Is this a scam? Thread poster: lidija68
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lidija68 
Italy
Local time: 09:41
Italian to Serbian
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Yesterday evening I've got a mail from a non registered proz.com user:
Dear Sir/Madame,
After having viewed your profile on Proz.com, I am writing
to kindly ask if you would be able to assist with a "sworn
translation" with a rather tight deadline. The document is
rather short and would be due by Monday. If you would be
able to assist, kindly get back to me and I will immediately
forward the document for your perusal and quote.
... See more Yesterday evening I've got a mail from a non registered proz.com user:
Dear Sir/Madame,
After having viewed your profile on Proz.com, I am writing
to kindly ask if you would be able to assist with a "sworn
translation" with a rather tight deadline. The document is
rather short and would be due by Monday. If you would be
able to assist, kindly get back to me and I will immediately
forward the document for your perusal and quote.
Kind regards,
xxxxxxxxx
[email protected]
There's nothing about required language pair, translation agency or some details about a person, so I'm wondering if it's scam.
(I decided not to answer to this mail)
What do you think?
Lidija
I'm also wondering why should a person from Italy (see e-mail address) write in english to me as it's not listed in my profile as a working language.
[Edited at 2012-12-14 09:34 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-12-14 09:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I too got one such mail recently | Dec 14, 2012 |
I replied and asked for agency's name, document type, word count etc but in turn this person kept asking me my details. The mails were poorly written and the person did not mention his last name/phone number. I didn't bother after that.
| | | | OG Pete
United States
Russian to English
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| They did not greet you by name | Dec 14, 2012 |
Their greeting was, "Dear Sir/Madame." As a rule, I do not respond to such correspondence unless I'm really bored
I doubt it's a scam, though - he used the word "perusal"!
Probably not worth your time?
| | | | lidija68
Italy
Local time: 09:41
Italian to Serbian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Piter, you're right, that's not worth my time.
I'm not surprised about "Dear Sir/Madame" , it happens sometimes with huge agencies, but then pm's have an "agency" e-mail address.
This one was just a personal name, like [email protected]. That's why I thought about a scam.
[Edited at 2012-12-14 10:01 GMT]
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OG Pete
United States
Russian to English
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| You're right Lidija | Dec 14, 2012 |
"They say" to avoid clients with "free" email addresses like yahoo etc. However, when I buy translations myself I usually just use my personal gmail address. But I never write "Dear Sir/Madame"! I find it rude.
All the best
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 03:41
Spanish to English
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| Probably a scam | Dec 14, 2012 |
One thing you can do is check the IP address. I would not be surprised if the mail originated from some country other than Italy: possibly Ghana or Nigeria.
The first thing you should do should be to (like Apurva) ask for identifying information.
In the case of any strong suspicion like that warranted by such a case, I would recommend insisting on payment via wire transfer (i.e. Western Union, MoneyGram, etc.) prior to your doing any work. If the party does not agree t... See more One thing you can do is check the IP address. I would not be surprised if the mail originated from some country other than Italy: possibly Ghana or Nigeria.
The first thing you should do should be to (like Apurva) ask for identifying information.
In the case of any strong suspicion like that warranted by such a case, I would recommend insisting on payment via wire transfer (i.e. Western Union, MoneyGram, etc.) prior to your doing any work. If the party does not agree to such an arrangement (and most likely they will not), then forget about them and move on. ▲ Collapse
| | | | OG Pete
United States
Russian to English
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Just out of curiosity - why do you think so, Robert? Doesn't the inquiry look properly formed?
| | | | | "Dear Sir/Madamme" | Dec 15, 2012 |
If they have seen the profile in Proz, don't they have the name shown in the profile? Clear scam. Best not to answer at all.
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| Payment before translation | Dec 15, 2012 |
Getting advance payment from the "client" before translation would perhaps be the best way of dealing with this sort of situation.
[Edited at 2012-12-15 21:52 GMT]
| | | | | Get solid contact information | Dec 15, 2012 |
When you get a proposal from a stranger your first decision should be to delete it within seconds or to evaluate it as a possible opportunity.
In this second case the first thing you should do is getting / asking for verifiable contact information and then verifying it.
Scammers will never provide solid contact information.
There is no proper risk management without this control.
Regards,
Enrique
| | | | | Too much kindness | Dec 15, 2012 |
I don't like the wording of this e-mail. "Kindly, kindly, kind regards"? Too much kindness for my taste. I'd delete it.
| | | | lidija68
Italy
Local time: 09:41
Italian to Serbian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your comments.
I've deleted this e-mail yesterday.
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