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Most certainly a scam, beware
Thread poster: Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
Apr 2, 2019

Hello colleagues, I think I have been contacted by a scammer. Someone with a gmail adress named "Crothers Ackman" asked me to translate a text for a presentation, no other details. Since it seemed fishy, I asked what the text was and where he found me, and he said on translatorscafé, with attached a text on capitalism.
Now, I can't find anything about some "Crothers Ackman" or his (alleged) mail adress, but the fishiest of all is that the text is an extract from a 2011 book on capitalism
... See more
Hello colleagues, I think I have been contacted by a scammer. Someone with a gmail adress named "Crothers Ackman" asked me to translate a text for a presentation, no other details. Since it seemed fishy, I asked what the text was and where he found me, and he said on translatorscafé, with attached a text on capitalism.
Now, I can't find anything about some "Crothers Ackman" or his (alleged) mail adress, but the fishiest of all is that the text is an extract from a 2011 book on capitalism by Bruce R. Scott, with chapters numbers removed.
For now I'm asking details about what the presentation is for, and after that I'll ask if I can get 50% in advance by Paypal, just to see his reaction.
In the meantime, did anyone here received a mail from that person or a similar offer? Do you also think this has "scam" written all over it?
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schinoune
Geneviève Benoit
 
Lian Pang
Lian Pang  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:04
Member (2018)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Do you smell that smell.... Apr 2, 2019

Haven't received any offer from this Ackman, but I have received similar offers before.

A certain client asked me to translate from Chinese to English - not just a few pages, a whole book. There have been a number of translated editions of the book. So... I gave him a ridiculously high quote and 60% upfront payment via paypal / payoneer. No response ever since.


Yolanda Broad
Katarzyna Slowikova
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:04
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Well... Apr 2, 2019

It looks like scammers are quite frequently in need of a presentation…

 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Lian Apr 2, 2019

I did it your way and said that I'd calculate how much it costs and that there would be an upfront 50% payment on Paypal.
After 3 hours, still no response.
One more to add to the list, I guess.


 
Robert Forstag
Robert Forstag  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:04
Spanish to English
+ ...
Or... Apr 2, 2019

Jocelin M wrote:

I did it your way and said that I'd calculate how much it costs and that there would be an upfront 50% payment on Paypal.
After 3 hours, still no response.
One more to add to the list, I guess.


...the party may initially agree to pay you via PayPal...and then send you an email indicating that payment has to be via check for one reason or another.


 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:04
English to Czech
+ ...
They don't have a job for you Apr 2, 2019

Robert Forstag wrote:

Jocelin M wrote:

I did it your way and said that I'd calculate how much it costs and that there would be an upfront 50% payment on Paypal.
After 3 hours, still no response.
One more to add to the list, I guess.


...the party may initially agree to pay you via PayPal...and then send you an email indicating that payment has to be via check for one reason or another.



Scamming somebody via PayPal is even easier then using a check, just google "PayPal scams".
I don't understand why you (Jocelin) waste your time communicating with this person, it's a 1000% scam and a million times reused scheme.


Yolanda Broad
Liviu-Lee Roth
 
cecile calon
cecile calon  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
Same email Apr 3, 2019

Hello,
I received the same email from Crothers Ackman a few days ago and replied with a quote.
He replied this morning:
Good then. I alreaday discussed with my sponsor about this and was told to send your details so he can get half the payment to you and send you the balance as soon as you are done. Kindly get back to me with details below so we can make funds available to you asap.
Bank name
Bank postal address
Beneficiary name
Account number
IB
... See more
Hello,
I received the same email from Crothers Ackman a few days ago and replied with a quote.
He replied this morning:
Good then. I alreaday discussed with my sponsor about this and was told to send your details so he can get half the payment to you and send you the balance as soon as you are done. Kindly get back to me with details below so we can make funds available to you asap.
Bank name
Bank postal address
Beneficiary name
Account number
IBAN Number
BIC
Cell number

I have been translating for almost 10 years but I have never had to send such details... What do you think?
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cecile calon
cecile calon  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
Same email Apr 3, 2019

Nevermind, I had missed some of your comments. I won't even reply.

 
Morgane RODRIGUÈS
Morgane RODRIGUÈS  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
Same here Apr 3, 2019

I received the same demand yesterday... and after discussing with a colleague she found this post, so I wanted to thank you for the warning !

 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:04
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Two points to bear in mind Apr 3, 2019

1. Why ask someone for an advance payment if you suspect they're a scammer? One of the most frequent scams is the "advance payment" one, so you would appear to be offering them exactly what they want.

2. PayPal is not an entirely safe way of receiving payments. It's fine for "trusted" clients, if a little costly at times. But a scammer has only to report to PayPal that they haven't received the services paid for and the funds will be returned to them, or at least taken from your acc
... See more
1. Why ask someone for an advance payment if you suspect they're a scammer? One of the most frequent scams is the "advance payment" one, so you would appear to be offering them exactly what they want.

2. PayPal is not an entirely safe way of receiving payments. It's fine for "trusted" clients, if a little costly at times. But a scammer has only to report to PayPal that they haven't received the services paid for and the funds will be returned to them, or at least taken from your account and held by PayPal while the matter is settled.
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Katarzyna Slowikova
Vera Schoen
Grace Anderson
Paul Urwin
Daryo
 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Katarina and Sheila Apr 3, 2019

I know it's a scam, but I just wanted to see if he proposed a wire transfer instead. And he did, so I just stopped responding. There's always that gnawing thought: "And what if it's -really- not a scammer and I'm being mean?" so I have to make sure, even if it's obvious.

@Cecile:
The famous "sponsor", I had it as well. You did well not responding, all we can do is just spread his (false) name and make sure everybody knows about it.


cecile calon
 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:04
English to Czech
+ ...
... Apr 3, 2019

Jocelin M wrote:

I know it's a scam, but I just wanted to see if he proposed a wire transfer instead.


Nowadays they'll often talk of a wire to not put off the victim, but in the end will still send a check. Apparently, they only need your account no. and name to do this and the check is cashed automatically to your account (unless the bank stops it). It's been discussed in a couple of recent threads on this forum.

My guess is, they don't accept your offer to use PayPal only because they don't know how easy it's to scam this way. These guys aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and they're able to do only one dumb scam at a time.

And to be sure, you can (and imho should) publish the address here, so that this scammer gets his first honorable mention in the World Wide Web.


 
Paweł Hamerski (X)
Paweł Hamerski (X)
Local time: 10:04
English to Polish
+ ...
the simple answer in this case is that this presentation is already available in this language Apr 3, 2019

so why he wants to pay for it?

 
AnthonyDavi
AnthonyDavi
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
Same message Apr 3, 2019

I've received the exact same message from [email protected].

I've first asked for the document, which was sent to me hours laters, and then for the company details, in order to make a quote.

Now I'm waiting...

[Modifié le 2019-04-03 14:10 GMT]


 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:04
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the info Apr 3, 2019

And you're absolutely right. The guy's adress is : [email protected]

Does the mail adress look fishy as well? Yes. Yes it does.


Geneviève Benoit
 
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Most certainly a scam, beware







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