Would you be suspicious?
Thread poster: Abby Harrison
Abby Harrison
Abby Harrison  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:27
English to Welsh
+ ...
Mar 21, 2019

I received an e-mail this morning asking if I was available to update a document that had been translated back in 2017 and, if so, to provide a quote. From my records, I had applied to this company when I started my freelance career but, back then, I didn't know what I now know about scams, so I followed the necessary steps to identify if I should ignore the request and everything seems to suggest that it's legitimate. I haven't opened the documents yet, as I've had a busy day!

Two
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I received an e-mail this morning asking if I was available to update a document that had been translated back in 2017 and, if so, to provide a quote. From my records, I had applied to this company when I started my freelance career but, back then, I didn't know what I now know about scams, so I followed the necessary steps to identify if I should ignore the request and everything seems to suggest that it's legitimate. I haven't opened the documents yet, as I've had a busy day!

Two hours later, I received an e-mail from another company (who I'd also applied to) with a generic 'Dear Colleague' greeting (the first e-mail addressed me by my name), asking if I was available to proofread a document. Without opening the document, I can see that it's exactly the same document that was sent by the other company! As this seemed a bit odd, I followed the necessary steps again to identify if it was a scam, and the company is listed on the Translator Scammers Directory.

I'm very confused, as both companies have a high score on the Proz.com BlueBoard, which is why I'd applied to them.

Help would be greatly appreciated.
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Khalid Sabili
Khalid Sabili  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 23:27
English to Dutch
+ ...
Contact them Mar 21, 2019

Is it possible to find and visit the official website via proz and contact them to check if the emails are legit?

Thayenga
Sheila Wilson
 
Abby Harrison
Abby Harrison  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:27
English to Welsh
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Contact details Mar 21, 2019

Khalid Sabili wrote:

Is it possible to find and visit the official website via proz and contact them to check if the emails are legit?


Thank you for your reply. The BlueBoard record for the second company has a contact number that's listed on the Translator Scammers Directory. The web address takes you to the website where there's a different contact number – also listed in the Directory.

Looking at the first company, they have offices in Europe and the US, and I don't even know where to start!


Khalid Sabili
 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:27
English to Czech
+ ...
Very strange Mar 21, 2019

This topic shows all the absurdity of this forum rule to not name the suspected scammers.... maybe try asking in a forum where you can do this, e.g. in one of LinkedIn translator groups...? Or somewhere on FB?
Or contact Proz staff and ask how it's possible the company is displayed in the Blue Board with no warning? I was under impression the Translators Scammers Directory is a highly regarded resource among the Proz staff... they'll surely ban the company if it's fake.

To be
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This topic shows all the absurdity of this forum rule to not name the suspected scammers.... maybe try asking in a forum where you can do this, e.g. in one of LinkedIn translator groups...? Or somewhere on FB?
Or contact Proz staff and ask how it's possible the company is displayed in the Blue Board with no warning? I was under impression the Translators Scammers Directory is a highly regarded resource among the Proz staff... they'll surely ban the company if it's fake.

To be sure, I wouldn't touch anything that's mentioned in the TSD with a barge pole. It's imho far more trustworthy then the Proz Blue Board.

[Edited at 2019-03-21 15:49 GMT]
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Adam Warren
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:27
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Abby Mar 21, 2019

Yes, it looks suspicious. As far as I know, there have been reports lately of scammers impersonating agencies and pretending to work for them as PMs.

 
Adam Warren
Adam Warren  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:27
Member (2005)
French to English
Better to let both jobs go Mar 21, 2019

Disregarding the Blue Board information, it would be wise to drop both offers: they look suspicious enough. At the same time, I suggest you cite both entities in a support query with the ProZ staff: there you can name names.

HTH.

With kind regards,

Adam Warren.


Josephine Cassar
Yolanda Broad
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Natalia Pedrosa
 
Abby Harrison
Abby Harrison  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:27
English to Welsh
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
E-mail domains Mar 22, 2019

Teresa Borges wrote:

Yes, it looks suspicious. As far as I know, there have been reports lately of scammers impersonating agencies and pretending to work for them as PMs.


Thanks, Teresa. I've also heard this, but thought that the warnings were in relation to those who used a free e-mail domain. The e-mails I received came from the companies' own domains. However, I'm not saying we should assume that anything that isn't hotmail/gmail/yahoo etc is legitimate.


 


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