Do I need to risk and take the chance or drop the project as a scam? Your advice is appreciated. Thread poster: William Yang
| William Yang China Local time: 19:02 Member (2021) English to Chinese + ...
I was contacted for a project initiated by a translation agency today. The offer was lucrative but with a condition which seemed unacceptable and I didn't hear of before. It requested me to deposit some money(not much and refundable) to start the project for security reasons. Do you have any similar experience? Or could you give me any suggestions?
[Edited at 2021-04-24 09:29 GMT] | | | expressisverbis Portugal Local time: 12:02 Member (2015) English to Portuguese + ... It seems a pay-to-work scam | Apr 23, 2021 |
I would never agree to do a translation and have to pay anything in advance, or make an upfront deposit even for security reasons. I have never heard of such a condition. It seems to me the old pay-to-work scam. Please check this page before engaging in any negotiation: https://www.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts/default In your place, I would ... See more I would never agree to do a translation and have to pay anything in advance, or make an upfront deposit even for security reasons. I have never heard of such a condition. It seems to me the old pay-to-work scam. Please check this page before engaging in any negotiation: https://www.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts/default In your place, I would stay away! ▲ Collapse | | |
Yubing Yang wrote: It requested me to deposit some money(not much and refundable) to start the project for security reason. It's 100% a scam. You won't see that money again and you won't get paid either. What kind of security reasons would require the freelancer to give them money? It's the client who should be paying you, not vice-versa. Delete their contact details and never speak to them again. | | | William Yang China Local time: 19:02 Member (2021) English to Chinese + ... TOPIC STARTER Sure they have more options to stay safe | Apr 23, 2021 |
Thank you all for your suggestions and I will break off any contacts with the company. Sometimes we may need an agency to deposit to keep safe. I agree this is a spam. They have more options to stay safe and we, translators, are less protected/often exploited.
[Edited at 2021-04-23 20:51 GMT] | |
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Gerard de Noord France Local time: 13:02 Member (2003) English to Dutch + ... Don't be offended | Apr 23, 2021 |
Take the risk, if it's a small sum. Europeans are being scammed by Chinese merchants regularly. By paying a small sum you prove that you exist and that you are a human translator. Work on that side of your marketing to attract more European customers. Cheers, Gerard | | | William Yang China Local time: 19:02 Member (2021) English to Chinese + ... TOPIC STARTER Thank you for the advice, another advice | Apr 23, 2021 |
Gerard de Noord wrote: Take the risk, if it's a small sum. Europeans are being scammed by Chinese merchants regularly. By paying a small sum you prove that you exist and that you are a human translator. Work on that side of your marketing to attract more European customers. Cheers, Gerard Thanks Gerard, Translators don't earn billions or even millions a year, markets are large enough and there's supply and demand there. You cannot make a horse drink if it doesn't want to
[Edited at 2021-04-24 09:15 GMT] | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 13:02 Spanish to English + ...
This is a huge planetwide problem, but the problem is usually us. Someone I don't even know walked into my translation joint the other day, and they said, "Hey, we've got a huge translation for you, but why don't you pay us first for us to give you all that work", and I said "Now why would I do that, and why are you still here?" On reflection, I see that it's "refundable". Well, that's a relief, especially if you've got it in writing. So pay it, and wait for them to refund it on the... See more This is a huge planetwide problem, but the problem is usually us. Someone I don't even know walked into my translation joint the other day, and they said, "Hey, we've got a huge translation for you, but why don't you pay us first for us to give you all that work", and I said "Now why would I do that, and why are you still here?" On reflection, I see that it's "refundable". Well, that's a relief, especially if you've got it in writing. So pay it, and wait for them to refund it on the Twelfth of Never.
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[Edited at 2021-04-24 06:09 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-04-24 06:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Daryo United Kingdom Local time: 12:02 Serbian to English + ... As a matter of fact ... | Apr 23, 2021 |
many very genuine and often very large contracts (between businesses that usually know each other, if nothing else by reputation) require from the winning bidder to put FIRST a deposit of about 10-15% of the value of the whole tender (usually not in actual money, but in form of bank guarantee) before being allowed to start any work, called a "guarantee for the good execution of the contract" The rationale being that if the contractor makes a dog's dinner of the work, then no... See more many very genuine and often very large contracts (between businesses that usually know each other, if nothing else by reputation) require from the winning bidder to put FIRST a deposit of about 10-15% of the value of the whole tender (usually not in actual money, but in form of bank guarantee) before being allowed to start any work, called a "guarantee for the good execution of the contract" The rationale being that if the contractor makes a dog's dinner of the work, then not only they will be paid zilch, but also the deposit will be used to clean the mess before the work is given to someone else. A way of making cowboy builders an extinct species in contracts with large clients. Having said that, this particular instance of requesting a "guarantee for the good execution of the contract" looks far too much like a scam. Not to mention that following the same logic, the translator should request the full amount of the translation contract to be put in escrow before even typing the first word. Ah well, that's an idea for a "counter-offer" ... ▲ Collapse | |
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Kevin Fulton United States Local time: 07:02 German to English Nowadays, if it's lucrative ... | Apr 23, 2021 |
... it's probably a scam. Some of the offers coming over the transom lately would barely pay for the electricity to run the computer, much less pay for a beer at an open-air restaurant. | | | From a scammer's point of view | Apr 23, 2021 |
Imagine that you are a scammer. The hurdle you have to overcome is the fact that many translators know about scams; they are regularly discussed here, for example. How can you overcome a translator's wariness? Simple. Offer something that a translator really wants (a lucrative potential job - those are getting rarer nowadays!) and ask for just a small amount of money. Not many translators would pay a large amount, because that's a big risk and most of us know about scams by n... See more Imagine that you are a scammer. The hurdle you have to overcome is the fact that many translators know about scams; they are regularly discussed here, for example. How can you overcome a translator's wariness? Simple. Offer something that a translator really wants (a lucrative potential job - those are getting rarer nowadays!) and ask for just a small amount of money. Not many translators would pay a large amount, because that's a big risk and most of us know about scams by now, but there are some who would pay a small amount, especially if they think the potential gain is very big. It's like a lottery with a big jackpot. Lots of people buy tickets when the jackpot is really big. They know their chances of winning are very low - almost zero - but the risk seems worthwhile because the ticket price is so small, and the prize is so big. This big difference is the reason why people buy tickets. So a scammer is more likely to succeed with this "small risk" method. The scammer gains less, but a small gain is better than nothing, and this tactic should work more often. For what "security purposes" could an outsourcer possibly want your money? There are many ways of confirming a person's identity, and most of them don't involve taking money. It's an interesting choice of "security measure", isn't it? I've worked for UK agencies for over 15 years, and I've never heard of any agencies here using that method. So I believe your "UK company" is relying on the "small risk" principle I mentioned above, except that I don't think the "jackpot" (the lucrative job) exists. You'd be better off buying a lottery ticket with the money!
[Edited at 2021-04-24 08:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Definitely a scam | Apr 23, 2021 |
Get away, as fast as possible. | | | Go for it, but ... | Apr 24, 2021 |
Yubing Yang wrote: I was contacted for a project initiated by a UK company today. The offer was lucrative but with a condition which seemed unacceptable and I didn't hear of before. It requested me to deposit some money(not much and refundable) to start the project for security reason. Or could you give me any suggestions?
[Edited at 2021-04-23 18:44 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-04-23 18:46 GMT] ... propose to them, that for other security reasons you can only offer some tangibles as a deposit, i.e. the Rolex you may have bought for 30 USD on the poultry market stall downtown (and that is much more worth, of course) or, as a better alternative, one of those numerous overpayment checks you will have received in your career. In the first case, check their IP and you will see, that UK isn't too far away from the place where you live (therefore deposing the Rolex won't cost you too much both in time and money), and for the second case, they may keep 30 % of the amount covered by the check, and let them send the rest back to you in cash (or by paypal or Western Union), before you start the project. If in need of an overpayment check they probably can help you out too. | |
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William Yang China Local time: 19:02 Member (2021) English to Chinese + ... TOPIC STARTER The discussion is over, thanks everyone for your participation | Apr 24, 2021 |
Thanks and god bless you all.
[Edited at 2021-04-24 09:35 GMT] | | | A different POV | Apr 24, 2021 |
No need to drop anything, just don't pick it up... | | | Daryo United Kingdom Local time: 12:02 Serbian to English + ... In average, it well may be true ... | Apr 27, 2021 |
Kevin Fulton wrote: Nowadays, if it's lucrative ... ... it's probably a scam. Some of the offers coming over the transom lately would barely pay for the electricity to run the computer, much less pay for a beer at an open-air restaurant. In average, it well may be true ... But this kind of negative attitude can all too easily turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Do I need to risk and take the chance or drop the project as a scam? Your advice is appreciated. CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
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