Translation - art & business » Scams »
Overpayment scam
Thread poster: Kseniia Miroshnychenko
Kseniia Miroshnychenko
Kseniia Miroshnychenko
Ukraine
Local time: 08:58
Member (2020)
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
Jun 7, 2023

Dear colleagues,

I have been taken in by a scammer Sarah Mike ([email protected]).
This person contacted me via Proz.com and asked for help with a translation for some conference. Then he agreed quickly with my rate and proposed to pay everything in advance by means of check. I agreed. Then he told that had sent extra money and wanted me to send them back. When I proposed just to throw away the check I received he started to threaten.
Herewith you will find a print... See more
Dear colleagues,

I have been taken in by a scammer Sarah Mike ([email protected]).
This person contacted me via Proz.com and asked for help with a translation for some conference. Then he agreed quickly with my rate and proposed to pay everything in advance by means of check. I agreed. Then he told that had sent extra money and wanted me to send them back. When I proposed just to throw away the check I received he started to threaten.
Herewith you will find a print screen of his first email Снимок экрана 2023-06-07 181812.

So, I just wanted to warn you about such a swindler.
Wish you to be on alert.

Kind regards,
Kseniia Miroshnychenko ▲ Collapse


Dalia Nour
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:58
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Kseniia Jun 7, 2023

I’m sorry to hear that but this kind of scam has been around for ages…

As this person contacted you via Proz you should report “her” to the Translator Scam Alert Center https://www2.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts?phpv_redirected=1

Liviu-Lee Roth
philgoddard
Dalia Nour
 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 06:58
Danish to English
+ ...
Pointless Jun 7, 2023

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

As this person contacted you via Proz you should report “her” to the Translator Scam Alert Center https://www2.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts?phpv_redirected=1


It was an unregistered user, so I'm sorry to say that reporting it would be pointless. Scammers keep creating new Gmail addresses so recording a Gmail address serves no purpose. Checking a gigantic scam list of Gmail addresses is not the right way to find out if someone is a scammer, as the scam addresses created recently won't be on it yet.

One needs to look out for signs such as prepayment offers, whether the 'client' behaves as a normal client, unregistered Proz user and use of a Gmail address.

Yolanda Broad
Nicholas Robinson
Dalia Nour
 
Sammy Dowidar
Sammy Dowidar
France
Local time: 07:58
Member (2022)
English to French
Thank you Jun 7, 2023

Thank you Kseniia for advising us.

It seems that freelance language professionals are a HUGE scam target.
Best wishes and keep safe.

Dalia Nour
 


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 »

Overpayment scam







Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »