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Webinar: Gone Phishing? Cybersecurity Essentials for Language Professionals – Recording Available

Cybersecurity

The recording for my webinar on cybersecurity essentials for language pros is now available on demand. To view the webinar and receive the handouts, visit the NCTA page here.

Specific topics covered include:

  • Passwords, passphrases, and hacking
  • Internet security: routers, Wifi, and VPNs
  • Securing other (mobile) devices
  • HIPAA, remote interpreting etc.
  • Phishing, smishing, spoofing and scams

Q&A for my webinar on scams targeting language professionals

Recently, I presented a webinar on scams targeting language professionals. The webinar is now available on demand, for free.

As announced during the webinar, I’ll be answering some questions that were asked during the Q&A at the end of the webinar.

Q regarding CV theft scam: Why do you call it “identity theft” if they are substituting their contact information for yours in the CV theft scam?

A: Sometimes the scammers do not substitute the entire name, only the address/phone number; sometimes they substitute part of the name. In many cases this suffices to ruin the actual translator’s reputation. Thus, while these scammers may not ruin your credit score, they may be able to ruin your business. For more info, see the Translator Scammers Directory.

Q: My email address is only listed in the directories of professional associations. How do these scammers get my email in the first place? Did they hack the association website?

A: I believe I can answer this question in my capacity as webmaster of the Northern California Translators Association (NCTA). The NCTA website has not been hacked. I can’t speak for other associations, but NCTA (and also ATA) has implemented various measures to deter robots from crawling the site and obtaining member emails automatically. However, since our members want to be found by real human clients, there’s no 100% foolproof way to keep scammers out, but let clients have access to the member database. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I checked the access logs for the NCTA website and noticed that a particular IP address spent hours going through the member database manually and extracting members’ email addresses in painstaking manual labor. I have since implemented another measure that makes such an endeavor even more cumbersome for scammers, while hopefully not deterring real clients. Since our members want to be found by humans, there are only so many security measures I can implement as webmaster. In the end, it’s up to the individual member to discern whether an inquiry is from a real client or from a scammer.

And when in doubt, all associations have discussion forums for members, where the members can ask other members in case of a suspicious inquiry. For ATA members, there’s the ATA Business Practices forum, and for NCTA members, there’s the NCTA Members forum.

Q: How does email spoofing work exactly?

A: I’ll spare you the overly technical details. But basically, the “from” email address that’s displayed in an email program is only a label that can be changed relatively easily.

A good analogy would be an old-fashioned physical letter. The recipient’s address must be correct in order for the recipient to receive the letter. But the sender’s address can be any address you want if you just put the letter into a mailbox, with sufficient postage, of course. However, you can still figure out where the letter was mailed from, by looking at the postmark. The postmark identifies the post office that accepted the letter, which may be entirely different from the address that’s written as the sender’s address.

Similarly, every email carries the identification of the sending server in the email header. That sending server’s ID can be entirely different from the “from” email address, which can be fake. The sending server ID, however, cannot be faked. I explain in the webinar how to display and decipher the full header of an email.

Q: Do you have any general tips in regards to cyber security?

A: This would fill another webinar by itself, but in a nutshell: Always use a secure password, and never reuse the same password for all your online logins. You can use a password manager or some other system to construct safe and secure passwords. Always run antivirus software on your computer. Then, always have a recent backup of your computer, in case you do click on the wrong link and get a virus. This also helps in case your computer motherboard or hard disk decides to fry itself to a crisp. And never give out too personally identifiable information to random people on the Internet.

Q: If I receive a phone call, how can I tell whether the phone number is spoofed or not?

A: You can’t, really. In case of a company or other business client, I would recommend replying that now is not a good time and you’ll call back in 5-10 minutes. Then I would search for the company in your favorite search engine and call them back under the number stated on the website. You may then be on hold and/or transferred to the right person, but this way you can be sure that you are actually talking to who they say they are.

Free Webinar – Don’t Fall for It! Scams Targeting Language Professionals

My webinar “Don’t Fall for It! Scams Targeting Language Professionals” is now available on demand for free. Click here to watch now. Click here for this webinar’s resource handout. A list of questions that were asked during the Q&A at the end of the webinar is answered here.

Recorded: July 9, 2020
Duration: 60 minutes
Language: Presented in English
Level: All
ATA CE Point(s): 1

Even the best of us have been tempted by a scam.

Technology has given scammers an unprecedented level of sophistication and access, making it easier than ever to be fooled. Names and email addresses can be harvested electronically. Individuals can be targeted by occupation. Job offers can use the right terminology to appear legitimate—at least at first glance.

Attend this webinar for an overview of the various scams targeting translators and interpreters, including the age-old fake check scheme that is still tricking people into losing money. The presenter will also cover newer problems of identity theft and impersonation. Specific real-life examples will be used to demonstrate how each scam works and what concrete steps you can take to protect yourself and your business.

A list of resources will be included with the webinar.

What will you learn?

  • How to identify a scam
  • How to recognize the most common fake check scams
  • How to spot identity theft schemes
  • How to verify a contact’s identity
  • What you can do to protect yourself from scams
  • Where to report scammers

About the presenter

Carola F. Berger is an ATA-certified English>German translator, specializing in patent and scientific/technical translation as well as localization of software and mobile apps. She holds a PhD in physics and a master’s degree in engineering physics.

After being defrauded by an impersonator early in her career, Carola researched online fraud in depth, which led to several presentations and articles on scams in publications such as The ATA Chronicle and Translorial, the journal of the Northern California Translators Association. She is a frequent contributor on ATA’s Business Practices Listserv.

AB5: Do you know your ABCs?

At February’s NCTA General Meeting, two representatives of the language industry discussed the ramifications of AB5 for the industry and suggested what independent language professionals can do to help.

On January 1 of this year, Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) went into effect and brought sweeping changes to California’s labor laws. The intention of AB5 was to simplify the classification of independent contractors and employees in California; however, it brought a host of unintended consequences. AB5 has caused considerable confusion in the language industry. NCTA invited Lorena Ortiz Schneider, founder of the Coalition of Practicing Translators and Interpreters of California (CoPTIC), and Shamus Sayed, vice president of Interpreters Unlimited, Inc., and board member of the Association of Language Companies, to clarify some of this confusion at the February General Meeting.

For more information, read my summary article that just appeared on NCTA.org.

From left to right: NCTA events chair Fernanda Brandão-Galea, presenter Lorena Ortiz Schneider, NCTA president Michael Schubert, presenter Shamus Sayed. Photo credit: Ana Salotti

From left to right: NCTA events chair Fernanda Brandão-Galea, presenter Lorena Ortiz Schneider, NCTA president Michael Schubert, presenter Shamus Sayed. Photo credit: Ana Salotti