A scam, or a darker scam? Thread poster: nweatherdon
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I keep on getting messages about Palestinian and Jordanian scammers (something about CVs), but all I get is obfuscation when asking for more specific information.
Anyone else observing anything similar?
It could very well be out of genuine concern, but I think there are more important problems than some unemployed Palestinian trying to land a first $50 gig by posting their name onto someone else's CV. (For that matters, several studies have now established that recruite... See more I keep on getting messages about Palestinian and Jordanian scammers (something about CVs), but all I get is obfuscation when asking for more specific information.
Anyone else observing anything similar?
It could very well be out of genuine concern, but I think there are more important problems than some unemployed Palestinian trying to land a first $50 gig by posting their name onto someone else's CV. (For that matters, several studies have now established that recruiters are racist when it comes to names, and Middle Easterners for example may wish to use fake names until it gets relevant). If they suck they wont get another chance ... who really cares?
I'm far more concerned about poor conditions increasingly offered by translation agencies.
The whole business makes me want to hire a Palestinian translator. Probably there are lots who have OK English from time overseas or working with one of the various aid agencies operating there. But I'm not in the business of hiring people ...
[Edited at 2014-05-11 19:40 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-05-11 19:41 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Peter Motte 
Belgium
Local time: 02:42
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
If you are not in the business of hiring people, then why do you bother?
| | | | nweatherdon
Canada
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER
Because they send me multiple messages and it was a) annoying and b) seemed to unfairly smear in highly general terms people who already face many barriers and challenges.
Most of my professional translation work is geared towards effective communication regarding quantitative analyses of options for addressing various barriers to economic success in the most difficult sociopolitical and economic situations.
Call it professional ethics. That's why I bother.
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 20:42
German to English
| Don't bother | May 12, 2014 |
My general policy (with a sole exception) is to rely on vendors/agencies in countries where either my source or target language is a language of commerce. Although I'm excluding possibilities in 160+ countries, I'm happy with my approach to risk management.
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| Your question is difficult to understand | May 12, 2014 |
...but I assume you're talking about the notorious Languagemet, which we've discussed at length in these forums. If you keep getting messages from them, just label them as spam and eventually you'll stop seeing them.
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 02:42
German to English
+ ...
| Not a matter of ethics or bias alone | May 12, 2014 |
This "company" - if it is indeed the notorious Languagemet or some iteration thereof - is stealing people's identities and using them for profit. That is not just
"some unemployed Palestinian trying to land a first $50 gig by posting their name onto someone else's CV". They solicit jobs under false pretenses and deliver poor quality (or not at all, in some cases I've heard of on LinkedIn).They have done this and keep trying to do this on a ... See more This "company" - if it is indeed the notorious Languagemet or some iteration thereof - is stealing people's identities and using them for profit. That is not just
"some unemployed Palestinian trying to land a first $50 gig by posting their name onto someone else's CV". They solicit jobs under false pretenses and deliver poor quality (or not at all, in some cases I've heard of on LinkedIn).They have done this and keep trying to do this on a significant scale. See http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/248549-languagemet.html
I have no sympathy for crooks of any stripe, especially when a poor translation ends up besmirching the reputation of a good, hardworking translator who has fallen victim to their theft. The other aspect is that in your country this kind of prejudice may possibly be more of a problem than elsewhere. It does not mean that the Palestinians are put upon everywhere - in Germany they enjoy quite a lot of sympathy, as long as they don't try to make a profit illegally.
Regarding downward price pressure - yes, that has been a trend since the translation industry started booming once local or regional businesses went global because of the internet. The translation business followed. This issue has been discussed ad nauseum on these fora, if you care to look. The point is that you have to learn to sell yourself better and justify your prices. We are trained to translate, not sell our services, but that has become a necessary evil. We all have to live with it or find another profession. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Translation is all about trust | May 12, 2014 |
By definition, someone who is able to obscure or forge any personal details to land a job is a no-go in the translation industry. At what moment in time will that person begin to lie against you and your end customers? Pretty soon, in fact: as soon as you disappoint them in any sense. Liars are liars.
Furthermore, people like the ones you describe harm the industry as a whole by reducing the level of trust the general public has in translators. Clearly any scams by these people must... See more By definition, someone who is able to obscure or forge any personal details to land a job is a no-go in the translation industry. At what moment in time will that person begin to lie against you and your end customers? Pretty soon, in fact: as soon as you disappoint them in any sense. Liars are liars.
Furthermore, people like the ones you describe harm the industry as a whole by reducing the level of trust the general public has in translators. Clearly any scams by these people must be countered with all tools available. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 02:42
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
philgoddard wrote:
...but I assume you're talking about the notorious Languagemet, which we've discussed at length in these forums. If you keep getting messages from them, just label them as spam and eventually you'll stop seeing them.
Hi Pgil,
just marking them as spam doesn't do the trick. Once these people have you in their data base, they keep sending you jobs. That's what happened to me... until I replied saying that I am not the least interested in working with known spammers and that they should stop spamming me (both words in capital letters!) They replied promptly saying: "we're not scammers." Right.
That was a few months ago and... no more spam from them.
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| Pretend that you will take the job... | May 12, 2014 |
...fool them, prolongue deadlines knowing that you never ever deliver and at the end they perhaps throw you out of their data base and perhaps all the fake applications from their side might stop (I did so once with one of these gmail outsourcers called 24translate.net which is considered to be a spin off from "languagemet") and they get into trouble because they can´t deliver their part of the theft...just a suggestion.
| | | | | It didn't work with me. | May 12, 2014 |
Thayenga wrote: just marking them as spam doesn't do the trick. Once these people have you in their data base, they keep sending you jobs. That's what happened to me... until I replied saying that I am not the least interested in working with known spammers and that they should stop spamming me (both words in capital letters!) They replied promptly saying: "we're not scammers." Right. That was a few months ago and... no more spam from them.
I did the same, but to no avail. They keep writing to me from different gmail addresses and sometimes different names/PM as if it were for the first time.
| | | | | just another reply | May 12, 2014 |
Am I the only one who understands njweatherdon gets messages warning him of scammers and not from scammers trying to fool him...?
If this is the case, I find your attitude, njweatherdon, kind of surprising. Maybe it will change (though I don't wish that to you) when somebody steals your CV, poses as you, delivers rubbish work as you, takes money for this and/or gets into disputes (as you) for delivering that crap etc.
A "softer" way of learnin... See more Am I the only one who understands njweatherdon gets messages warning him of scammers and not from scammers trying to fool him...?
If this is the case, I find your attitude, njweatherdon, kind of surprising. Maybe it will change (though I don't wish that to you) when somebody steals your CV, poses as you, delivers rubbish work as you, takes money for this and/or gets into disputes (as you) for delivering that crap etc.
A "softer" way of learning that could be just googling "identity theft" or visiting this website:
http://www.translator-scammers.com/
Languagemet are not the only one, though they're the biggest stars in this business.
Take care,
Katarzyna ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 20:42
Spanish to English
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| Ha! What would happen if everybody did that... | May 12, 2014 |
Matthias Brombach wrote:
Pretend that you will take the job...
...fool them, prolongue deadlines knowing that you never ever deliver and at the end they perhaps throw you out of their data base and perhaps all the fake applications from their side might stop (I did so once with one of these gmail outsourcers called 24translate.net which is considered to be a spin off from "languagemet") and they get into trouble because they can´t deliver their part of the theft...just a suggestion.
[Edited at 2014-05-12 13:51 GMT]
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nweatherdon
Canada
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Katarzyna - you are right | May 12, 2014 |
Katarzyna, I think so.
My concern is that I'm receiving unsolicited emails from someone warning me about scams.
Such warnings should refer to companies, websites, etc., and should not broadly target a specific ethnic group.
Thank you to other people for mentioning some other topics which are well-covered in the forum. This could very well have been highly constructive information.
[Edited at 2014-05-12 16:41 GMT]
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 02:42
German to English
+ ...
| Initial post not clear | May 13, 2014 |
njweatherdon wrote:
...
My concern is that I'm receiving unsolicited emails from someone warning me about scams.
Such warnings should refer to companies, websites, etc., and should not broadly target a specific ethnic group...
[Edited at 2014-05-12 16:41 GMT]
Sorry, but your initial post was rather confusing, and not just to me, it seems. Sounds like a crank who came across your email address somehow, and has a personal bone to pick, or is a potential scammer himself. I have not heard of anything like that here, and I usually do a quick scan of the fora entries daily. Perhaps you could check at LinkedIn or do a Google search with the information you have, such as name, organization, a phrase, etc. to find out who is annoying you. Complaining to the sender's e-mail service provider might also be a possibility.
http://email.about.com/od/spamandgettingridofit/a/report_spam.htm
Email Busters: http://ip-address-lookup-v4.com/email-lookup-form.php
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