SCAMMER: Charles Azzopardi/Crystal Samples Thread poster: Crystal Samples
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Hello everyone,
There is a scammer and identity thief by the (assumed) name of Charles Azzopardi who has been using my professional identity to assign translation jobs to unsuspecting translators and then not paying them. His latest one is a Dutch translation job that 2 translators have contacted me about through ProZ. Obviously, I did not assign this job and knew nothing about it, but I've learned that at least 1 translator translated 5000 words for him, and he will most likely not... See more Hello everyone,
There is a scammer and identity thief by the (assumed) name of Charles Azzopardi who has been using my professional identity to assign translation jobs to unsuspecting translators and then not paying them. His latest one is a Dutch translation job that 2 translators have contacted me about through ProZ. Obviously, I did not assign this job and knew nothing about it, but I've learned that at least 1 translator translated 5000 words for him, and he will most likely not be paid for it! ProZ has told me that they can do nothing other than put a note on my profile page about the fake email addresses he uses. Please look on my profile page for these email addresses before accepting any work from anyone claiming to be me.
I've also learned that on his introductory email to translators, he says that I am an ATA member (but I am not). Also, I rarely assign translation jobs (I can count on one hand the number of times I've done it) and almost never ones as large as the ones he is assigning. I am primarily a translator, not an outsourcer.
Please look out for this scammer. Contact me directly through my ProZ profile regarding any job assignments.
Thank you for your attention, and PLEASE be careful!
Kind Regards,
Crystal
[Edited at 2013-05-02 02:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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for posting Crystal. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.
I would also warn translators to pay heed to any e-mails received from other translators who are native English speakers (such as Crystal) that are littered with spelling and grammatical mistakes. It is likely that the e-mail isn't from that person.
I've lodged a support ticket with proz on this subject and have also reported the e-mail as spam to my e-mail service provider. If enough people do this, the e-mail address... See more for posting Crystal. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.
I would also warn translators to pay heed to any e-mails received from other translators who are native English speakers (such as Crystal) that are littered with spelling and grammatical mistakes. It is likely that the e-mail isn't from that person.
I've lodged a support ticket with proz on this subject and have also reported the e-mail as spam to my e-mail service provider. If enough people do this, the e-mail address will be blocked which will at least serve to put a spanner in the scammer's works. ▲ Collapse
| | | | NataliaAnne 
Brazil
Local time: 09:01
Portuguese to English
| Couldn't see the warning or email addresses | May 2, 2013 |
Marie-Helene Dubois wrote:
...have also reported the e-mail as spam to my e-mail service provider. If enough people do this, the e-mail address will be blocked which will at least serve to put a spanner in the scammer's works.
This is a good idea but, when I went to Crystal’s profile, I couldn’t see the warning or the email addresses…?
| | | | Crystal Samples
United States
Local time: 07:01
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | warning, email | May 2, 2013 |
NataliaAnne wrote: Marie-Helene Dubois wrote:
...have also reported the e-mail as spam to my e-mail service provider. If enough people do this, the e-mail address will be blocked which will at least serve to put a spanner in the scammer's works. This is a good idea but, when I went to Crystal’s profile, I couldn’t see the warning or the email addresses…?
The warning is at the top of my Blueboard profile where it says "Note from Staff."
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NataliaAnne
Brazil
Local time: 09:01
Portuguese to English
| Warning on Blue Board | May 2, 2013 |
Oh, I was looking at your profile page rather than the Blue Board! It could be worth including this information on your profile page as well, just in case anyone else makes the same mistake as me.
Thanks for letting us know about the scam.
| | | | | Charles Azzopardi | May 3, 2013 |
I have worked with Charles for a long time and I am sure we must not be talking about the same person. Payments are on time and always honored.
| | | | Crystal Samples
United States
Local time: 07:01
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | A "sometimes" thief | May 3, 2013 |
beatrice haase wrote:
I have worked with Charles for a long time and I am sure we must not be talking about the same person. Payments are on time and always honored.
Hi Beatrice,
I'm sure we ARE talking about the same person. The thing is that he doesn't use my identity all the time; only when he doesn't intend on paying the translators. I'm sure he uses it when he has quoted the client a price so low that he cannot possibly pay himself AND the translators. So, he will just agree to whatever rate the translator wants (or maybe he will pretend to haggle with them. Who knows?), but he will use one of the fake email addresses and claim his company is Crystal Translation Services.
Then after the work is delivered he will cease communication with the translator, and in their desperation, they will try to contact "him/me" through the ProZ.com website. And I will be the one to receive the email and have to give some poor soul the sad news. It has happened several times since 2011, and over the years I've seen much proof that it is him. Contact Alphonse Assogo B., a translator based in Cameroon, through the ProZ site or Stefano Bruno, a translator based in Italy who can be contacted through his Linkedin page. They also know for certain that it is Mr. Azzopardi.
Best Regards,
Crystal
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It is safe to assume that this is, as Crystal pointed out, an assumed name.
I received an e-mail from Crystal from a gmail address asking me for my availability for a job but it is clear that it wasn't actually from Crystal since when I contacted her, she hadn't herself sent the e-mail (the e-mail was also littered with errors).
If Charles does not know that his identity has been usurped, it might be worth letting him know. This practice appears to be rife and it is b... See more It is safe to assume that this is, as Crystal pointed out, an assumed name.
I received an e-mail from Crystal from a gmail address asking me for my availability for a job but it is clear that it wasn't actually from Crystal since when I contacted her, she hadn't herself sent the e-mail (the e-mail was also littered with errors).
If Charles does not know that his identity has been usurped, it might be worth letting him know. This practice appears to be rife and it is best for the person who is the victim of this to know because then they can at least mitigate the risks and contact clients, the police etc. etc.
Equally, just as a precaution, do check whenever you receive an e-mail from him that it is from the same e-mail address as usual. ▲ Collapse
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Kanako Fujiwara
Spain
Local time: 14:01
Member (2006)
Japanese to English
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Seems like I have just fallen a victim for the first time after years.
The email address this scum used is
Crystal Samples [[email protected]]
IP address
P Address 212.227.15.19
City Karlsruhe
State or Region Baden-Wurttemberg
Country Germany
ISP 11 Internet Ag
Latitude & Longitude 49.0310 8.4590
Domain gmx.net
The address this person gave me is;
Crystal Samples Translation... See more Seems like I have just fallen a victim for the first time after years.
The email address this scum used is
Crystal Samples [[email protected]]
IP address
P Address 212.227.15.19
City Karlsruhe
State or Region Baden-Wurttemberg
Country Germany
ISP 11 Internet Ag
Latitude & Longitude 49.0310 8.4590
Domain gmx.net
The address this person gave me is;
Crystal Samples Translation Services
Klosterstraße 66,
10179 Berlin,
Germany
[Edited at 2013-05-06 10:17 GMT]
PS
Crystal, no need to answer my inquiry. It's a pity I did not find your posting in time.
[Edited at 2013-05-06 13:20 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-05-06 18:44 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | cilantro
Israel
Local time: 15:01
Italian to English
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| Has anyone bothered to contact the companies that received the translations? | Jul 2, 2013 |
One way to definitively find the identity of the scammer is to contact the company/agency that originated the translation job. I assume this person is doing this for personal gain and not only for fun; so going after the financial trail is a sure way to put a stop to it.
| | | | | I agree with cilantro | Jul 2, 2013 |
Follow the money and you will find your scammer. Might be easier said than done but probably not impossible...just time-consuming.
| | | | cilantro
Israel
Local time: 15:01
Italian to English
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| as seen in the news | Jul 12, 2015 |
In the web of lies that counterfeiters weave — fake names, fake addresses, fake Internet domain registrations — one thing is always true: their bank account information.
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