Have you had this experience? (Staff: "Wallet lost abroad" scam)
Thread poster: Yuko Fujita
Yuko Fujita
Yuko Fujita  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2010)
English to Japanese
+ ...
Jan 20, 2012

Hi. I received a request to proofread a medical document by a person with a telephone number.
I looked up his name and he owns a translation company in US with a website. So, I accepted the job assignment of proofreading.

The translation was the worst of all I have seen in 20 years. It seems it was translated by a free software, not by a human being. Anyway, I tanslated the whole thing. It was not a proofreading job.

After I sent the files to him on time, he
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Hi. I received a request to proofread a medical document by a person with a telephone number.
I looked up his name and he owns a translation company in US with a website. So, I accepted the job assignment of proofreading.

The translation was the worst of all I have seen in 20 years. It seems it was translated by a free software, not by a human being. Anyway, I tanslated the whole thing. It was not a proofreading job.

After I sent the files to him on time, he responded and thanked me. That was fine.

Next day, he sent me email saying that he is in Wales and got his bags stolen. He asked me to send funds so that he can return to US. I did not respond.

Next day, he sent me email asking "how is the work?" I responded that I have already sent him. But I re-sent the files. To that email, he requested the funds again.

I think this is fake. I will not deal with him again.

Have anyone had this kind of experience?

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2012-01-23 17:35 GMT]
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Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:05
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
A slightly varied scam Jan 20, 2012

Hi Yuko,

did you contact with the person before you translated the "proofreading" assignment?
If so, what did he say?

The "stolen bag" and asking for money are old tricks. Did you check his IP address? This can tell you where he's located - regardless of the location he claimed to be at.


 
Katalin Horváth McClure
Katalin Horváth McClure  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:05
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
A few things to learn from this Jan 20, 2012

1. Never accept a proofreading job without seeing the actual translation first. (The only exception is when you know who translated it and you know the quality of that translator, because you have worked with his/her texts before.)

2. Never accept any job without verifying the client's true identity and reliability. For that, use the Blue Board and other payments lists, search engines.

3. Learn to recognize typical scam patterns. Read this forum often (you can "Track" i
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1. Never accept a proofreading job without seeing the actual translation first. (The only exception is when you know who translated it and you know the quality of that translator, because you have worked with his/her texts before.)

2. Never accept any job without verifying the client's true identity and reliability. For that, use the Blue Board and other payments lists, search engines.

3. Learn to recognize typical scam patterns. Read this forum often (you can "Track" it, so you would get an email about each new thread posted).

4. Learn about how email accounts can be hacked. It is possible that the second email asking for funds was not sent by this person, but by someone who hacked his account.
See this thread for a recent example of this:
http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/215134-mugged_in_london_scam.html

Katalin
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Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 10:05
Romanian to English
+ ...
my take Jan 21, 2012

The translation agency may be legit, but a crook managed to hack his/their e-mail.
You mentioned a phone number; call the agency and talk to them.
When dealing with a new client, I rather have a very short telephonic conversation with him.

Katalin's posting has very good points!

[Edited at 2012-01-21 14:05 GMT]


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 11:05
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
"Wallet lost abroad" scam Jan 23, 2012

This is an example of the "Wallet lost abroad" scam. You can read more about this (and other) scams at ProZ.com's dedicated wiki page.

The fact that the scammer created a fake job in order to establish a "trust bond" with the translator before asking for her "help" is a departure from the classic message sent to contacts of the perso
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This is an example of the "Wallet lost abroad" scam. You can read more about this (and other) scams at ProZ.com's dedicated wiki page.

The fact that the scammer created a fake job in order to establish a "trust bond" with the translator before asking for her "help" is a departure from the classic message sent to contacts of the person whose identity has been stolen.

Lesson learned: better risk management. Freelancers are economic units, like small companies, and they must use a solid level of risk management. It it neither too difficult nor too time consuming, but it must be consistent.

Regards,
Enrique Cavalitto
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Yuko Fujita
Yuko Fujita  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2010)
English to Japanese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the info. Jan 23, 2012

I did contact the translation agency by phone. They told me that they had to replace the computer. It seems that thee translation agency is legit and his email address was hacked.
He called me to test his new email address so that he can send me emails, because he lost his email address list. He changed his email address from [email protected] to [email protected]. Only difference i
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I did contact the translation agency by phone. They told me that they had to replace the computer. It seems that thee translation agency is legit and his email address was hacked.
He called me to test his new email address so that he can send me emails, because he lost his email address list. He changed his email address from [email protected] to [email protected]. Only difference is the number. Now, I can tell if it is fake or not.

I will be moe careful when I accept jobs from new agency.

Thank you for all your input! I am glad to be a member at Proz! I have friends all around the world! YF
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Daniel Grau
Daniel Grau  Identity Verified
Argentina
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
Mmm... Jan 24, 2012

His email address what hacked? That would only make it impossible for him to access his account, presumably because the hacker changed the password. But the poor guy ALSO had his computer break down on him, so he lost all his contacts?

Yuko, no respectable company will contact you from a Yahoo address. Expect more scams from this guy.


 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 10:05
Romanian to English
+ ...
Daniel, Jan 26, 2012

Sorry, but you are wrong.
A hacker can brake into your e-mail account and keep it that way, without changing the password and without your knowledge. The hackker can "control" your incoming and outgoing e-mail without your knowledge or consent.
Your computer may turn into a "dump site" where the hacker stores stolen data, without your knowledge or consent.
Should I continue ? ........


 
Enrique Cavalitto
Enrique Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 11:05
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
Information on risk management Jan 27, 2012

YukoShiino wrote:

I will be more careful when I accept jobs from new agency.



You will find information on Risk management for translators and interpreters at ProZ.com's
dedicated wiki page.

Regards,
Enrique


 
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