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Beware of qandaresearch.com beautifully crafted scam
Thread poster: Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:32
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
Sep 23, 2015

This scam is quite elaborated, not like the usual crappy ones. They have a domain www.qandaresearch.com, nicely edited pdf documents, a registration panel, proper email addresses, etc.

 
Andriy Yasharov
Andriy Yasharov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 11:32
Member (2008)
English to Russian
+ ...
Is it a scam? Sep 23, 2015

Why are you sure that this is a scam? What signs of a scam are there?

 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:32
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Unclear Sep 23, 2015

Alvaro Espantaleon wrote:
This scam is quite elaborated, not like the usual crappy ones. They have a domain www.qandaresearch.com, nicely edited pdf documents, a registration panel, proper email addresses, etc.

http://www.qandaresearch.com seems to redirect to:
http://www.qandaresearch.com.au/
...which is run by an Australian company that is not obviously involved in translation:
https://whoisrequest.com/domain/qandaresearch.com.au
and that has a proper company number and which, according to
http://asic.gov.au/
...has existed since 2003.

That part seems legit, although I'm prepared to be shown otherwise.

Does the scam consist of somebody pretending to represent this company?

Regards
Dan


 
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:32
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
Asking for a $20 deposit Sep 23, 2015

They ask for a $20 deposit to verify your identity? and they promise $80,000 a year.

This is the sender: Amanda Harrison from [email protected]

By the way, I don't know who they are and haven't sent them any application.

This is the scam letter:

2015-22-09
RE: LETTER OF OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT – Freelance Translator

Dear M. Alvaro,

Following your
... See more
They ask for a $20 deposit to verify your identity? and they promise $80,000 a year.

This is the sender: Amanda Harrison from [email protected]

By the way, I don't know who they are and haven't sent them any application.

This is the scam letter:

2015-22-09
RE: LETTER OF OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT – Freelance Translator

Dear M. Alvaro,

Following your online application, you have been selected among several hundred applicants to fill an important position at our company. I am pleased to offer you a position with Q&A Research as a Freelance Translator.

Q&A Research is a leading authority in the Market Research industry. When you join Q&A, you will become part of a fast-paced and dedicated team that works together to provide our clients with the highest possible level of service and advice.

__________________________________________________

Title: Freelance Translator.
Start date: ASAP.
Contract : Indefinite, unless either party decides to terminate employment.
Salary : $81,000 USD yearly or $38 per hour.
Pay terms : Friday of Every new Week.

Job description: To translate documents from English to translator's language or vice versa.
Position type: Home-based.
Group benefits: See attached
Vacation: See attached

Full-time hours of work : 35 to 40+ hours a week.
Part-time hours of work : To be decided by Translator.

Reporting relationship:
Lloyd Studders, Communications Manager
[email protected]
__________________________________________________

Please note that your employment with Q&A Research is "at will". This means that you are free to end your employment with the company at any time for any reason.

If this offer of employment is acceptable to you may :
Accept your Employment Offer (p.9 of Employment Information Document).
Complete the Employment Agreement file if you choose a full-time schedule (not needed for part-time applicants).

This offer will expire if not finalized by Wednesday, September 23rd at 12AM EST and the position given to the next qualified applicant.

If I can answer any questions, feel free to email me back. We look forward to having you join our staff !

--
Sincerely,

[Edited at 2015-09-23 11:55 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-23 11:57 GMT]
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Kristina Cosumano (X)
Kristina Cosumano (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:32
German to English
Just got a mail from them myself Sep 23, 2015

And thought it suspicious right away. Thanks for the info.

 
Svetlana Gladkova
Svetlana Gladkova  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 16:32
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
Got exactly the same email and think it's very suspicious Sep 23, 2015

I got exactly the same email. My reasons to suspect a scam:
- I never applied for a job with them
- The rates are significantly higher than the market for English to Russian
- There was no discussion of workload or types of texts to translate
- The employees from their documents were not on LinkedIn (only one of them was and he could easily be just copied from there)
- I was supposed to act immediately
- Not only they want a deposit, they also want me to make
... See more
I got exactly the same email. My reasons to suspect a scam:
- I never applied for a job with them
- The rates are significantly higher than the market for English to Russian
- There was no discussion of workload or types of texts to translate
- The employees from their documents were not on LinkedIn (only one of them was and he could easily be just copied from there)
- I was supposed to act immediately
- Not only they want a deposit, they also want me to make it with a credit card so they will have my credit card details for use in any manner they may choose to

I have my doubts because the domain is redirected just fine but all the other factors look too suspicious to be true.
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Susana E. Cano Méndez
Susana E. Cano Méndez  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:32
French to Spanish
+ ...
Webpage Sep 23, 2015

Alvaro Espantaleon wrote:

This scam is quite elaborated, not like the usual crappy ones. They have a domain www.qandaresearch.com, nicely edited pdf documents, a registration panel, proper email addresses, etc.


This webpage is not available anymore.

Thanks Álvaro!


 
María Paula Gorgone
María Paula Gorgone  Identity Verified
Norway
Local time: 10:32
Member
English to Spanish
+ ...
Thanks for the information Sep 23, 2015

I got the e-mail and I thought it was suspicious so I wrote to them asking for more information. They replied exactly 30 seconds after I had written, with an e-mail that looked like a standard reply template.

It is also suspicions that they say you need to make a SINGLE USD 20 payment to verify your identity and when you go in to complete the form it says that they will make a monthly deduction from your credit card...


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:32
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Then OP is probably right Sep 23, 2015

Svetlana Gladkova wrote:
- Not only they want a deposit, they also want me to make it with a credit card so they will have my credit card details for use in any manner they may choose to

Right, that does sound deeply irregular to me. No way I would give my credit card details to somebody who was supposed to be paying ME!

Dan


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:32
Member
English to French
Amazing Sep 23, 2015

Alvaro Espantaleon wrote:
...
Title: Freelance Translator.
Start date: ASAP.
Contract : Indefinite, unless either party decides to terminate employment.
Salary : $81,000 USD yearly or $38 per hour.
Pay terms : Friday of Every new Week.

Job description: To translate documents from English to translator's language or vice versa.
Position type: Home-based.
Group benefits: See attached
Vacation: See attached

Full-time hours of work : 35 to 40+ hours a week.
Part-time hours of work : To be decided by Translator.
...

There seems to be more than 52 weeks in a year down under. Without any holiday or sick leave.
I think the "+" sign in "40+" hours is important.

This seemingly well-established firm will certainly appreciate all the publicity around these practices.
Thank you Alvaro.

Susana E. Cano Méndez wrote:
This webpage is not available anymore

there is a comma (or percent-2C) appended to the website address that shouldn't be there. The website is still on air.

Philippe

Edit: To the attention of search engines: Australia, Q&A Market Research Services Pty

[Edited at 2015-09-23 13:32 GMT]


 
João Roque Dias
João Roque Dias
Portugal
Local time: 09:32
English to Portuguese
BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! Sep 23, 2015

Registration data for domain qandaresearch.com

Registrant Name: Julian Hatman
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 778 Mossisa Sure (try to locate this address...)
Registrant City: Montreal
Registrant State/Province: QC
Registrant Postal Code: H0H 8K2 (FAKE: H0H is used for the Canadian Santa Claus...)
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Phone: +1.9059493930
R
... See more
Registration data for domain qandaresearch.com

Registrant Name: Julian Hatman
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 778 Mossisa Sure (try to locate this address...)
Registrant City: Montreal
Registrant State/Province: QC
Registrant Postal Code: H0H 8K2 (FAKE: H0H is used for the Canadian Santa Claus...)
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Phone: +1.9059493930
Registrant Email: [email protected]

Now, look at this "job ad" from the same "Julian" and the same Gmail address:
www.careerowl.ca/GenericPages/jobbrowser.aspx?p=24831735

Also, the photo used by "Julian Hatman" on his G+ profile is actually from this gentleman from NC, USA:

www.mjproperties.com/about-us/our-team/julian-williamson/

[Edited at 2015-09-23 13:30 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-23 13:31 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-23 13:31 GMT]
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Ksenia Akulova
Ksenia Akulova  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:32
Member (2009)
English to Russian
+ ...
surprisingly familiar Sep 23, 2015

Hi guys!

This one looks surprisingly familiar to me, and I think I know why. About a month ago, there was a scam impersonating Apex Translations when freelancers were contacted by a person named Emily Phillips with the following offer:

"Following your online application, you have been selected among several hundred Freelance applicants to fill an important position at our company. I am pleased to offer you a position with APEX Translations as a Freelance Translator begi
... See more
Hi guys!

This one looks surprisingly familiar to me, and I think I know why. About a month ago, there was a scam impersonating Apex Translations when freelancers were contacted by a person named Emily Phillips with the following offer:

"Following your online application, you have been selected among several hundred Freelance applicants to fill an important position at our company. I am pleased to offer you a position with APEX Translations as a Freelance Translator beginning 2015-08-19.

The starting compensation for this position is avg. $88,000 USD per year for a full-time commitment, or 8¢ (cents) to 68¢ (cents) per word for a flexible or part-time commitment. Our salary system is based on the amount of work fulfilled - this means that the more jobs you complete, the higher your overall pay will be. Furthermore, you may be eligible for promotion opportunities if your overall performance is continuously outstanding.

Please note that your employment with Apex Translations is "at will". This means that you are free to end your employment with the company at any time for any reason.

If this offer of employment is acceptable to you, please carefully read and understand all of the information outlined within the Employment Information Document and fulfill the Employment Agreement attached to this email accordingly.

This offer will expire if not finalized by 2015-08-20 and the position given to the next qualified applicant.

If I can answer any questions, feel free to email me back. We look forward to having you join our staff.

Sincerely,

Emily Phillips
Apex Translations - Project Manager"

If you decided to go ahead and register with them, you would be forwarded to a registration page and asked for a $30 deposit to "prove that you are not a scammer".

If you are interested, you could read more here:

http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/289796-scammers_impersonating_agency_and_asking_for_money_to_verify_translators_identity-page4.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/289808-possible_scam_using_apex_name-page2.html

Now it just makes me wonder if these scam are somehow related...
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Yolanda Broad
Yolanda Broad  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:32
Member (2000)
French to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
If you were contacted via ProZ.com... Sep 23, 2015

...please provide the message header info to ProZ.com Support, so they can track down the scammer and block him/her. Here is the link for submitting a support request: http://www.proz.com/support?mode=ask&sp_sub_mode=ticket_submit . Select "Report abuse" from the dropdown menu.

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:32
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Your application Sep 23, 2015

A forest of red flags on the rise.

Following your online application, you have been selected among several hundred applicants to fill an important position at our company. I am pleased to offer you a position with Q&A Research as a Freelance Translator.

This is one of their tricks. They're trying to make you believe that you yourself have sent your application to the scammer. They should start using their "grays". It's rather unlikely that any translator who has applie
... See more
A forest of red flags on the rise.

Following your online application, you have been selected among several hundred applicants to fill an important position at our company. I am pleased to offer you a position with Q&A Research as a Freelance Translator.

This is one of their tricks. They're trying to make you believe that you yourself have sent your application to the scammer. They should start using their "grays". It's rather unlikely that any translator who has applied with an agency will forgot such an application. Most translators don't work this way anyway.

Any prospective "client" who asks a service provider for any type of payment, in this case to verify one's identity, is a scammer. In fact, this seems more like they're trying to get your account information, either bank or, probably preferrably, PayPal.

This means that you are free to end your employment with the company at any time for any reason.

Who would believe such an unprofessional and non-company orientated statement?

[Edited at 2015-09-23 14:42 GMT]
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John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 05:32
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Fake registration Sep 23, 2015

João Roque Dias wrote:

Registration data for domain qandaresearch.com

Registrant Name: Julian Hatman
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 778 Mossisa Sure (try to locate this address...)
Registrant City: Montreal
Registrant State/Province: QC
Registrant Postal Code: H0H 8K2 (FAKE: H0H is used for the Canadian Santa Claus...)
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Phone: +1.9059493930
Registrant Email: [email protected]



According to Canada Post there is no street called "Mossisa Sure" in Canada, let alone Montreal.

Neither does the Postal Code H0H 8K2 exist.

The phone number area code "905" is for Mississauga in the Toronto area, not Montreal.

[Edited at 2015-09-23 15:02 GMT]


 
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