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Spot the scam: an educational example
Thread poster: Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:57
French to English
+ ...
Aug 6, 2011

It's a reasonably regular topic here, but I thought I'd highlight this real-life example as educational practice. See how many "telltale" signs you can spot:

http://french-linguistics-dev.blogspot.com/2011/08/spot-scam.html
 
Werner Maurer
Werner Maurer  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 07:57
Spanish to English
+ ...
0.50 Euro/wd Aug 6, 2011

Wow! Half a Euro per word! Where do I sign up?
 
Werner Maurer
Werner Maurer  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 07:57
Spanish to English
+ ...
Easy Aug 6, 2011

The example has far more than the usual number of telltale signs. It's overflowing with them. I don't feel like counting them. I've seen scams where I had to look long and hard for a red flag (but eventually found it).
 
kalap (X)
kalap (X)
This is fun Aug 6, 2011

Irealistic project to be translated by a freelance translator into several languages, without project details and company data, plus typing and grammar errors and an address in Nigeria.
14 or 15 red flags (posting this on a Saturday might be right).

Remember: scams always contain flattery and exaggerations, this is part of the scammers' culture: big is beautiful and more credible. Translators are called Doctors or Dear Friends, projects always have several hundreds of thousan... See more
Irealistic project to be translated by a freelance translator into several languages, without project details and company data, plus typing and grammar errors and an address in Nigeria.
14 or 15 red flags (posting this on a Saturday might be right).

Remember: scams always contain flattery and exaggerations, this is part of the scammers' culture: big is beautiful and more credible. Translators are called Doctors or Dear Friends, projects always have several hundreds of thousands of words, payment will be soon and promises are sky-high. ▲ Collapse
 


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Spot the scam: an educational example







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