Warning about probable scam Thread poster: Evans (X)
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Evans (X)
Local time: 05:17
Spanish to English
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I have been approached by an "agency" in Egypt, which sent me a file for quotation. I have never had any contact with this firm before and am always suspicious if approached with a job before any preliminary contact has been made. On the Blue Board several entries give a company with a very similar (not identical) name a 1 and declare it to be a non-payer and a fake company. Two entries give it 5 but, surprise surprise, neither of these 'members' seems to have a genuine identities on Proz.
... See more I have been approached by an "agency" in Egypt, which sent me a file for quotation. I have never had any contact with this firm before and am always suspicious if approached with a job before any preliminary contact has been made. On the Blue Board several entries give a company with a very similar (not identical) name a 1 and declare it to be a non-payer and a fake company. Two entries give it 5 but, surprise surprise, neither of these 'members' seems to have a genuine identities on Proz.
This begs the question: is this company able to concoct fake proz members to give itself blue board marks?
If this is the case, then we all need to be increasingly wary. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rachel Fell 
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:17
French to English
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I got an email last week from an agency offering me translation work at a pitiful rate (USD 0.04); I see their BB ratings are mostly 5s, so I think that's equally worrying.
[Edited at 2011-03-28 12:07 GMT]
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Gilla Evans wrote:
I have been approached by an "agency" in Egypt, which sent me a file for quotation. I have never had any contact with this firm before and am always suspicious if approached with a job before any preliminary contact has been made. On the Blue Board several entries give a company with a very similar (not identical) name a 1 and declare it to be a non-payer and a fake company. Two entries give it 5 but, surprise surprise, neither of these 'members' seems to have a genuine identities on Proz.
This begs the question: is this company able to concoct fake proz members to give itself blue board marks?
If this is the case, then we all need to be increasingly wary.
Option 1: just ignore the message.
Option 2: if you are really desperate in earning a few bucks, ask them for an upfront payment and see if they accept your counter-offer.
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Yasutomo Kanazawa wrote:
Option 1: just ignore the message.
Option 2: if you are really desperate in earning a few bucks, ask them for an upfront payment and see if they accept your counter-offer.
Yes, asking for advance payment is a good way to get rid of shady agencies. Either they accept and you get your money quickly, or they go away and leave you alone.
Be sure to insist on bank transfer only and don't start till the payment comes through. Cheques can bounce or be fake, and Paypal transfers can be reversed.
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Evans (X)
Local time: 05:17
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | purpose of the message - warning | Mar 28, 2011 |
Ignore it I shall, and I'm certainly not desperate to earn a few bucks.
I just want to raise the issue of the possible misuse of the blue board by scammers or dishonest agencies.
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Gilla Evans wrote:
Ignore it I shall, and I'm certainly not desperate to earn a few bucks.
What on Earth are you going to do with a few ducks?
| | | | Evans (X)
Local time: 05:17
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | translation and ducks | Mar 28, 2011 |
are not such rare bedfellows:
Many years ago, when I ran a translation company in Sheffield, we worked regularly for a duck farm that exported breeding stock all over the world, notably to Bolivia... After a particularly busy period of work for them, during which time we really pulled out all the stops to meet extremely tight deadlines, we took delivery of a gift of a box of fresh oven-ready ducks.
Unable to accommodate more than a couple of them in our small freezers, ... See more are not such rare bedfellows:
Many years ago, when I ran a translation company in Sheffield, we worked regularly for a duck farm that exported breeding stock all over the world, notably to Bolivia... After a particularly busy period of work for them, during which time we really pulled out all the stops to meet extremely tight deadlines, we took delivery of a gift of a box of fresh oven-ready ducks.
Unable to accommodate more than a couple of them in our small freezers, we ended up giving most of them to the Salvation Army to feed the homeless... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dave Bindon
Greece
Local time: 07:17
Greek to English
In memoriam
Gilla Evans wrote:
we worked regularly for a duck farm After a particularly busy period of work for them,[...] we took delivery of a gift of a box of fresh oven-ready ducks.
[/quote]
You've given me ideas! I need to market my services to alcohol manufacturers and distributers!! A free case of wine at the end of a project would be very welcome!
[By the way, completely off-topic.... the old lady who lives next door to me, who plays lovely classical piano music most evenings, has just played 'Jingle Bells'!!]
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Astrid vanBeek (X)
United States
Local time: 23:17
English to Dutch
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| Why would we ignore scams? | Mar 30, 2011 |
I just received one of those scam emails for a well paid job that seems to good to be true.
And when I look at all the replies in this forum, everyone just seems to think that ignoring is the only answer???
I checked the IP address, but only AFTER I already sent my CV, you know why?
The initial email seemed very legit and now... now my information is out there in Nigeria and God knows what they'll do with it!!
I wish this could be stopped, it is unbelievable that e... See more I just received one of those scam emails for a well paid job that seems to good to be true.
And when I look at all the replies in this forum, everyone just seems to think that ignoring is the only answer???
I checked the IP address, but only AFTER I already sent my CV, you know why?
The initial email seemed very legit and now... now my information is out there in Nigeria and God knows what they'll do with it!!
I wish this could be stopped, it is unbelievable that even Proz thinks ignoring will make the problem go away...
Astrid ▲ Collapse
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