The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018 - 13

FEATURE

BY CAROLA F. BERGER

FAKE CHECK SCAMS

Translation Scams Reloaded
Scams are on the rise in online commerce. Learn about the three most
common types of fraudulent schemes in the language industry, along with
steps to protect against them.

M

erriam-Webster defines "scam" as
"an instance of the use of dishonest
methods to acquire something of
value."1 Below you will find a summary
of some of the dishonest methods that
are unfortunately on the rise in the
language industry and other sectors.
This is a continuation and an update of
two previous articles that appeared in
the October 2014 edition of The ATA
Chronicle2 and in the Spring 2017 edition
of Translorial,3 the journal of the Northern
California Translators Association (the
latter co-authored with Peg Flynn).

WHAT ARE THE MOST
COMMON SCHEMES?
The following schemes are the most
common in the language sector:
■■

Variants of the age-old Nigerian check
scam, tailored to the language industry.

www.atanet.org

■■

Nonpayment for services rendered,
possibly ordered under a false name and/
or while impersonating a reputable client.

■■

Impersonation of reputable translators
by the scammer, also known as CV theft.

I'll summarize each of these
schemes here along with tips on how
to recognize them before getting
defrauded. I'll also cover new and
sophisticated variants of these old
schemes and the steps you can take to
protect against them.
Of course, there are many other devious
schemes out there, including email
phishing attempts. For more information
on what to watch out for, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the National
Consumers League maintain extensive
lists of the most common fraud schemes.
(See sidebar on page 14.)

How It Works: These check scams
proceed according to the following
pattern. The scammer pretends to be a
client in need of language services. The
unsuspecting translator/interpreter sends
a quote to the ostensive client, and the
client accepts the terms. So far, so good,
but then the trouble begins.
The fake client sends a check in
advance for an amount that is quite a
bit larger than the quoted price. The
fake client then contacts the translator/
interpreter about the error, explaining
that it would be too complicated to send
another check for the correct amount
and asks the person being scammed to
wire the overpaid amount from the first
check back to them. The unsuspecting
translator/interpreter wires the extra
money to the fake client and never hears
from them again. Several weeks later, the
check bounces. To add insult to injury,
not only has the translator/interpreter lost
the money he or she wired to the fake
client, but they are also stuck with a bank
fee for the bounced check.
This scam exploits the fact that the
payment processor (the payee's bank)
doesn't verify the authenticity of the check
at the time of deposit. In fact, it takes
days to weeks for a check to arrive at the
payer's bank, where the check is finally
cleared or rejected.
This type of scam is most often
attempted by ordering translations of
random texts that are sometimes pulled off
the internet. However, interpreters could
be similarly defrauded if the check is sent
before the alleged interpreting assignment.
How to Spot It: Most of these fake
check scams are fairly easy to spot.
Although the presence of any one of
the following warning signs doesn't
necessarily mean that you are dealing
with a scammer, a combination of
these would be a strong indication that
someone is trying to scam you:
■■

The email is sent from a free, quasianonymous account such as Yahoo
or Gmail.

■■

The email is sent to you via blind
carbon copy without a personal
salutation or other details about the
alleged project. This indicates that the
American Translators Association

13
http://www.atanet.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018
