| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] > | Research project on Agricultural reforms in EU translation scam - Marie Stephens Thread poster: Lauriane Duran-Pauleau
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I have received a series of emails from someone claiming to be called "Marie Stephens" email address [email protected], who contacted me using my Proz profile, then directly by email.
It appeared to be an inquiry for a translation from English to French, agreed to the price quoted and advance payment, then asked for my bank details. The bank details email having a strange format (no greeting or signature when the other em... See more I have received a series of emails from someone claiming to be called "Marie Stephens" email address [email protected], who contacted me using my Proz profile, then directly by email.
It appeared to be an inquiry for a translation from English to French, agreed to the price quoted and advance payment, then asked for my bank details. The bank details email having a strange format (no greeting or signature when the other emails did have one) I looked a bit more into this, here's what I found:
- the IP first had them in France, then it bounced to Romania, then the Netherlands
- the document attached was actually a frankesteined copy/paste of an IPES Food report, which was originally written in French, both the original and English translation are easily found and accessed online
- the name "Marie Stephens" is not found on any EU related website or linked to this IPES report
After asking for more details on the context of the document, as well as payment to be made through Paypal, this is the answer I got:
"Hello Lauriane,
I am just an individual outsourcer and do not work for any company. My name is Marie Stephens. Hope that works for you. Address :
13009 Evening Creek Drive South San Diego CA, 92128 (424) 338-5661. Sorry PayPal dont work for me and your account details is not needed for anything other thank to make funds available for you. Let me know if we can make this work."
If you have received a message or translation inquiry from this person, delete it and block them, this is definitely a scam.
Hope this helps. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Is this a proven scam? | Jan 12, 2020 |
And here I thought I finally had a client. Is this a proven scam? I also received a mail for the same project. I actually started the translation, before I realized someone else on this website had the same document on their example of work. Which I found really strange: why commissioning someone else when you already had someone?
Thank you for your message, I will at least not waste more of my time!
| | | | RobinB 
United States
Local time: 22:27
German to English
| Check out Translation Scammers Directory | Jan 12, 2020 |
Lauriane,
If you receive an inquiry from an allegedly private client, always check out the "Translation Scammers Directory" first. Even if the email address isn't listed (yet), you will probably find many similar addresses of known scammers. A gmail address with one or more digits preceding the @ symbol is normally a strong indicator of a scammer.
And doing what you did - checking online to see if the document exists - is another simple step that can quickly provide evi... See more Lauriane,
If you receive an inquiry from an allegedly private client, always check out the "Translation Scammers Directory" first. Even if the email address isn't listed (yet), you will probably find many similar addresses of known scammers. A gmail address with one or more digits preceding the @ symbol is normally a strong indicator of a scammer.
And doing what you did - checking online to see if the document exists - is another simple step that can quickly provide evidence of a scam. Private individuals do not need translations of official publications.
I'm glad you stopped this one in its tracks before it got any further.
Robin ▲ Collapse
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 22:27
English to Russian
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I'll die before comprehending how and why would anyone, translator or not, give banking details over the email upon the email request from a total stranger.
Even if one was unfortunate enough to take the bait of the "initial inquiry", the moment of receiving such request in response to one's initial reply shall be separated from the moment of hitting Report Spam button by 5 seconds tops without any research.
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:27
Member (2007)
English
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| Bank details aren't considered particularly private in Europe | Jan 13, 2020 |
IrinaN wrote:
I'll die before comprehending how and why would anyone, translator or not, give banking details over the email upon the email request from a total stranger.
Even if one was unfortunate enough to take the bait of the "initial inquiry", the moment of receiving such request in response to one's initial reply shall be separated from the moment of hitting Report Spam button by 5 seconds tops without any research
Maybe, but that applies to the US, not worldwide.
OTOH, requesting a translation that already exists in the public domain, wanting (rather than being prepared) to pay in advance, and not seeming interested in price, delivery date, format or anything else - these are all warning signs.
| | | | Daphné Cousin-Martin (X)
France
Local time: 05:27
English to French
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| Marie Stephens | Jan 13, 2020 |
Hello,
I received several messages from this person.
They sounded really strange so thank you for posting !
Daphné
| | | | Iza Bel
France
Local time: 05:27
French
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| Oh I have been scammed | Jan 13, 2020 |
I gave my account details. I feel so deseperate
[Edited at 2020-01-13 09:05 GMT]
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Having digits before @ symbol does not always mean that someone is a scammer.
I have created a gmail using two digits before @ symbol and I am NOT a scammer.
I work for about 5 years using this email address.
As for my translation experience, I work as an ENG/FRE>GREEK and vice versa translator, proofreader and editor for about 30 years.
Kind regards,
Assimina Vavoula
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| That's why the post said "strong indicator" rather than "certainty" | Jan 13, 2020 |
Assimina Vavoula wrote:
Having digits before @ symbol does not always mean that someone is a scammer.
Obviously there are legitimate users who have addresses with digit combinations, but in a world where more and more people recognize the importance of appearing "professional" and custom domains cost around 10 EUR/USD per year, having what is increasingly associated with computer-generated throwaway gmail/yahoo/other free addresses has little upside and will more often than not invite suspicion on the part of the recipient. Of course, actual scammers deliberately count on snatching victims who aren't aware of these trends or are simply inattentive.
Unlike many legitimate users who happily use their mailboxes for decades, scammers generally treat them as disposable because they are used to them being shut down regularly when a would-be victim reports their actions to their mail provider. AFAIK for people who have communicated with scammers for an extended period, receiving mail from a different address every week is not unheard of.
| | | | Carla Guerreiro
France
Local time: 05:27
Member (2006)
French to Portuguese
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| Marcua James | Jan 13, 2020 |
Dear all,
I received today a message from this person asking me to translate the same document (written in French). Here is his message, without any address of phone number:
"Marcua James
Lun 13/01/2020 11:46
Bonjour
S'il vous plaît trouver pièce jointe et revenir à moi avec le coût de la traduction et votre meilleur délai de livraison.
Merci"
I didn't open the file and I dropped the message in my waste bin.
... See more Dear all,
I received today a message from this person asking me to translate the same document (written in French). Here is his message, without any address of phone number:
"Marcua James
Lun 13/01/2020 11:46
Bonjour
S'il vous plaît trouver pièce jointe et revenir à moi avec le coût de la traduction et votre meilleur délai de livraison.
Merci"
I didn't open the file and I dropped the message in my waste bin.
[Edited at 2020-01-13 13:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | mayakv (X)
France
Local time: 05:27
French to English
+ ...
Hello,
I received the exact same message from Marie Stephens, asking to translate this research project.
I sent her a quote and she approved it really quickly, by saying she will do an advance payment of 50%. She also asked to get my bank details.
Her suggesting an advance payment sound really weird to me, so I googled her e-mail address and found your post.
Beware!
Mariam
| | | | | I got scammed too | Jan 17, 2020 |
I received the same e-mail with the document to be translated.
As I thought they were my first serious client, I gave them my bank details.
What should I do now? Other than cutting them at the source as soon as I spot something strange on my account, I don't know what else to do...
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| Reply to Louise PELLETIER | Jan 19, 2020 |
Hello Louise,
From what I could gather from other posts on this forum, if you have given your bank details to this person, contact your bank immediately and explain to them that someone you do not trust has your bank details and that they should contact you should any suspicious movement appear on your account, especially incoming funds.
I have also read that some people have their bank details on their quote templates, I would advise against such a thing as well and of... See more Hello Louise,
From what I could gather from other posts on this forum, if you have given your bank details to this person, contact your bank immediately and explain to them that someone you do not trust has your bank details and that they should contact you should any suspicious movement appear on your account, especially incoming funds.
I have also read that some people have their bank details on their quote templates, I would advise against such a thing as well and of course to follow all advices given on this thread.
Good luck with this.
Best regards,
Lauriane ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Same Marie Stephens | Jan 20, 2020 |
Mariam Varteresian wrote:
Hello,
I received the exact same message from Marie Stephens, asking to translate this research project.
I sent her a quote and she approved it really quickly, by saying she will do an advance payment of 50%. She also asked to get my bank details.
Her suggesting an advance payment sound really weird to me, so I googled her e-mail address and found your post.
Beware!
Mariam
I received this mail and the 35 pages document. I found it strange, but being a newbie as a freelancer I thought I was lucky to get a first client!
Then, communication was very poor, and when she asked for my bank account for a 50% prepayment without any question about my experience or details about the purpose of the translation I asked freelancers forums..... and found out about the scam....
| | | | | same document, different email, threatening me now??? | Jan 30, 2020 |
Dear everybody,
I received the same "project" when I first registered in August 2019 and after a while I realised it was a scam. The last email was in August when she said she would pay me 50% but nothing really happened of course. The email address is [email protected] and the name appears to be Melisa Leclère.
!!!!!JUST NOW, this scumbag emailed me again and claimed that I received the money (which I didn't... See more Dear everybody,
I received the same "project" when I first registered in August 2019 and after a while I realised it was a scam. The last email was in August when she said she would pay me 50% but nothing really happened of course. The email address is [email protected] and the name appears to be Melisa Leclère.
!!!!!JUST NOW, this scumbag emailed me again and claimed that I received the money (which I didn't) without writing back, and threats that her sponsor should contact me if I don't reply. This is...Can I report this to the police????
Good luck to all of us! ▲ Collapse
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