fake assignment with wrong and large amount check Thread poster: YNIN
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Received an email from someone named “Frank Morgan”.
He said he saw a good review of me as a translator, and therefore would like to hire me to translate his article.
He asked about the fee and time frame for translating the attached article (which later I found out was suspiciously similar, although not identical, to the Wikipedia page of the same topic including the descriptions of the photos).
He claims he is currently in the middle east working as a journalist... See more Received an email from someone named “Frank Morgan”.
He said he saw a good review of me as a translator, and therefore would like to hire me to translate his article.
He asked about the fee and time frame for translating the attached article (which later I found out was suspiciously similar, although not identical, to the Wikipedia page of the same topic including the descriptions of the photos).
He claims he is currently in the middle east working as a journalist and doesn’t have a Paypal or bank account in the U.S. himself, and he’ll ask his accountant in the U.S. to make the full payment in advance. Another emails comes soon after – there was a mistake on the accountant’s part. I’ll receive a check in a day or two in much larger amount, which includes the money supposed to be for his travel back to the states. The check was already shipped out. He asks me to deposit it and send the difference back.
Suspecting fraud and not wanting to make any money flow on the opposite direction, I told him that I’ll shred or mail back the check, and he can mail me a check in correct amount – it would not be a problem to wait a few more days longer on my part. No reply to this email, nor the check comes in “in a day or two” as he promised, so I thought this actually was a fraud & didn’t think I’ll hear back from him again.
A check in the larger amount comes in FedEx about 5 days later. It was shipped the day before the arrival, not the date he said it was already shipped. He had enough time to make a correct check. The sender’s name was Sam Rosin, search on the address in Texas shows up a house for sale for foreclosure. Woman’s handwriting.
I was ignoring this at this point, contemplating if I should mail it back or shred it, when I receive another email from him titled “URGENT – RESPOND”, asking if I received the check and whether I deposited it yet. Funny that it’s now so urgent while his email responses prior to this was quite late each time. I replied saying I’m no longer able to carry out the assignment, and that I would like to know if he wants me to mail back the check or shred it. He said he can wait until I’m able to do the assignment. I replied again stating I will not do this assignment. No reply after that.
Frank Morgan [email protected] is the name and email address this person used. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tania Martins
Portugal
Local time: 01:25
Member
German to Portuguese
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SITE LOCALIZER | It's a scam... | Dec 9, 2014 |
I guess that would be a way for him to receive the money you would send back to him without paying you nothing at all.
You would go to the bank and deposit the check, the bank would need a few days to "unblock" the amount. In the meantime, you would have sent the difference back, and the bank would contact you saying that the check bounced because it was no good.
Your money would be gone and he would be laughing then...
My 2 cents.
(I'm glad y... See more I guess that would be a way for him to receive the money you would send back to him without paying you nothing at all.
You would go to the bank and deposit the check, the bank would need a few days to "unblock" the amount. In the meantime, you would have sent the difference back, and the bank would contact you saying that the check bounced because it was no good.
Your money would be gone and he would be laughing then...
My 2 cents.
(I'm glad you didn't fall for it!) ▲ Collapse
| | | | George Trail 
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:25
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
| Classic overpayment scam | Dec 9, 2014 |
I've read stories just like this on the ProZ forums. It's a classic overpayment scam, isn't it, fellow Prozians? It's only a matter of time before someone posts a link on here to an article or page dedicated solely to discussing them in full detail.
Don't do it. You send them money and then when you try to claim the money from the cheque they've sent you in a bank, it bounces. Worse yet, you could end up in trouble for being complicit in money laundering! Avoid it like the plague!
| | | | | Advance payment / overpayment scam | Dec 9, 2014 |
This is a classic scam.
Please have a look at our Scam alert center and the related wiki page.
Regards,
Enrique
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 02:25
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Same old story | Dec 9, 2014 |
I wonder if these scammers ever get tired of this overpayment scam. Do they really think translators - we are all educated people! - are that ignorant?
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 20:25
German to English
| Scams continue because they work | Dec 9, 2014 |
Thayenga wrote: I wonder if these scammers ever get tired of this overpayment scam. Do they really think translators - we are all educated people! - are that ignorant?
The newspapers still regularly report stories of people being swindled by obvious scams from Nigeria, etc. Even a one-percent success rate could still yield a comfortable income in the 3rd world. Successful scammer A tells his friends and relatives about his good luck and they go on to try their scams in hope of making a few hundred dollars/euros with little effort. I'm sure there's a special place in Hades for whomever thought bringing computer literacy to some parts of the third world was a good idea.
| | | | | Scams, an international invention | Dec 10, 2014 |
Kevin Fulton wrote:
I'm sure there's a special place in Hades for whomever thought bringing computer literacy to some parts of the third world was a good idea.
Dear Kevin,
I am upset as much as you with these scammers. Needless to say, I never respond to any of their messages.
However, many moons ago, in fact, decades, before e-mails became popular, I was working as a lawyer, and lawyers´addresses were known in books, I used to receive many snail mail letters, telling me that I had won a lottery in Spain or other European country (and that I needed to pay some fees to collect), or that some guy, last name Arri (risky to be named Arri and flying in private planes, I concluded), had died in a plane crash in England or some other European country, and they, the posters, needed my name to cash some money, to the tune of a few millions, held in some European bank where the dead guy had an account, whether he was or not a relative of mine. I would get a share of the ill-gotten money, regardless. All the letters were postmarked in some European country. Of course, I never responded.
Being a crook is not a third world invention, I would say.
Best,
Luis
| | | | YNIN
United States
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your reply.
While I'm pretty sure any of the names they use is fake, I'm hoping it might help to prevent people to fall for it by spreading the information.
A good friend of mine got a tax fraud call. I happen to visit her in the middle of it. She's a very intelligent woman, but in a panic state with time pressure she was given by this scammer, it was hard for her to think clearly. (Why would the government call at 8pm and say they'll come to get the... See more Thank you all for your reply.
While I'm pretty sure any of the names they use is fake, I'm hoping it might help to prevent people to fall for it by spreading the information.
A good friend of mine got a tax fraud call. I happen to visit her in the middle of it. She's a very intelligent woman, but in a panic state with time pressure she was given by this scammer, it was hard for her to think clearly. (Why would the government call at 8pm and say they'll come to get the unpaid - which is not true of course - at 7am, or she'll be arrested, outside any office hours preventing her even to get a hold of her accountant?)
Also, if one is desperate enough for the money, he/she might be inclined to ignore all the signs of fraud. Fortunately I wasn't.
Regards,
Y ▲ Collapse
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