Is this a safe way to be paid, could this be a scam? Thread poster: Cydonie Miles
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Hello everyone,
I had a lady contact me after finding me on ProZ, but it seems she doesn’t have an account on the site, which concerned me a little bit.
She asked if I could quote her on a job, so I did so, and she replied to me this morning. It was a French to English case study on agricultural practices in Europe. It kind of looked like a university dissertation, so I wasn’t sure about their budget, but sent a quote anyway, thinking about if it’s a poor student ... See more Hello everyone,
I had a lady contact me after finding me on ProZ, but it seems she doesn’t have an account on the site, which concerned me a little bit.
She asked if I could quote her on a job, so I did so, and she replied to me this morning. It was a French to English case study on agricultural practices in Europe. It kind of looked like a university dissertation, so I wasn’t sure about their budget, but sent a quote anyway, thinking about if it’s a poor student it will probably be a no.
She agreed to the price straight away with no negotiating. She’s now asking to pay me directly by wire transfer, but I would rather be paid via the site or by PayPal as it’s safer. I also don’t have any reputation on the site, as I’m new here and I’ve done work elsewhere, I find it a little strange she wants to pay me straight away when in theory she doesn’t know if I could be scamming her.
I have attached an image of her email below, what do you think of it?
Many thanks for your help!
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| | | | Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:45
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Yes, it is a scam | Jun 1, 2020 |
Cydonie Miles wrote:
She agreed to the price straight away with no negotiating. She’s now asking to pay me directly by wire transfer, but I would rather be paid via the site or by PayPal as it’s safer.
As a general rule, if somebody you don't know isn't negotiating, and is paying upfront, it's probably a scam. The way it works is that they would "overpay" you and ask you to refund the "overpaid" amount, then disappear once they got the "refund" from you.
See this recent thread:
https://www.proz.com/forum/scams/340208-research_project_on_agricultural_reforms_in_eu_translation_scam_marie_stephens.html
Good that you listened to your instincts, but stay watchful; there are many predators out there. Search the forums first of all. Don't trust any person or company that you can't find on the Blue Board here at Proz.com or on www.paymentpractices.net.
Regards,
Dan
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It's a classic scam wording and method.
They make you think they'll pay by bank transfer, but in reality they will post a counterfeit cheque directly to your bank, hoping to trick you into believing it has been credited via bank transfer when you see the transaction online.
PayPal is not safer than bank transfer, by the way. It's probably the other way around, but I don't have figures to back it up. If someone pays with a stolen credit card via PayPal, PayPal will uncer... See more It's a classic scam wording and method.
They make you think they'll pay by bank transfer, but in reality they will post a counterfeit cheque directly to your bank, hoping to trick you into believing it has been credited via bank transfer when you see the transaction online.
PayPal is not safer than bank transfer, by the way. It's probably the other way around, but I don't have figures to back it up. If someone pays with a stolen credit card via PayPal, PayPal will unceremoniously take the money back as soon as the legitimate card holder contests the transaction. A scammer could obtain a free translation that way. When something like that happens, PayPal staff clam up like an oyster and carefully avoid doing anything that could possibly be construed as guidance or assistance to you. It's a company I don't trust. ▲ Collapse
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Scam forum; Scam centre | Jun 1, 2020 |
This site has areas that are designed to protect you. Well done for getting advice here, but please -- before you do anything else -- visit the ProZ.com Scam Centre. Not only can you find out about all the past scams, but you can also sign up for automatic notification of any new ones the scammers come up with. Many -- such as this one -- are also detailed in the Scam Forum, so get notified of new threads there too.
In addition, there's a Wiki article on the site called "Risk Manage... See more This site has areas that are designed to protect you. Well done for getting advice here, but please -- before you do anything else -- visit the ProZ.com Scam Centre. Not only can you find out about all the past scams, but you can also sign up for automatic notification of any new ones the scammers come up with. Many -- such as this one -- are also detailed in the Scam Forum, so get notified of new threads there too.
In addition, there's a Wiki article on the site called "Risk Management". It details some of the measures we should be taking to limit our risks of being scammed. There are many others procedures you could consider, depending on the amount of risk you're about to take on. Google for "Risk Management" and "Due Diligence" for lots of other ideas.
Stay safe! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Hwaet
United States
Local time: 07:45
French to English
+ ...
I think I just got the same one. The name is different, but it's 19,000 words on agriculture to be translated from French to English, and then the proposal to pay part of the fee in advance, which was a red flag - roughly $1k before any work is started.
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