| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Suspected scam (overpayment method) Thread poster: Jennifer White
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Jonathan Downie (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
French to English
+ ...
I have had word for word the same email. Thanks for the heads up.
Thankfully, I used one of my dummy email addresses just in case it was a scam. I have sent a quote. He replied that his associate would pay by cheque or banker's draft, which, of course, is something I would not agree to. I replied saying that direct transfer would be much easier for him and his associate and have had no reply.
IP address locates it in the US but it could be spoofed.
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... See more I have had word for word the same email. Thanks for the heads up.
Thankfully, I used one of my dummy email addresses just in case it was a scam. I have sent a quote. He replied that his associate would pay by cheque or banker's draft, which, of course, is something I would not agree to. I replied saying that direct transfer would be much easier for him and his associate and have had no reply.
IP address locates it in the US but it could be spoofed.
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Addition:
He has contacted me again insisting that his association will only pay by cheque/bank draft. I have insisted on direct payment. Will keep this thread updated.
[Edited at 2011-05-26 15:26 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | what about phones? | May 27, 2011 |
has anyone tried contacting the guy over the phone? You might get some information that way.
Regarding what Lany Chabot-Laroche said: "Whoever starts by saying where they come from and where they are right now automatically gets the spam treatment from me. " I just want to say that I used to go that way, but I received an email message with that format a few months ago which also lacked a lot of information about the project, and at first I treated it as spam and ended up being a re... See more has anyone tried contacting the guy over the phone? You might get some information that way.
Regarding what Lany Chabot-Laroche said: "Whoever starts by saying where they come from and where they are right now automatically gets the spam treatment from me. " I just want to say that I used to go that way, but I received an email message with that format a few months ago which also lacked a lot of information about the project, and at first I treated it as spam and ended up being a real client and I got the job (and got paid for it). I guess some people are so unaware of the dangers of the internet that would not imagine that someone is actually going to doubt that they are who they claim to be. Just my experience, though, I agree that your system probably works more than 90% of the times!
Regards, ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jonathan Downie (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
French to English
+ ...
| No phone number | May 27, 2011 |
Juan, he doesn't provide a phone number and even if he did, I doubt it would be wise to use it. We all know about give and take with clients but I would imagine that a good general rule would be that if they can only use cheque/bank draft and it won't come from them or their business, stay well away.
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I got the same email just now and have replied saying there is no attachment. I'll do the translation only if he pays 50% up front.
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Jonathan Downie (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
French to English
+ ...
| He'll offer to pay 100% | May 30, 2011 |
Robert Davison wrote:
I got the same email just now and have replied saying there is no attachment. I'll do the translation only if he pays 50% up front.
He'll offer to pay 100% but insist on paying by cheque/bank draft (both of which are easily faked). If you insist on direct payment or PayPal, you will never hear from him again.
Oh and trace his IP. If it is still in the US, he is lying as he told me he was travelling to the UK when he send it to me.
[Edited at 2011-05-30 14:56 GMT]
| | | | | Not so safe either | May 30, 2011 |
[quote]Jonathan Downie wrote:
Robert Davison wrote:
If you insist on direct payment or PayPal, you will never hear from him again.
PayPal is based on eBay, so there is a chance that the seller gets paid, but fails to ship the goods. For that case, PayPal makes it possible for the payer to reverse a transaction for some time after it has been made. If the payee has already withdrawn the money, the amount will be charged to their (the payee's) credit card or other guarantee they have given.
Even Xoom is not safe either. Once a defaulting translation agency paid me via Xoom to have something to show, and therefore induce me to remove my LWA=1 from the Blue Board. They didn't expect me to be Xoom-savvy, so I checked on their web site, and the transaction had been cancelled. So I called Xoom's customer service, and was told that the payer had cancelled the transaction two minutes after having made it. They eventually paid me, but it was a long struggle.
Moneygram and Western Union are safe to this regard. Four minutes after the payment has been made, you can go 'there' with proper ID and withdraw in cash.
Wire transfers become safe after the payee's bank informs that they have received the funds.
| | | | | dont understand the pay back thing | May 31, 2011 |
Hi Guys
I received the same request word for word. And the attachments afterwards
Very fishy.
I would usually ask for a bank transfer.
Someone posted saying they will probably pay over the amount, and then apologise, say there has been a mistake, and ask me to pay it back.....
Could someone please explain how that works as a scam? don't really get it sorry??
Thanks
Confused of Warwick
| | | | Gene Selkov
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
Spanish to English
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| Reality show Act 3: the associate goes on vacation | May 31, 2011 |
We're making progress. I received this note today:
Good Morning! Gene
I am glad to let you know that my associate has mailed out cheque from ulster bank to you on sunday before traveling on vacation.Kindly let me know as soon as you are in receipt of it.Have a great day.
Best Regards,
Fred
José: interesting data on cancelled payments -- thank you for sharing.
Jonathan: The IP registered o... See more We're making progress. I received this note today:
Good Morning! Gene
I am glad to let you know that my associate has mailed out cheque from ulster bank to you on sunday before traveling on vacation.Kindly let me know as soon as you are in receipt of it.Have a great day.
Best Regards,
Fred
José: interesting data on cancelled payments -- thank you for sharing.
Jonathan: The IP registered on initial contact by ProZ was 173.245.84.192; it has not been active since; it traces back to EGIHosting.com in San José, CA. It may not mean much, because packet headers can be forged, but assuming 'Fred' is a naïf kind of hacker, that is probably where he is, and in that case, he does need an 'associate' in the UK to post his cheque. ▲ Collapse
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| Simple, yet efficient | May 31, 2011 |
The trick is that the cheque you receive will 'bounce', in other words: long after you have paid back the surplus amount you will receive a message from your bank telling you the [means of payment] was fake, there is no such person, no such account, etc.
Capisce?!
Martin Willis wrote:
.. Someone posted saying they will probably pay over the amount, and then apologise, say there has been a mistake, and ask me to pay it back.....
Could someone please explain how that works as a scam? don't really get it sorry??
..
| | | | | Did any French to English translators NOT receive this email? | Jun 1, 2011 |
Hi everyone
Yip, I received the same email, received the same attachments when requested. Now I am getting the banker's draft/cheque scenario and still no proper identification from "Fred".
I did think this email was suspect and asked for business details etc. which of course have not been forthcoming.
Really very glad to see this thread here and not to have been completely taken in by this.
Thanks everyone for posting.
Barbara
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Gene - I can't wait for the next installment!
| | | | Alison Moir
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
Oh thank goodness I found this thread. I have actually been proceeding with this thinking it was a legitimate job!
Could somebody let me know what he is trying to get from me.
So far I have a cheque for much more than the agreed amount - I have sent back an e-mail saying it is wrong. The cheque also spells my name wrongly.
I will, of course, not carry out the translation now, and feel rather dumb having been taken in but I just can't see what the scam aspect would be, how it wo... See more Oh thank goodness I found this thread. I have actually been proceeding with this thinking it was a legitimate job!
Could somebody let me know what he is trying to get from me.
So far I have a cheque for much more than the agreed amount - I have sent back an e-mail saying it is wrong. The cheque also spells my name wrongly.
I will, of course, not carry out the translation now, and feel rather dumb having been taken in but I just can't see what the scam aspect would be, how it would work.
Ugh, that was close, whatever he's up to.
Thanks again.
Ali Moir ▲ Collapse
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| Pretty simple | Jun 2, 2011 |
Alison Moir wrote:
I will, of course, not carry out the translation now, and feel rather dumb having been taken in but I just can't see what the scam aspect would be, how it would work.
Ugh, that was close, whatever he's up to.
Alison,
He'll say there was a mistake, and request you to send the balance ASAP via Western Union, or Moneygram, irreversible and untraceable. If he has sent you a fake check, chances are he has also a fake ID to cash in.
It will take you maybe 1-2 months to discover that the check is counterfeit. Meanwhile you'll have sent him the balance from your own funds. By then, he'll have vanished into thin air. That's his scam.
Tell him you haven't got funds available to refund him now. Offer him the option to mail him back that check and, when he gets it, you can start all over, with him paying you the right amount via bank transfer (not PayPal nor Xoom, as I've explained before on this thread), before you begin working on the translation. The other option is for ýou to tell him that you've deposited that check already, and so he'll have to wait until it clears, when you'll send him the money in any way he likes, and begin working on the job. Either way, chances are you'll never hear from him again... under this name, at least!
[Edited at 2011-06-02 12:46 GMT]
| | | | Alison Moir
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:03
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
But why would I ever put a cheque for wrong amount into my account? It's sitting on my table now.
I don't understand why someone would put the overpayment cheque in to their bank?
Anyway I'm glad I hadn't started work!
| | | | | You wouldn't but... | Jun 2, 2011 |
Alison Moir wrote:
But why would I ever put a cheque for wrong amount into my account? It's sitting on my table now.
I don't understand why someone would put the overpayment cheque in to their bank?
Anyway I'm glad I hadn't started work!
... an overly zealous assistant might have grabbed all the checks on your desk and taken them to the bank... just like your prospect's careless assistant mailed you a check to the wrong amount, which he had carelessly signed, thinking it was for someone else to whom he owed that amount. 
These stories often get cockeyed.
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