SCAMS TARGETING TRANSLATORS & INTERPRETERS

Please use caution when responding to any email that seems to be from a new client, and be especially wary of clicking on links or attachments sent by people you don't know you can trust. Warning signs are offers of large payment in advance, multiple spelling or factual errors in the email, a name that doesn't seem genuine, and a lack of an email signature or other information that provides the sender's company affiliation, title, phone number or address. Some scammers will even ask what your language combination is (a legitimate customer will already know that information!).

For more information, please consult the articles linked below, or consult a colleague if you receive something that looks suspicious to you.

OVERPAYMENT SCAM. This is the classic scam targeting freelancers and anyone selling goods or services online. You'll receive an email from someone who lists no company or organizational affiliation, with a name that might sound made up, usually from a free email address like gmail. They'll want to pay you up front, by check or money order, to translate "articles." If you accept, they'll send you a check for more than the agreed price, and then ask you to quickly send a refund for the difference. But their original check is fake. If you send them money, you'll lose that amount for good (and they never really wanted that translation, anyway). This scam even has its own Wikipedia page where you can read more.

ONGOING SCAM from "Carl Zeiss," "Penguin Random House," "Academia Pharmaceuticals," "STADA" and others