Interpreting Scam
Thread poster: Conny Gritzner
Conny Gritzner
Conny Gritzner  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:10
English to German
+ ...
Jan 24, 2011

Hello,

I have just realised that I am a victim of scam. I have received a mail from a "Donald Carpenter" who asked me for my interpreting services. I did not know where he got my details from but I agreed on a sum for the interpreting. He wants to send me the money in form of a cheque to my postal address. My question is: What is the objective of this fraud? What can I do? Do I have to go to the police? Any recommendations? Thank you for your help!


 
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.  Identity Verified
Ecuador
Local time: 07:10
Member (2004)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Overpayment scam Jan 24, 2011

Hello Conny,

This is a well known scam. The client usually sends you a check for an amount that is greater than what you will be paid and asks you to send them back some amount of money.
... See more
Hello Conny,

This is a well known scam. The client usually sends you a check for an amount that is greater than what you will be paid and asks you to send them back some amount of money.

Please read this:

http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Detecting_and_reacting_to_false_job_offers_and_other_scams#.22Advance_payment.22_.2F_.22overpayment.22_scam

Regards,
Patricia
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gfichter
gfichter  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:10
English
+ ...
Yes, it is a scam Jan 24, 2011

Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud

This scam takes a slightly different form when the scammer orders a product or service, and pre-pays with a fake check. Then they ask for a refund, before the check bounces.

The orders can look legitimate, and your bank will think the check is legitimate, but it will ultimately bounce.

Geor
... See more
Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud

This scam takes a slightly different form when the scammer orders a product or service, and pre-pays with a fake check. Then they ask for a refund, before the check bounces.

The orders can look legitimate, and your bank will think the check is legitimate, but it will ultimately bounce.

George
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opolt
opolt  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:10
English to German
+ ...
Already reported Jan 24, 2011

This scam, which he also tried with me :-], was already reported a few days ago.

http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/190054-interpreter_required_email_bet_this_is_scam_germany.html

Just to let you know.

IMHO, it's not worth the time and effort to do anything here, but your mileage may vary. Wish you luck!... See more
This scam, which he also tried with me :-], was already reported a few days ago.

http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/190054-interpreter_required_email_bet_this_is_scam_germany.html

Just to let you know.

IMHO, it's not worth the time and effort to do anything here, but your mileage may vary. Wish you luck!

[Edited at 2011-01-24 14:44 GMT]
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saifulbajoe
saifulbajoe
Local time: 20:10
Malay to English
+ ...
Just ignore the scammer Jan 25, 2011

You have to just ignore the scammer if you suspect fraud is being perpetrated. I stupidly responded to one scammer and scolded him. And you know what he did? He entered my email address into one of the auto-spamming websites and my inbox was soon full of porn emails. No matter how I block them they keep coming in, sometimes hundreds of them. The scammer got angry and took revenge. It takes hours to tick each one of them page by page and block them.

 
Javier Wasserzug
Javier Wasserzug  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:10
English to Spanish
+ ...
Porn sites spam harassment Jan 30, 2011

I am sorry I am getting out of the original topic but… saifulbajoe, yo can block them. Just do a Little research.

 
NHalsch
NHalsch
English to German
Same here!!! Jan 31, 2011

Hi there,

I received an email with exactly the same text and - being naive and sort of new in the freelancing area - replied. "Mr. Carpenter" agreed to the fee I offered and his "Company" now sent a cheque with a much higher amount to my address.

It all seemed a bit dubious to me from the very beginning but the cheque with such a high amount really made me suspicious. The company that he claims he's with is no where to be found on the internet and the street number does
... See more
Hi there,

I received an email with exactly the same text and - being naive and sort of new in the freelancing area - replied. "Mr. Carpenter" agreed to the fee I offered and his "Company" now sent a cheque with a much higher amount to my address.

It all seemed a bit dubious to me from the very beginning but the cheque with such a high amount really made me suspicious. The company that he claims he's with is no where to be found on the internet and the street number doesn't even exist.

It was only just now that I googled around and found this thread in the ProZ forum.

Now my question to all you nice and helpful people is: any advice on what I should do now?
Just trash the cheque and ignore any further emails he might send?

Can I be made liable because I now have this cheque (I was asked to send him a message as soon as I have received the money but have not replied yet)?

Thanks in advance for any help or reply to this!

And thank you Conny for posting this, I hope this already prevented more people who received the same email from this fraudster!
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Oliver Walter
Oliver Walter  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:10
German to English
+ ...
Interesting problem Jan 31, 2011

NHalsch wrote:
... his "Company" now sent a cheque with a much higher amount to my address.

It all seemed a bit dubious to me from the very beginning but the cheque with such a high amount really made me suspicious. The company that he claims he's with is no where to be found on the internet and the street number doesn't even exist.

It was only just now that I googled around and found this thread in the ProZ forum.

Now my question to all you nice and helpful people is: any advice on what I should do now?
Just trash the cheque and ignore any further emails he might send?

It occurs to me that the cheque he sent you might possibly not be a genuine cheque. It might be a genuine cheque, drawn on an account with no money in it. Anyway, you can expect it to "bounce" if you try to pay it into your account; you can't send it back to him because his address is fake. I suppose if you try that, it will be returned to you (if your address is on the envelope). If I were in your position I would probably keep the cheque as a macabre souvenir, and wait to see whether he emails you to ask whether you've returned the surplus. In view of the experience of the other contributors to this thread, it's probably wise to send him no communications again, no emails, no letters. I imagine he can't threaten you with anything if you don't try to pay the cheque into your account. Let's see if anybody else has better advice.

Oliver


 


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Interpreting Scam







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