Translation Scams – Again

Translation Scams – Again

Scams Targeting Language Professionals

Scams apparently come in cycles. These days, a scam that was very prevalent in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic is resurfacing with a vengeance. The scammers send out “employment/job offers” that read roughly as follows:

Dear Interpreter/Translator,

Your listing (contact information) that was published on [insert directory or association listing here] has been reviewed by our HR Department at [insert name of random huge corporation here] and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview/briefing exercise. You have been assigned to Dr. [insert actual person’s name at huge corporation here] (HR Coordinator) of [huge corporation]. She would be conducting an online interview/Job briefing with you.

Company Name: [huge corporation]

Job Type: Part-Time, Full-Time (Freelancer).

Hourly Rate: $85/Hour

Training Rate: $65/Hour.

Location: Work from Home.

Payment will be made via Direct Deposit or Check.

Telegram will be used for the purpose of the interview. If interested, follow the steps below to schedule your interview/Job briefing session:

Please indicate your interest in an interview by reaching Dr. [person] on Telegram [or Google Hangouts or similar] using this link (https://t.me/) or Kindly have Telegram downloaded on any of your devices (either Laptop or both Phone) and add up the Hr. Coordinator (@[person]) and instant message her with his screen name to proceed with the job interview process.

Interview Scheduled: Mondays – Saturdays

Venue: Online Via Telegram [or Google Hangouts or similar]

Time: 9:00 AM-6:00 PM EST (Flexible)

Training is available.

Your verification code is ([random string]). This would serve as your interview identification number throughout the online hiring process. This is an online work from home and working hours are flexible.

Your swift and timely response matters a lot as this is an immediate hire position… We look forward to having you on the team!

NOTE: JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND COMPANY BRIEFINGS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE HR COORDINATOR VIA TELEGRAM.

Regards From,

Dr. [person]
[actual address]

This is a scam. It is a well-known scam. The alleged interviewer’s name and the corporation keeps changing, but the text and the scam is always the same. Sometimes, they even spoof (impersonate) the “from” email address to make it look as if the corporation really sent that email instead of a free email address (gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.). The key giveaway that it’s a scam? No large corporation holds interviews via Telegram, Google Hangouts or other free services. What are they after? I explain how this scam works in my ATA webinar from 2020, which is still more than relevant. The webinar on scams is available here, free, on demand. I’m not getting anything out of this except the satisfaction to have thwarted a few scams. For more on scams, see my publications on the subject that are available here.

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2022 Carola F Berger

Carola F Berger

Website: https://www.cfbtranslations.com

Carola F. Berger is a German-English patent translator with a PhD in physics and a master’s degree in engineering physics. She is ATA certified for translation from German into English and from English into German and owns and operates CFB Scientific Translations LLC. Carola serves as webmaster on the NCTA Board of Directors and is also the Administrator of ATA’s Science and Technology Division.

4 comments

Andreia Silva

Hello,
In a translation group, I saw a post about a project to translate a certain number of images (book pages) in a few days. They use Telegram and don’t use any email app, like Gmail. They offer a good amount and say they pay upon delivery. This is a scam to me. Once they get the translation, they will delete Telegram messages. This is what I think. Anyway, is there anyone that could advise me or has any more info on how this scam works (because I doubt this is a reliable and trustful offer)? Thank you

andreia

    Carola F Berger

    When in doubt, I would simply ask for payment up front via something other than a check (PayPal, Stripe, etc.). If you use PayPal or Stripe or some such, you can point out that these services also include buyer protection, i.e. protection for the alleged client. If the client is real, they usually agree to these terms. If the client is a scammer, they don’t.

    ****

    I also got the same job offer as Anderia got. That lady is talking to me via telegram. I have a doubt because she always pushes me for replying fast.

      Carola F Berger

      I strongly advise against entering into professional contracts via Telegram or any other chat messaging app. Chat protocols can easily be deleted, so there is no legal recourse should things go wrong. Email and written documents always leave a legal trail, Telegram, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, and others, do not. Of course you can chat with clients or have an old-fashioned phone conversation in case of questions etc., but any and all agreements should always be formalized in writing, either on paper or in an email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *