New Scam
Thread poster: Steve Booth
Steve Booth
Steve Booth  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:06
English to Arabic
+ ...
Apr 18, 2017

I received an email through proz from someone purporting to be from FINTRAC saying he has a client who needs a translator and to get in touch if i wanted more information.

I replied asking exactly what it is that needs translating so I could give a quote
I then received a second email from an aol address not from a FINTRAC business address.

The author of the email claims to be Gerald Cossette. This is the name of the Director of Fintrac so highly unlikely that h
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I received an email through proz from someone purporting to be from FINTRAC saying he has a client who needs a translator and to get in touch if i wanted more information.

I replied asking exactly what it is that needs translating so I could give a quote
I then received a second email from an aol address not from a FINTRAC business address.

The author of the email claims to be Gerald Cossette. This is the name of the Director of Fintrac so highly unlikely that he would be involved in searching for translators himself. Also given the nature of FINTRAC's business it doesn't fit with the email.

The email is poorly written but informs me that the client who needed the translation (an Iraqi) died so she no longer needs a translator - all fair enough, but then he mentions a project he is handling for her worth at least 2.9 million Canadian dollars that he would like me to work with him on.

Given the extremely poor English and the content of the email it is going straight in the bin so just one for you all to be aware of
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Alaa Zeineldine
Alaa Zeineldine  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 03:06
Member (2002)
English to Arabic
+ ...
Account was blocked Apr 18, 2017

Strange. I had received similar email from the same account last week and reported it as spam. Earlier today, ProZ admins informed me that based on the evidence they received they have blocked that account.

I suggest you report this issue so they make sure the same scammer is not returning under different accounts.

Regards,

Alaa



[Edited at 2017-04-18 18:01 GMT]


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 02:06
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
A fairytale Apr 19, 2017

Steve Booth wrote:

The email is poorly written but informs me that the client who needed the translation (an Iraqi) died so she no longer needs a translator - all fair enough, but then he mentions a project he is handling for her worth at least 2.9 million Canadian dollars that he would like me to work with him on.



It is definitely a Scam. I'm just wondering (well, not really ) why he would be handling a million Canadian dollars project for a dead client who, according to him, no longer needs a translation?


 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 02:06
English to German
The language of the eighth circle of hell Apr 19, 2017

I would find it far spookier if he handled a million Canadian dollars project for a dead client who DOES need a translation.

 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 02:06
Spanish to English
+ ...
Let me guess ... Apr 19, 2017

... they need the translation for a series of illogical reasons to get access to the money, hived off from the former Iraqi regime and stashed somewhere by the dead relative, the former Finance Minister who met an untimely end in a tragic plane crash over Nigeria.

I hope this puts things into perspective.


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:06
French to English
haha! Apr 19, 2017

Ricki Farn wrote:

I would find it far spookier if he handled a million Canadian dollars project for a dead client who DOES need a translation.


Indeed.

I simply forwarded the mail to FINTRAC.

We can get overly suspicious though! I once received a mail for information about translation (cost, time) without reference to a specific document. In short, a general enquiry. It did not come via ProZ, but as it was purporting to have been written directly by someone in a high-ranking command position, something specifically related to one of my combination of skills (legal + maritime), I was suspicious. It was written in excellent French, so I was very careful in replying politely for further information. I never recevied a reply. If it was a scam, it was an elegant one. Or maybe I lost the best potential deal of my life?!

[Edited at 2017-04-19 08:11 GMT]


 


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