each are outlined, to make detection easier. General information on detecting and reacting to a potential scam is also included. ProZ.com members have the option of subscribing to the Scam alert center, to receive useful news and alerts of new scams as soon as they are detected.

There have been a few posts on the Translator T.O. regarding different types of scams and risk management as a way to protect yourself from them. I will post links to them here for easier reference from this forum, and keep them updated as future posts get added.


Remember there is also a ProZ.com Wiki article, Detecting and reacting to false job offers and other scams, where translators can collaborate. If you have information to add to that article which may help others detect and react to false job offers and other scams, please contribute!
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Yolanda Broad
Yvonne Gallagher
Miri_2020
 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 11:19
Romanian to English
+ ...
Excellent & helpful post Aug 1, 2011

I wonder why some of our colleagues did not read this post first before taking unwise actions.
I agree 100% with this tip:
"What to do if contacted by a scammer? The best you can do when you detect or suspect a scam is to ignore the messages. Answering the message, even to insult them or try to outsmart them will at the very least let the villain know that your email address is active and all the more valuable for spamming." (Enrique Cavalitto )
In the last 2 years, I have been
... See more
I wonder why some of our colleagues did not read this post first before taking unwise actions.
I agree 100% with this tip:
"What to do if contacted by a scammer? The best you can do when you detect or suspect a scam is to ignore the messages. Answering the message, even to insult them or try to outsmart them will at the very least let the villain know that your email address is active and all the more valuable for spamming." (Enrique Cavalitto )
In the last 2 years, I have been translating legal documents for a US governmental agency that tracks and brings to justice these international crooks, and I realized
that all they want is a confirmation that the e-mail is valid and active in order to flood it with spam, malware, scareware, or for phishing purposes.
Our colleagues should use more caution when they receive these kind of e-mails.
This is the reason why some of us post these "offers" in order to alert the whole community; unfortunately, some of us take it very lightly.
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EB Morris
IrinaN
chaoliuchen
Greatservice00
Daryo
Claudia Chang Medina
Corazon Crowell
 
Stéphanie Denton (X)
Stéphanie Denton (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:19
French to English
+ ...
Thank you Nov 8, 2011

Much appreciated, and fantastic post!

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:19
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Thank you, Jared. Jun 25, 2012

This is an excellent post and will help all of us to fall victim to scams and fraud.

On a side note: I find the scam alerts from Enrique to be very helpful.

Thanks for the ongoing vigilance and protection!

Regards,
Thayenga


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 12:19
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
New article on scammers who steal translations Jul 5, 2012

Dear members,

As the first issue of ProZ.com series on Risk Management, a ProZ.com article has been published on Scammers who steal translations.

Regards,
Enrique


Yolanda Broad
 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 12:19
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Open it to all Dec 19, 2018

Due to the importance of the matter, the Scam Alert Centre should be open to ALL, free of charge, and not just to paying members and/or through subscriptions. ProZ should think less about profits and more about helping translators tackle this problem.

[Edited at 2018-12-19 12:57 GMT]


Claudia Chang Medina
Melina Kajander
 
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 12:19
SITE STAFF
TOPIC STARTER
The scam alert center is open to everyone Dec 19, 2018

Hi Paul,

Paul Dixon wrote:

Due to the importance of the matter, the Scam Alert Centre should be open to ALL, free of charge, and not just to paying members and/or through subscriptions. ProZ should think less about profits and more about helping translators tackle this problem.

[Edited at 2018-12-19 12:57 GMT]


Most if not all ProZ.com services have a "member-only" component to them. It is not about profits, but more about sustaining and improving services, which requires time and money, as with most things, and ProZ.com is made available to all thanks to paying members. To give you an idea, for every potential scam reported, one member of staff works to fully investigate the report, conclude whether it is an actual scam or not, take action where appropriate, document it, and report it publicly, as quickly as possible. I'd say a typical report can easily take 2-3 hours of work, even if the report turns out to not be a scam, so the actual scam alerts you see are representative of a fraction of the work involved.

However, the scam alert center is open to everyone. ProZ.com paying members have the option of subscribing to receive email alerts, but these alerts are also placed at http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Translator_scam_alert_reports and are available to everyone.

Jared


Yolanda Broad
Sheila Wilson
Yun Won Pak
 
EB Morris
EB Morris
United States
Local time: 11:19
Spanish to English
Typical translation scam Jun 23, 2020

I just received the following message of a likely scam:
=======
A ProZ.com user visited your ProZ.com profile and sent the following message.

Author: >The name varies< [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: XX.XXX.XX.XXX
-----------
Hello,

I will like to know your availability to translate a
document from Spanish to English. Kindly get back to me and... See more
I just received the following message of a likely scam:
=======
A ProZ.com user visited your ProZ.com profile and sent the following message.

Author: >The name varies< [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: XX.XXX.XX.XXX
-----------
Hello,

I will like to know your availability to translate a
document from Spanish to English. Kindly get back to me and
lets see what we can work out

Thanks
=======

This offer looks attractive but after you translate a first section they will send you a fake check in payment for the entire job. BEFORE DEPOSITING the impressive check that almost looks like a cashier's bank check, use the "Routing number" or "Swift Number" as a first step to detect whether the check is false. Be suspicious! The scam will be activated after depositing the check when you will be urgently requested to return the part of the payment intended to pay for the rest of the job. They need you to transfer those funds to them before the check is returned for non-payment, before you find out that the bank or checking account does not exist.

Edwin Morris
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Greatservice00
Claudia Chang Medina
 
Didi18
Didi18
United States
Local time: 08:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
Can we add "Free Test Translations" at least as a potential scam? Nov 28, 2020

Hi Jared,

Is it possible to add "Free Test Translations" as a potential scam, so translators can be warned before doing them? I've done test translations for four different companies. The first one was for a translation agency and I didn't pass. They sent me a detailed feedback of why I didn't pass. The second one was also for an agency. I passed and am working for them on a regular basis. The other two tests were done for tech companies and I strongly feel they used my translations
... See more
Hi Jared,

Is it possible to add "Free Test Translations" as a potential scam, so translators can be warned before doing them? I've done test translations for four different companies. The first one was for a translation agency and I didn't pass. They sent me a detailed feedback of why I didn't pass. The second one was also for an agency. I passed and am working for them on a regular basis. The other two tests were done for tech companies and I strongly feel they used my translations for their clients. One of them called me to say I "almost passed" but didn't provide any feedback and the contact became defensive when I sent an email requesting it, and the last one never contacted me after I sent the test and never replied to my emails.

I see those two companies placing adds for multiple-language translators all the time.

Please let me know if it would be possible to add free test translations as possible scam.

Thanks.

Best,
Didi
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IrinaN
IrinaN
United States
Local time: 10:19
English to Russian
+ ...
Didi, I'm truly sorry but I think it's time to put it to rest Nov 28, 2020

Do you realize Proz legal liabilities if it will allow to use its open corporate platform to name and accuse legitimate tech companies and agencies of potential scams/fraud just because one of the Proz members did not pass the test or did not receive a feedback? Have you heard of libel and slander lawsuits?

Proz is "venue only", it offers you a place to meet your potential clients but all the rest is between the parties who should be ready and qualified to run a business, not just t
... See more
Do you realize Proz legal liabilities if it will allow to use its open corporate platform to name and accuse legitimate tech companies and agencies of potential scams/fraud just because one of the Proz members did not pass the test or did not receive a feedback? Have you heard of libel and slander lawsuits?

Proz is "venue only", it offers you a place to meet your potential clients but all the rest is between the parties who should be ready and qualified to run a business, not just translate.

Back in time when RU-US oil projects were thriving, very serious companies spent tens of thousands of dollars on bids and proposals only to receive "Sorry, not you. Have a nice day." This is how the market works. Test is your proposal, no one forces you to take it and the rest is, and always will be, up to the potential payer who will not be increasing his non-recoverable overhead for reasons explained in the previous post on the subject; no need to reiterate.

It's the beginners' fate to knock on every door to survive and slowly build the clientele that will feed them and their families later, and it's your job to choose those doors wisely.

Unless a feedback is promised in writing together with the test offer, there is nothing you can do about it, period. Why do you assume that they owe you any feedback in the first place? It's not your professor who makes a living only because you've paid for your education, so he must educate you.

The only form of feedback to be expected is a job offer. The only other form is silence, save rare and unusual exceptions.

I may sound a bit harsh but the market is even more brutal. To smooth it out a bit, let's say that you have a project to outsource and placed an offer on Proz. The project has a deadline and a budget. In your language pair, I guarantee you an upward of 50 tests a day. God help you if it's more or less generic or simply non-tech. There are swarms of geniuses who would consider it "easy", and it will double and triple the number of applicants. Not like people do not bid on subjects they had to look up in a dictionary before bidding:-) All are eagerly awaiting your feedback and explanations...

I honestly wish you best of luck in the translation business.

Irina
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Liviu-Lee Roth
Kevin Fulton
Angie Garbarino
Greatservice00
Daryo
 
Samara Serralheiro
Samara Serralheiro
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:19
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I found gold! Jan 8, 2021

I have just started contacting agencies/jobs and I believe I found information for life in this post.
I have to study risk management, but now I feel I am smarter when agencies approach me, especially after reading Enrique's and Jacob's posts!


 


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