Pages in topic:   [1 2 3 4] >
Seems like a translation scam
Thread poster: Dor Zigdon Lax
Dor Zigdon Lax
Dor Zigdon Lax
Israel
Local time: 14:58
Member (2009)
English to Hebrew
+ ...
Jan 19, 2010

A few days ago I received this email:

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Mera Dolaranzo [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 212.118.17.68
-----------

Dear,
We are Paris Company for legal and Translation services and
we are seeking to find professional translator to take our
project for translation and proofreading.
If you are in
... See more
A few days ago I received this email:

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Mera Dolaranzo [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 212.118.17.68
-----------

Dear,
We are Paris Company for legal and Translation services and
we are seeking to find professional translator to take our
project for translation and proofreading.
If you are interested please send me your cv with best rate
per translation and proofreading.
Thanks
Mera Dolaranzo

***

I said I was interested, and they sent me about 10,000 words in Excel sheet for a mobile interface.
After asking them for a PO, I received one - with no payment specified, a recognizable company name, or a valid Paris address (it seemed to be some made up address with a postal code containing 6 digits). Also, the IP is from Jordan.
I would like to hear your thoughts about this, as well as warn you.
Collapse


 
Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Laurent KRAULAND (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:58
French to German
+ ...
Forget it! Jan 19, 2010

DorZL wrote:

After asking them for a PO, I received one - with no payment specified, a recognizable company name, or a valid Paris address (it seemed to be some made up address with a postal code containing 6 digits). Also, the IP is from Jordan.
I would like to hear your thoughts about this, as well as warn you.


Forget it! I can recognise the writing style from a mile and obviously no serious agency would contact freelancers at random without being registered either on ProZ or on another portal. Plus I allow myself to doubt whether there is such a company offering "legal and translation services" (which ones?) in France.

Having had enough of that stuff, I don't allow unregistered users to send me messages through ProZ - and the messages I receive have been vetted by the site staff before arriving in my inbox.


 
Yasutomo Kanazawa
Yasutomo Kanazawa  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 21:58
Member (2005)
English to Japanese
+ ...
This kind of job offer has been increasing lately Jan 19, 2010

Laurent KRAULAND wrote:

DorZL wrote:

After asking them for a PO, I received one - with no payment specified, a recognizable company name, or a valid Paris address (it seemed to be some made up address with a postal code containing 6 digits). Also, the IP is from Jordan.
I would like to hear your thoughts about this, as well as warn you.


Forget it! I can recognise the writing style from a mile and obviously no serious agency would contact freelancers at random without being registered either on ProZ or on another portal. Plus I allow myself to doubt whether there is such a company offering "legal and translation services" (which ones?) in France.

Having had enough of that stuff, I don't allow unregistered users to send me messages through ProZ - and the messages I receive have been vetted by the site staff before arriving in my inbox.


Like Laurent wrote above, the sender sounds fishy (not the job itself). Lately, I have been receiving a lot of messages via Proz without logging in or not a Proz com member. I wonder why. And unless they clearly state their personal name and company name, I would reply, but otherwise I just ignore them.


 
Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Laurent KRAULAND (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:58
French to German
+ ...
Make a Google search for the name... Jan 19, 2010

and you will see what I saw. @DorZL: I just sent you a PM about my findings as I do not know if we are allowed to link to a competing translators' website.

 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:58
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Request 1/3 of the payment in advance Jan 19, 2010

And you will see if this is a lawful business.

 
Narasimhan Raghavan
Narasimhan Raghavan  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:28
English to Tamil
+ ...
In memoriam
They may very well pay what you demand Feb 21, 2010

But then they will send you a banker's check drawn "inadvertently" for an amount that will be much higher than the fees involved. They will sweetly request you send back the difference through Western Union Money Transfer. You will do so and after some time your bank will inform you that the banker's check was a forgery.

Regards,
N. Raghavan
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:

And you will see if this is a lawful business.


 
Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 13:58
English to Italian
+ ...
Same problem - is this a scam too? Feb 21, 2010

Hello everyone,

thank you for posting this thread and for all the interesting comments.

I think I have the same problem here.
I have recently received a mail through Proz by an unregistered member as happened to DorZL.

-----------
Hai ricevuto un messaggio proveniente dalla tua pagina ProZ.com.
Autore: xxxxxx [NOTA: il mittente non risulta registrato in ProZ.com, oppure non ha effettuato l'accesso al sito al momento dell'invio di questo
... See more
Hello everyone,

thank you for posting this thread and for all the interesting comments.

I think I have the same problem here.
I have recently received a mail through Proz by an unregistered member as happened to DorZL.

-----------
Hai ricevuto un messaggio proveniente dalla tua pagina ProZ.com.
Autore: xxxxxx [NOTA: il mittente non risulta registrato in ProZ.com, oppure non ha effettuato l'accesso al sito al momento dell'invio di questo messaggio.]
Indirizzo IP mittente: 93.45.2.253
Tipo di messaggio: Request for quote
-----------

Hello,
I would like a quote for translation a software manual from
Italian into english. How can I send you the manual by
e-mail?
Regards,
xxxxxxx (mobile xxxxxxxxxxx)


I have replied with my offer and asked for a sample of the manual.
The job poster sent me the whole manual, a 65.000 word document in pdf.

-------------------

Please find atached the manual. Can you give me a price by monday morning?

Regards,

xxxxxx
--------------------

The mails and his style aren't really professional, he doesn't even mention the company he's working for or anything... the only reference is the mobile number, the email domain is gmail, not a company mail domain.
I have checked the IP address and it's from Rome, but the sender seems to be a a well-known professor of Operations and Management Science at the University of Minnesota.
On the Pdf file I can see the name of the company, and it's the same who designed the program, while the sender should be one who wrote (most) of it.

I thought I could ask for a PO at this point and make further investigations...
and ask to be paid 1/3 in advance, but still I would have to send 1/3 of the translation and loose time and money in case he doesn't pay.

I would like to hear what do you think about this...
Would you trust him? What would you do to be sure that the payment will be made?

thank you in advance.

Nico
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Eduardo García Soñanes
Eduardo García Soñanes
Mexico
Local time: 06:58
English to Spanish
It's a no go situation Feb 22, 2010

Nicola,

For me, it's not reliable and thus a no go business.

If you would like to try, ask him to paid 1/3 in advance. When you receive the payment, start the translation. When you have 1/3 of the translation done, send it to him so he can be sure that you are working on his translation. Keep him updated on your progress. When you're done, tell him to send the rest of the payment and you'll send the rest of the translation.

Do this politely, stating that
... See more
Nicola,

For me, it's not reliable and thus a no go business.

If you would like to try, ask him to paid 1/3 in advance. When you receive the payment, start the translation. When you have 1/3 of the translation done, send it to him so he can be sure that you are working on his translation. Keep him updated on your progress. When you're done, tell him to send the rest of the payment and you'll send the rest of the translation.

Do this politely, stating that this is a measure for this business to be completed safely for both of you.

Do not accept checks to avoid the problem that Narasimhan Raghavan mentioned above.


Happy translating
Eduardo García Soñanes

[Edited at 2010-02-22 06:47 GMT]
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Papillonbleu9
Papillonbleu9  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:58
English to French
Same here Feb 27, 2010

Hello all,

I received the same kind of message today, through Proz mail. I am sure it will be just like what Raghavan said. A fraudulent check at the end.
Plus the IP adress is in Louisiana..

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: XYZ
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 209.107.217.5
-----------

Hello,

My name is XYZ
... See more
Hello all,

I received the same kind of message today, through Proz mail. I am sure it will be just like what Raghavan said. A fraudulent check at the end.
Plus the IP adress is in Louisiana..

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: XYZ
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 209.107.217.5
-----------

Hello,

My name is XYZ from Gordon,Georgia but presently
on an official assignment in Bucarest,Romania.I will need
your service to translate a write-up for me.I actually need
to make a presentation to some group of french speaking
people abroad and I will be provided with a translator in
the country where I have to present it,so i will need you to
help me translate the paper to french,so each participants
can have a copy in french language and they can follow
through. Let me know your rate for a total of about 22 pages
presentation. Thank you.

Regards,
XYZ

[Edited at 2010-02-27 03:04 GMT]
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Jean-Louis S.
Jean-Louis S.  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:58
English to French
+ ...
You are right Feb 27, 2010

Papillonbleu9 wrote:

Hello all,

I received the same kind of message today, through Proz mail. I am sure it will be just like what Raghavan said. A fraudulent check at the end.
Plus the IP adress is in Louisiana..


I got the same one. See my post from yesterday at: http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/158975-ata_members_beware:_fake_translation_job_linked_to_fraud.html


 
Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 13:58
English to Italian
+ ...
Scam uncovered Feb 27, 2010

Ciao a tutti! Hello everyone!

I just wanted to thank Eduardo for his very good advice.

Anyways, after sending my quote and asking for a PO the Man didn't even reply. I think he found out that we were talking about his scam attempt or he understood I would not fall into his trick..

I thank you all and I hope that this thread will help all translators to avoid scams from this filthy individuals.

Ciao!


 
parlezvous
parlezvous
Local time: 08:58
English to French
+ ...
Scammers go on trying... Please post everywhere Feb 28, 2010

Here's the message I received yesterday:


You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Hanks xxx [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 64.xxx
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Hello,

My name is Hanks xxx from Gordon,Georgia but presently
on an official assignment in Bucarest,Romania.I will need
your service to transl
... See more
Here's the message I received yesterday:


You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Hanks xxx [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 64.xxx
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Hello,

My name is Hanks xxx from Gordon,Georgia but presently
on an official assignment in Bucarest,Romania.I will need
your service to translate a write-up for me.I actually need
to make a presentation to some group of french speaking
people abroad and I will be provided with a translator in
the country where I have to present it,so i will need you to
help me translate the paper to french,so each participants
can have a copy in french language and they can follow
through. Let me know your rate for a total of about 22 pages
presentation.
Thank you. Hanks xxx


-----------
Your profile: http://www.proz.com/profile/xxx
Login at: http://www.proz.com/profile/
Edit your profile mail preferences: http://www.proz.com/?sp=ef&show_mode=profmail
Block profile messages from this sender: http://www.proz.com/?sp=ef&add_ip_block=64.xxx [email protected]
Unsolicited advertising? Spam? click here: http://www.proz.com/?sp=ef&report_spam=3840727



To me, it's clear this request is fishy at best. I would like to know if such obvious scamming attempts can and should be reported and to whom in the US.

All the best!

Isabelle
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Dor Zigdon Lax
Dor Zigdon Lax
Israel
Local time: 14:58
Member (2009)
English to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Reporting Feb 28, 2010

One idea I had is to assume that it's some shadow middleman trying to get paid for the translator's job. So in my case, I found the name of the company which probably generated the source document (it appeared somewhere on the file's Properties) and wrote to them about this possible scam made on their behalf.
I haven't received a response yet, but who knows...


 
Marie-France Schreiber
Marie-France Schreiber  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:58
English to French
+ ...
Ditto Mar 2, 2010

I received the exact same message as well:

Hello,

My name is XYZ from Gordon,Georgia but presently
on an official assignment in Bucarest,Romania.I will need
your service to translate a write-up for me.I actually need
to make a presentation to some group of french speaking
people abroad and I will be provided with a translator in
the country where I have to present it,so i will need you to
help me translate the paper to french,so each
... See more
I received the exact same message as well:

Hello,

My name is XYZ from Gordon,Georgia but presently
on an official assignment in Bucarest,Romania.I will need
your service to translate a write-up for me.I actually need
to make a presentation to some group of french speaking
people abroad and I will be provided with a translator in
the country where I have to present it,so i will need you to
help me translate the paper to french,so each participants
can have a copy in french language and they can follow
through. Let me know your rate for a total of about 22 pages
presentation. Thank you.

Regards,
XYZ

[Edited at 2010-02-27 03:04 GMT] [/quote]

However, I asked him to pay me 1/3 upfront prior to commencing the translation. I also insisted on finding out why he picked me and my services randomly on Proz.com. I usually only do assignments if other colleagues refer me. He confirmed he had picked me randomly and he would be in touch. I did give him my address and telephone number, but no bank accounts. If I should receive his check, I'll be sure to return it with SCAM in bold letters on the enveloppe.

Thank you for posting this scam.

[Edited at 2010-03-02 21:47 GMT]
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Alain Mouchel
Alain Mouchel  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:58
Member (2010)
English to French
+ ...
Beware of "Mera Dolaranzo" Jun 4, 2010

I confirm that I too never received any payment from this Mera Dolaranzo.

Don't reply to her translation job offers or you will just lose your time and money!

Rgs,

Alainmv


DorZL wrote:

A few days ago I received this email:

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Mera Dolaranzo [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 212.118.17.68
-----------

Dear,
We are Paris Company for legal and Translation services and
we are seeking to find professional translator to take our
project for translation and proofreading.
If you are interested please send me your cv with best rate
per translation and proofreading.
Thanks
Mera Dolaranzo

***

I said I was interested, and they sent me about 10,000 words in Excel sheet for a mobile interface.
After asking them for a PO, I received one - with no payment specified, a recognizable company name, or a valid Paris address (it seemed to be some made up address with a postal code containing 6 digits). Also, the IP is from Jordan.
I would like to hear your thoughts about this, as well as warn you.


 
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Seems like a translation scam







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