Thread poster: Sohee Hong
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Sohee Hong
South Korea
Local time: 04:03
English to Korean
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[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2023-07-17 09:14 GMT]
| | | | | A similar offer via Telegram | Jul 14, 2023 |
Hello,
I got a similar offer via Telegram. It was suspicious from the beginning because I had never received a request like that. I asked him to send me the link to his agency. He answers me rudely: "That is not compulsory you are here to work and get paid but I can share you more information about our company". He also said that he will pay me 3000 USD for translating 31500 words. So I immediately declined the offer, as it was obviously a scam.
Hope my experience helps... See more Hello,
I got a similar offer via Telegram. It was suspicious from the beginning because I had never received a request like that. I asked him to send me the link to his agency. He answers me rudely: "That is not compulsory you are here to work and get paid but I can share you more information about our company". He also said that he will pay me 3000 USD for translating 31500 words. So I immediately declined the offer, as it was obviously a scam.
Hope my experience helps you better assess this kind of scammer profile,
All my support,
MALIKA EL KHADHR ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 21:03
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
I'm sorry to read that you have fallen for the scammer that uses Telegram. This scammer has previously been discussed.
The only thing I can think of is for you to file a scam report at https://consumer.ftc.gov/media/79836 Just don't get your hopes up too high because "Telegram" uses various profiles, also here on ProZ. If you were contacted through ProZ.com, then report that profile to t... See more I'm sorry to read that you have fallen for the scammer that uses Telegram. This scammer has previously been discussed.
The only thing I can think of is for you to file a scam report at https://consumer.ftc.gov/media/79836 Just don't get your hopes up too high because "Telegram" uses various profiles, also here on ProZ. If you were contacted through ProZ.com, then report that profile to them. Other translators, including myself, have done so, however, without having accepted their dubious job opportunity. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sohee Hong
South Korea
Local time: 04:03
English to Korean
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for this. | Jul 14, 2023 |
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| Plenty of warnings | Jul 14, 2023 |
If you had been following the forums and/or checked out the site's scam warning resources, you could have avoided this. This sort of scam has been described countless times. Never work for someone without first establishing their identity. You cannot do that via Gmail, Telegram (an often used scam channel), Outlook.com, Hotmail, Yahoo and similar.
Screen potential clients and manage b... See more If you had been following the forums and/or checked out the site's scam warning resources, you could have avoided this. This sort of scam has been described countless times. Never work for someone without first establishing their identity. You cannot do that via Gmail, Telegram (an often used scam channel), Outlook.com, Hotmail, Yahoo and similar.
Screen potential clients and manage business risks
https://go.proz.com/guidance/risk-management
Translator scam alert center
https://www2.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts?phpv_redirected=1 ▲ Collapse
| | | | | You need to be alert | Jul 14, 2023 |
Sohee Hong wrote:
This scammer has been discussed here before? Can i find a link?
Google the following string exactly, including the quotes:
site:proz.com "telegram" "scam"
Sohee Hong wrote:
I eventually contacted and currently talking with the founder of Translation Services USA, Alex Buran.
He doesn't seem to know this scam thing is really happening.
If this is a scam, Translation Services USA is kind of a victim too.
The scammers are using their company's name to scam translators.
Yes, scammers often claim to be someone they are not. I can also create an email address like [email protected] and send you an email from that, claiming to represent Microsoft, but that doesn't mean I do.
You need to be extra careful now, as you may have been added to what is called a sucker list (list of people who have previously fallen for a scam).
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:03
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Common practice | Jul 14, 2023 |
Sohee Hong wrote:
I eventually contacted and currently talking with the founder of Translation Services USA, Alex Buran.
He doesn't seem to know this scam thing is really happening.
If this is a scam, Translation Services USA is kind of a victim too.
The scammers are using their company's name to scam translators.
Unfortunately, this is common practice among scammers. They claim to be a representative of company/agency XYZ. If something seems to be fishy, I oftentimes contacted the company the scammer claims to be working with. Not only to confirm their identity, if it is then real, but also to alert the company that their name is being used and abused. They, too, need to protect their reputation.
Here's one of the discussions regarding Telegram: https://www.proz.com/forum/scams/362930-scam_spam.html
[Edited at 2023-07-14 16:24 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 21:03
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| I understand | Jul 14, 2023 |
I understand that WhatsApp and Telegram are now very common ways of communicating, even in business, but even so, I never accept a job where the person contacts me via Telegram first. I only accept jobs via email. (You can also get scammed via email, so that is no guarantee.) I only communicate with clients via WhatsApp or Telegram if they are already known to me. I also only work for companies (not for private individuals), so a company should have a website, and address and a telephone num... See more I understand that WhatsApp and Telegram are now very common ways of communicating, even in business, but even so, I never accept a job where the person contacts me via Telegram first. I only accept jobs via email. (You can also get scammed via email, so that is no guarantee.) I only communicate with clients via WhatsApp or Telegram if they are already known to me. I also only work for companies (not for private individuals), so a company should have a website, and address and a telephone number where I can contact them.
You say the scammer claimed to be from "Translation Services USA". What did the scammer claim was the website address of this "Translation Services USA"? ▲ Collapse
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| I asked this question before, but.... | Jul 14, 2023 |
Why scamming us? Us 'poor' translators. If I had the urge to scam somebody, I would scam a multinational, that is where the money is.
Or am I missing something here? Sorry, but I still don't get it.
[Edited at 2023-07-14 17:44 GMT]
| | | | | Not a moral mission | Jul 14, 2023 |
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Why scamming us? Us 'poor' translators. If I had the urge to scam somebody, I would scam a multinational, that is where the money is.
Or am I missing something here? Sorry, but I still don't get it.
Scammers are not on a moral mission to rectify any perceived injustices in the world. They just want to steal money in whatever way they can.
As too many translators are not well versed in due diligence, the bar is much lower than it would be with a multinational.
Many ordinary consumers are being scammed too. Some are vulnerable, others simply naïve. All are easy prey and criminals have no scruples.
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| I got scammed | Jul 15, 2023 |
How can anybody believe that any legit company would use Telegram for job offers? In cas yo udo not know it, Telegram is the terrorists' preferred communication channel. That should speak volumes! Emails exist and that is the way any serious company communicates. Have you ever seen Telegram on the contact page of a company? It is a hard way to learn but the lesson should stay. On the other hand $1,500 for a 100-page document is peanuts. That could also be alerting anyone.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:03
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Dearth of healthy skepticism | Jul 15, 2023 |
mariealpilles wrote:
How can anybody believe that any legit company would use Telegram for job offers?
Agreed. I would be immediately and deeply suspicious. I can't believe that a major company would sanction the use of such a tarnished method of communication. My experience in corporate environments is that access to such apps and non-corporate email is tightly controlled as a matter of compliance. As for your typical mom-and-pop shop or local small company, they would use gmail or some other freemail.
Then again, some freelancers are naive enough to believe that substantial companies, the kind with shares traded on the stock exchange in London or New York, would use an email like [email protected].
It's hard to avoid the impression that many translators are intelligent (or at least well-educated) but have next to no street-smarts. If you get a juicy offer from an unexpected source, don't bite immediately. Stop. Think! If something looks too good to be true, it usually is.
I think all we can do is keep reporting the subject and pointing out unwise decisions so that new translators that do bother to undertake due diligence can benefit in future.
Regards,
Dan
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I don't know about other countries, but here in Japan, Telegram is widely used for hiring robbers and thieves to break into rich people's homes using pseudonyms while communicating on the app. The employer will bait would-be-thieves with a minimal sum of 200~500 USD stating something like "work a few hours and earn 500 USD fast!". The biggest reason for using Telegram is anonymity and after 24 hours, the communication or the proof of hiring someone to commit a crime will be deleted from the app.... See more I don't know about other countries, but here in Japan, Telegram is widely used for hiring robbers and thieves to break into rich people's homes using pseudonyms while communicating on the app. The employer will bait would-be-thieves with a minimal sum of 200~500 USD stating something like "work a few hours and earn 500 USD fast!". The biggest reason for using Telegram is anonymity and after 24 hours, the communication or the proof of hiring someone to commit a crime will be deleted from the app.
I've never been approached by anyone for work who uses Telegram, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten meter barge pole. ▲ Collapse
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