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Translina Company - Scam?
Thread poster: Luca Ruella
Luca Ruella
Luca Ruella  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
English to Italian
+ ...
Jan 21, 2016

I have received a collaboration offer from a company, that raises several red flags:

From: John Adam
I am a Project Manager at Translina and I am currently working on updating our database.
At the moment we are looking for regular translators for a long-term and successful collaboration.
We have many translation projects in the mentioned language pair in many different areas.
Please let me know if you are interested in collaboration with our company.
... See more
I have received a collaboration offer from a company, that raises several red flags:

From: John Adam
I am a Project Manager at Translina and I am currently working on updating our database.
At the moment we are looking for regular translators for a long-term and successful collaboration.
We have many translation projects in the mentioned language pair in many different areas.
Please let me know if you are interested in collaboration with our company.
Please let me know your best rates and your availability.
Will you be also available to do a short test translation for us if at all possible.
Many thanks!
Best Regards,
___________
Sara Gomes
Project Manager
Tranlina

1) The mail is from John Adam, but it's signed Sara Gomes
2) They write "mentioned language pair" but there is no language pair mentioned anywhere
3) The name of the company is mispelled (Tranlina\Translina)

They do have a website which raises even more red flags because it's incomplete in some parts, contains placeholder text in other parts and is full of grammatical mistakes all over the place. There is even a youtube promo about the company which claims that they are "covering a new worlds everyday" and able to "translate the languages of the famous".

Has anyone received similar messages?

I would suggest being super careful.

From a bogus email address, I've tried sending them the following reply:

Dear John\Sara,

I would be delighted to work with you. My rate is 0.5 USD per new word for the combination SS>HV and HV>SS and I am available immediately

Yours

Albert Steven
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Parid Plaku
Parid Plaku  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:18
Member (2013)
English to Albanian
+ ...
I received the exact same email Jan 21, 2016

Hello Luca,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Just some hours ago I received the same email containing all the errors mentioned by you and even checked out their website, which seems really suspicious.

When I go online and search for their details or company-related info, nothing comes up and this adds to other raised questions about their trustworthiness.

I want to thank you for letting us know, because I was ready to send them my resume and
... See more
Hello Luca,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Just some hours ago I received the same email containing all the errors mentioned by you and even checked out their website, which seems really suspicious.

When I go online and search for their details or company-related info, nothing comes up and this adds to other raised questions about their trustworthiness.

I want to thank you for letting us know, because I was ready to send them my resume and online profile links.

I am sure we are not the only ones that did receive this offer, there are probably tens or hundreds of translators being contacted via ProZ.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL, FELLOW TRANSLATORS!!!
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Jorgelina Millán
Jorgelina Millán  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
...able to "translate the languages of the famous". Jan 21, 2016

That's just hilarious -Thank you, you made my day!
I wouldn't spend a second of my time inquiring any further into an "agency" that presents itself in this way. That fact that both the e-mail sent to prospective service providers and their website contains language mistakes would be enough reason to stay away from them. Whether this is a scam or not (it most probably is), you definitely don't want to deal (let alone work) with this kind of people.
Simply delete their e-mail and forge
... See more
That's just hilarious -Thank you, you made my day!
I wouldn't spend a second of my time inquiring any further into an "agency" that presents itself in this way. That fact that both the e-mail sent to prospective service providers and their website contains language mistakes would be enough reason to stay away from them. Whether this is a scam or not (it most probably is), you definitely don't want to deal (let alone work) with this kind of people.
Simply delete their e-mail and forget about it.



[Editado a las 2016-01-21 18:35 GMT]
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Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:18
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
The famos :D Jan 21, 2016

Who are the "famous"? Scammer? Probably.

Even if a PM isn't a native English speaker, writing such an email and displaying a website drowning in mispelled words, doesn't really call for trust.

Just delete this email and move on to real customers.

Btw. USD 0.05 is what agenvies refer to as "your best(test) rate".


 
Paulinho Fonseca
Paulinho Fonseca  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:18
Member (2011)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Skype them Jan 22, 2016

I would not spend time replying such email.

In case I find it 'might' be a real job offer, I usually ask for a Skype chat/interview/meeting in order to clarify job guidelines. They always get silent on the other side or make up a story.

Good luck!!!


 
Luca Ruella
Luca Ruella  Identity Verified
United States
Member (2005)
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Rate Jan 22, 2016

Thayenga wrote:

Who are the "famous"? Scammer? Probably.

Even if a PM isn't a native English speaker, writing such an email and displaying a website drowning in mispelled words, doesn't really call for trust.

Just delete this email and move on to real customers.

Btw. USD 0.05 is what agenvies refer to as "your best(test) rate".


Yes but I've quoted 0.5, which is an unrealistic rate, and also mentioned language pairs that do not exist


 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:18
English to Czech
+ ...
"the languages of the famous" Jan 22, 2016

Jorgelina Millán wrote:

That's just hilarious -Thank you, you made my day!



[Editado a las 2016-01-21 18:35 GMT]



I was going to ask about it, is it some idiom or what..... So you're saying it doesn't mean a thing? Beyond the literal meaning of course, which doesn't seem to make much sense in this context... languages of Justin Bieber et all. or of Seneka, Aristotle? In any case, weird criterium for a translation agency... Or may it be a literal translation of some phrase which does make sense in some other language? That could be a clue as to who they really are.
Btw. their name gives mi cringes... but if I wanted to make sure, I'd ask them for their business details and check those. But I admit, it's not as amusing as Luca's trick.
Did they reply?


 
Barbara Carrara
Barbara Carrara  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 22:18
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Both Names Listed in the Translator Scammers Directory Jan 22, 2016

Ciao, Luca

The name John Adam appears in the Translator Scammers Directory ( http://www.translator-scammers.com ), listed as [email protected] and with the accompanying comment 'fake PM from fake company'.

If you open the corresponding 'Note 117', the name of Sara Gomez is also mentioned, together with some mor
... See more
Ciao, Luca

The name John Adam appears in the Translator Scammers Directory ( http://www.translator-scammers.com ), listed as [email protected] and with the accompanying comment 'fake PM from fake company'.

If you open the corresponding 'Note 117', the name of Sara Gomez is also mentioned, together with some more info, including IP, about this scam originating from Gaza.
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Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:18
English to Czech
+ ...
fjkldshgdfhgreihgvna! Jan 23, 2016

Barbara Carrara wrote:

Ciao, Luca

The name John Adam appears in the Translator Scammers Directory ( http://www.translator-scammers.com ), listed as [email protected] and with the accompanying comment 'fake PM from fake company'.

If you open the corresponding 'Note 117', the name of Sara Gomez is also mentioned, together with some more info, including IP, about this scam originating from Gaza.


Wow, the guys are getting better.
Now they already figured out how to copy an email from a legitimate agency and make a youtube video... that's some progress.... in a couple of decades they may even learn to sign the email with the same name as in its header. And not to use GT for their promotional texts (I bet that's the origin of "languages of the famous").


 
Mariluz Chamorro Cuervo (X)
Mariluz Chamorro Cuervo (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to English
+ ...
They are still around Sep 8, 2016

I have just received a badly written email from John Adam, and that's why I have landed here. After reading all the posts, obviously I will not even bother to answer him. Thanks all of you for sharing your experience. It's a good way to fight possible scammers.

 
matt robinson
matt robinson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:18
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
Offer from John Adam Sep 8, 2016

I also received two mails from them today. This is the first:-

H

Our company looking foreword to translator EN SP .
If you are available please send me your rate .

Best regards ,

John Adam


--
Translina company
Adam Basin St. NY City, USA
Garmini Building, 9th floor
p 801.393.5300 x 120
d
... See more
I also received two mails from them today. This is the first:-

H

Our company looking foreword to translator EN SP .
If you are available please send me your rate .

Best regards ,

John Adam


--
Translina company
Adam Basin St. NY City, USA
Garmini Building, 9th floor
p 801.393.5300 x 120
d 801.456.8663
f 801.393.5500
www.translina.com

The second was actually a document for translation.Their website is very strange indeed! Well worth a look if you want a laugh. The whole set-up smells of the typical overpayment scam.
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Leticia de Aquino
Leticia de Aquino  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:18
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Different e-mail, same old scam Dec 6, 2016

I have just received this message from them, along with a .zip file, which I obviously didn't open. Be careful, because this time they seem to have made some research about my language pair. Watch out for this sender: Richard Lackey richardlackey789 @ gmail . com!

Hello,
Hope you are doing good.
I am contacting you with regards to a Translation and proofreading project for the below language pairs. And below are the project details.
Project details :
... See more
I have just received this message from them, along with a .zip file, which I obviously didn't open. Be careful, because this time they seem to have made some research about my language pair. Watch out for this sender: Richard Lackey richardlackey789 @ gmail . com!

Hello,
Hope you are doing good.
I am contacting you with regards to a Translation and proofreading project for the below language pairs. And below are the project details.
Project details :
∙ Service : Translation and Proof Read
∙ Language Pair : EN > Portuguese (BRAZILIAN)
∙ Domain Expertise : Training
∙ New Word count :279 words(PTBR)
∙ Rate : 0.03 USD
: Dead line : 6th Dec 2016 till 15:00 CET

I am attaching the files for translation. Please check and let me know of you can proceed with it asap.
Do you have someone, who could do the proofreading?

Best regards,

tanslina company
Adam Basin St. NY City, USA
Garmini Building, 9th floor
p 801.393.5300 x 120
d 801.456.8663
f 801.393.5500
www.translina.com

[Editada em 2016-12-06 16:06 GMT]
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Alejandro Cavalitto
Alejandro Cavalitto  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 18:18
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Thank you for reporting this Dec 7, 2016

Hello Leticia,

Thank you for your reporting this. I have now sent out a new alert through the Scam Alert center: http://www.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts/

Best regards,
Alejandro


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:18
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Skype/Phone is NOT so effective Dec 8, 2016

Paulinho Fonseca wrote:

Skype them

I would not spend time replying such email.

In case I find it 'might' be a real job offer, I usually ask for a Skype chat/interview/meeting in order to clarify job guidelines. They always get silent on the other side or make up a story.


More than a decade ago, a woman named Claudia Smith, from a company named "t4u" (both were fake, so there's no point in moderators deleting this post) approached me with an extremely urgent job. Offered to pay premium rates, however in 60 days. She provided two phone numbers, country code 44 (England).

We arranged everything by phone (yes, her accent matched the role), I did it, and delivered it. The turnatound time was so short that it precluded me from doing the usual due diligence. Two months later, I realized that I had lost USD 350.

Investigation showed that the two phones were British Telecom prepaid "burners". As this was long before SIM cards, the two phones were probably floundering on the bottom of the Thames. No trace of Claudia nor her company on any search engine.

Ever since that incident, I've significantly improved my checking act, and haven't been stiffed again.


 
airmailrpl
airmailrpl  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:18
Member (2005)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Latest chapter in the story Mar 8, 2017

Tradução (PT-ENG)

De: [email protected]
Para: undisclosed-recipients@

Assunto: Tradução (PT-ENG)
Data: 08/03/2017 13:18

Hello!

Do you have availability to do a translation from Portuguese to English (4,117 words)?
The theme is Estudo de Composição de Betão.
If possible, could you also let me know the shortest delivery time?

I will
... See more
Tradução (PT-ENG)

De: [email protected]
Para: undisclosed-recipients@

Assunto: Tradução (PT-ENG)
Data: 08/03/2017 13:18

Hello!

Do you have availability to do a translation from Portuguese to English (4,117 words)?
The theme is Estudo de Composição de Betão.
If possible, could you also let me know the shortest delivery time?

I will send a quote to the client based on your deadline,
so if we get the job, I will send you an editable word file later. (just have a scan PDF now)

Regards,

Translina company
Adam Basin St. NY City, USA
Garmini Building, 9th floor
p 801.393.5300 x 120
d 801.456.8663
f 801.393.5500
www.translina.com

What no-one has noticed is that the address is for NYC and the phone number is in UTAH and it is the phone number of an actual translation agency - not related to Translina company
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Translina Company - Scam?







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