Possible SCAM: visa application company
Thread poster: Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 12:15
English to Italian
+ ...
Aug 16, 2018

Hi,

I have been contacted three times (two in June and one in August) by a person allegedly representing a (real) visa application company looking for English to Swedish translations/writers.

In the emails he explains what the company is about and that they need to translate a large spreadsheet of "user interface words". Then he asks to answer to the "screening questions" that I have pasted below.

==Screening Questions==

1.) Can you do translat
... See more
Hi,

I have been contacted three times (two in June and one in August) by a person allegedly representing a (real) visa application company looking for English to Swedish translations/writers.

In the emails he explains what the company is about and that they need to translate a large spreadsheet of "user interface words". Then he asks to answer to the "screening questions" that I have pasted below.

==Screening Questions==

1.) Can you do translation?
2.) How many word can you reliably translate in a week?
3.) How much do you charge for 100 words? Do not inflate
your desired pay rate by 2-5x. Doing so will disqualify your
bid if someone else simply did not inflate their price.
4.) What is a double entry visa?
5.) xxxx processes both visas and visa waivers. What is the
difference between a visa and a visa waiver? Give me an
example of each.

The person is sending emails through the Proz emailing service, but he/she is using a gmail account, not a corporate one. (the sender's email can be seen in the email header).

I have chatted with the online support of the visa agency, explained the situation, and they replied that they don't know anyone with that name.

I think that there are grounds to call this a scam, but I would like to hear what you think about this situation.

Did anyone of you receive such emails? Is it worth to investigate further?

Thanks

Nico
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Lian Pang
Lian Pang  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:15
Member (2018)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Ignore Aug 16, 2018

I'd be surprised if it turns out not to be a scam !

I think i've received a similar one but deleted it without hesitation. Don't trust any "corporate" contact with a google mail .

Just ignore it. It's not worth the effort.


Elke Fehling
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
José Henrique Lamensdorf
 
Tony M
Tony M
France
Local time: 12:15
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Definitely a scam! Aug 16, 2018

If you have contacted the company and they don't know any such person, then that seems to me totally conclusive proof it MUST be a scam!

In any case, the whole thing is so unprofessional, I would have binned it right away.

Report the sender to the various scam notification services (on ProZ.com and also externally) and then bin it without wasting any more time on it.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Lucien Rousseau
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 11:15
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Good risk management, Nico! Aug 16, 2018

Tony M wrote:
If you have contacted the company and they don't know any such person, then that seems to me totally conclusive proof it MUST be a scam!

Absolutely!

Well done for contacting the company, Nico. By doing so, not only have you avoided wasting any more of your own time - and maybe some money - but you've alerted the company itself that there may be an imposter out there who is claiming to represent them. Although they hold no liability in the case of identity theft, their reputation can certainly be severely compromised by it.

Now report it officially to the Scam Centre here so they can inform us all, and then move on.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Yolanda Broad
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nordic Link AB
José Henrique Lamensdorf
Lucien Rousseau
Tina Vonhof (X)
 
Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 12:15
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
That was exactly my purpose Aug 16, 2018

Sheila Wilson wrote:

Tony M wrote:
If you have contacted the company and they don't know any such person, then that seems to me totally conclusive proof it MUST be a scam!

Absolutely!

Well done for contacting the company, Nico. By doing so, not only have you avoided wasting any more of your own time - and maybe some money - but you've alerted the company itself that there may be an imposter out there who is claiming to represent them. Although they hold no liability in the case of identity theft, their reputation can certainly be severely compromised by it.

Now report it officially to the Scam Centre here so they can inform us all, and then move on.


Thank you for your replies Sheila, Tony and Lian.

The reason why I did not just bin the email and wrote this post is not only to get a confirmation that my (already heavy) suspects had solid grounds, but also to warn the Proz community.

I think that post like this help the whole community to be up to date with the new scamming strategies and better tackle this infamous scum. Just adding the email to the scammers list is not enough, this person could start over with another email address everyday.

When I contacted the company I gave them all the info I have about this impostor, so that they can take all the steps they deem necessary to protect their image and business. For example warn customers or report this person to the police in case they perceive this as a threat of some sort.

I will definitely add this case to the Scam Centre.

Again, thank you for your support and attention.

Nico


Yolanda Broad
Lucien Rousseau
Vanda Nissen
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
 
Laura van Staveren
Laura van Staveren  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:15
Dutch to English
+ ...
Suspicion confirmed! Aug 17, 2018

Everything about the request felt 'off', but the Scam Centre didn't mention it (yet) and I didn't find much online other than company reviews.
So I'm glad you posted this Nico; you've confirmed my suspicion.


 
Nordic Link AB
Nordic Link AB  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 12:15
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Another scam revealed Aug 19, 2018

I am glad that this post helped you and hopefully many other colleagues to avoid this scam, Laura.

I have reported the case to the scam center, so all the subscribers should receive a notice about this soon.

Take care and happy translating!

Nico


 
Kalinka Hristova
Kalinka Hristova  Identity Verified
Bulgaria
Local time: 13:15
Member (2007)
English to Bulgarian
+ ...

MODERATOR
Report it to ProZ.com and TSD Aug 20, 2018

If you haven't done so yet, report the scam to ProZ.com (via the link provided in the email originally received from the scammer) and to TSD (http://www.translator-scammers.com/translator-scammers-directory.htm ).
Making noise about these things helps many people, so do not hesitate to do it.

[Edited at 2018-08-20 17:17 GMT]


 


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Possible SCAM: visa application company







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