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Fraudulent Carl Zeiss employment offer (mod.: Nigerian scam)
Thread poster: Tomasz Poplawski
Katarzyna Proctor, Dr. (X)
Katarzyna Proctor, Dr. (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
Chinese to Polish
+ ...
Got same email from Zeiss Feb 14, 2019

I've just received the same email from Zeiss. They sent it through American Translators Association.

usaviet
 
Eva H.
Eva H.  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:57
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Thank you so much! Feb 16, 2019

Hi,

I also received an e-mail from Angelika, on Thursday:

"Dear Applicant, Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION(ATA) has been reviewed by our HR Department at (Carl Zeiss, Inc.) and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview/briefing exercise. You've been assigned to Jerry Edmund (Hiring Manager) of Carl Zeiss, Inc., he would be conducting an online interview with you." ...

The "interview" took place via Hangouts. The next
... See more
Hi,

I also received an e-mail from Angelika, on Thursday:

"Dear Applicant, Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION(ATA) has been reviewed by our HR Department at (Carl Zeiss, Inc.) and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview/briefing exercise. You've been assigned to Jerry Edmund (Hiring Manager) of Carl Zeiss, Inc., he would be conducting an online interview with you." ...

The "interview" took place via Hangouts. The next day, they "hired" me (after much deliberations!) as Translator/Interpreter. I got a "Letter of employment" to be signed and returned by e-mail, with copy of a photo ID.

This procedure and the time pressure were weird, and started to make me feel uncomfortable. So, before going any further, I did a Google research on Angelika Franzke and Zeiss, and found this post.

THANK YOU for all the information about this scam. This is a lesson learnt.
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usaviet
 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 14:57
English to Czech
+ ...
curious Feb 16, 2019

Eva H wrote:


The "interview" took place via Hangouts.




Just out of curiosity, what did they ask during this interview? Didn't it sound ridiculous?


 
AkoSix
AkoSix
United States
Local time: 06:57
Italian to English
+ ...
Thank you Tomasz Feb 16, 2019

As a person who has unfortunately believed in the good nature of others for far too long, I certainly appreciate the warnings and examples that are provided. Thank you for pointing out details to notice in false offers such as this one. I find it funny that it was written pretty well up until he/she mentions the word trust, as well as the part he/she asks for personal identification.

Kevin Blahut
 
Eva H.
Eva H.  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:57
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Didn't it sound ridiculous? Feb 16, 2019

Hi, Katarzyna,

For some reason, as questions arrived via Hangouts, I was less alert. Some of them did not sound completely and absolutely ridiculous to me.

Yes, they are in a weird order, yes, many are totally irrelevant for this phase of a briefing, yes they contain lots of mistakes. Here is the list, for your information:

What type of jobs have you had?‬‬
‪How did you get your previous job?‬‬‬
‪Do you have a printer, copier and
... See more
Hi, Katarzyna,

For some reason, as questions arrived via Hangouts, I was less alert. Some of them did not sound completely and absolutely ridiculous to me.

Yes, they are in a weird order, yes, many are totally irrelevant for this phase of a briefing, yes they contain lots of mistakes. Here is the list, for your information:

What type of jobs have you had?‬‬
‪How did you get your previous job?‬‬‬
‪Do you have a printer, copier and scanner?‬‬‬
‪What do you understand by privacy and code of conduct ?‬‬‬
‪How long do you intend working for this company ?‬‬‬
‪Tell Us why you feel you are the right person for this Job ?‬‬‬
‪What work have you done that involved working with sensitive or confidential issues?‬‬‬
‪What are your strengths and weaknesses?‬‬‬
‪What kind of training do you partake in to continue to improve your skills? ‬‬‬
‪Describe yourself with a few sentence?‬‬‬
‪What is a working mistake you made recently and what is the most important aspect of working with others?‬‬‬
‪Have you trained fields relevant to interpreting work (e.g., medical, legal, social work, education)? ‬‬‬
Do you try to translate every single word or idea expressed, or do you try to summarize what was said? ‬‬‬

When I first received Angelika's message, I did check the e-mail address. It is [email protected]. - In hindsight, all is crystal clear.

[Módosítva: 2019-02-17 20:10 GMT]
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Katarzyna Slowikova
 
Camila de Castro
Camila de Castro  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:57
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I just fell for it Feb 20, 2019

Hey guys,

So it took me the entire interview and all the excitement to later decide to throw a quick search for "zess scam" online and land it right here. The first comment was exactly what happened and I went thru with an entire interview. I gave name, address and email address (which they already had) and now I don't know what happens next. No other info. No signatures. No SS numbers. What should I do?


 
Janice Cruz
Janice Cruz  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:57
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Fraudulent Carl Zeiss Employment Offer Feb 25, 2019

I too just received the same email (Feb 25) - saying they found me on the ATA website.

What caught my attention and sent me researching the names online was the intro "Dear Applicant". Since I hadn't applied to anything it seemed strange.

Interesting that my first google search did indeed find "Megan Garrapy" on Linkedin as a Human Resource/placement specialist (email came from her) - so it seemed legit. However, my search for "Angelika Franzke" (who signed the emal)
... See more
I too just received the same email (Feb 25) - saying they found me on the ATA website.

What caught my attention and sent me researching the names online was the intro "Dear Applicant". Since I hadn't applied to anything it seemed strange.

Interesting that my first google search did indeed find "Megan Garrapy" on Linkedin as a Human Resource/placement specialist (email came from her) - so it seemed legit. However, my search for "Angelika Franzke" (who signed the emal) was not as succesful - an incomplete Linkedin page and all references to the name are from Germany....the "company website" also appeared legitimate - I expanded my search and found the Proz post.

Thank you for posting and alerting us to yet another scam. Too bad these people don't use their creativity, time, and resources to produce something positive.
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Alexander Feht
Alexander Feht  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:57
English to Russian
Penguin Random House Scam Feb 25, 2019

Similar to Zeiss scam — started last week (February 22).

I am a professional English-to-Russian translator with 37 years of experience. Last week, I received an email from "Laura Bonilla," "Director Human Resources, Department of the Employee Representative Council of Penguin Random House," asking me to undergo a job interview with Mrs. Betty Foster via Google Hangout. They told me they found my data via ATA. Mrs. Bonilla's name and job title checked out on Linkedin.

... See more
Similar to Zeiss scam — started last week (February 22).

I am a professional English-to-Russian translator with 37 years of experience. Last week, I received an email from "Laura Bonilla," "Director Human Resources, Department of the Employee Representative Council of Penguin Random House," asking me to undergo a job interview with Mrs. Betty Foster via Google Hangout. They told me they found my data via ATA. Mrs. Bonilla's name and job title checked out on Linkedin.

I had this interview with Mrs. Foster, and answered two sets of questions, looking very professional (probably, copied from real corporate questionnaire). After that she told me that, based on my experience and communication skills, they would like to hire me, and that they would send me a check to purchase a Mac laptop with the company software installed, following their instructions, and that thereafter there would be a "training period." This check delivery, with the following assumption that I would pay the "vendor" of the company laptop with my own credit card, raised a red flag.

Today the email address that "Mrs. Bonilla" gave me, did not work, and I had to send a signed letter of employment to "Mrs. Foster" instead — she assured me that she would forward it to "Mrs. Bonilla." Also, the phone listed in "Mrs. Bonilla's" letter (224-818-6882) is not registered in New York, where Random House is based — it is a an anonymous Google phone registered in Chicago; it takes messages but doesn't answer as Penguin Random House.

I am afraid I am being a victim of the same Zeiss-like scam. Translators, beware!

[Edited at 2019-02-25 21:47 GMT]

[Edited at 2019-02-25 21:48 GMT]
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Yolanda Broad
Liviu-Lee Roth
Kaz
Yuliia Behen (nee Herus)
 
Kaz
Kaz  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:57
English to Japanese
+ ...
The same thing happened to me! Mar 3, 2019

I went through 2 sets of interviews on Google Gangout, and they offered me a job. I tried to verify its validity prior to the interview but could not find anything at the time. They asked me to send my name, address and other basic info to [email protected], which did not look right. I searched online again and came across this Forum. I wonder this scammer made such efforts (interviews, a list of software we might use - which ... See more
I went through 2 sets of interviews on Google Gangout, and they offered me a job. I tried to verify its validity prior to the interview but could not find anything at the time. They asked me to send my name, address and other basic info to [email protected], which did not look right. I searched online again and came across this Forum. I wonder this scammer made such efforts (interviews, a list of software we might use - which was a complete copy from WiKi) just to gain our trust to proceed further? I wonder they could also plant malware? I ran a diagnostic scan on my computer; so far nothing is surfacing, but I am concerned.Collapse


 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 14:57
English to Czech
+ ...
No title of my reply Mar 5, 2019

Kaz wrote:

I went through 2 sets of interviews on Google Gangout,


LOL, that was indeed a whole "gangout"!


I wonder this scammer made such efforts (interviews, a list of software we might use - which was a complete copy from WiKi) just to gain our trust to proceed further? I wonder they could also plant malware?


No, they don't plant malware. Just read this thread and you'll find an explanation of how this scam works (including one directly above your post... :/).


 
Marleen Julien
Marleen Julien
United States
Member (2007)
English to Haitian-Creole
+ ...
Got the same email from "HR Department at Penguin Random House" Mar 8, 2019

I received the same email and it smelled very fishy. The email account appeared to be legitimate so I sent a reply and it bounced right back. I am glad that use my intuition.

Here is the email:
=========================================
Dear Marleen Julien,

Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION (ATA) has been reviewed by our HR Department at (Penguin Random House) and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview/briefing exercis
... See more
I received the same email and it smelled very fishy. The email account appeared to be legitimate so I sent a reply and it bounced right back. I am glad that use my intuition.

Here is the email:
=========================================
Dear Marleen Julien,

Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION (ATA) has been reviewed by our HR Department at (Penguin Random House) and we are pleased to invite you to an online interview/briefing exercise. You've been assigned to Mr. Dan Shirey (Hiring Manager) of Penguin Random House. He would be conducting an online interview with you.

Wages: TRANSLATING JOB.
Job Type: Full-Time/Part-Time
Hourly Rate: $48/Hour
Training Rate: $28/Hour




Your salary package may include pension benefits, commissions and bonuses.
These numbers are a guide.
No Startup Costs.
1099-K structure.



ABOUT US:

Penguin Random House is committed to expanding our role as a cultural institution that serves society beyond the books we publish and investments we make in new ideas, creativity, and diverse voices, through our charitable donations and our leadership of numerous campaigns and initiatives worldwide that promote literacy and reading culture, support freedom of expression, and reflect our belief in the power of books to connect and change lives. Through this belief and commitment, we embrace the values of employees, authors and business partners and our responsibility to protect our local and global environments and strengthen our organizational sustainability.

As the world’s first truly global consumer publishing company, Penguin Random House is committed to editorial excellence and long-term investment in creative and diverse content. With our broad range of more than 250 editorially independent publishing imprints, we provide readers with unparalleled literary choices. Penguin Random House works tirelessly to protect our authors’ intellectual freedom and properties, while giving them access to support and resources that help their works reach readers around the world. Additionally, we support legislation, initiatives, and organizations such as Poets & Writers and PEN that champion writing, freedom of expression, and cultural diversity.

As a company, we are continually investing in a myriad of voices that reflect wide ranges of viewpoints and opinions and impact our society in meaningful ways. We strive to ignite and broaden interest in reading culture and writing through a variety of partnerships and programs we manage and support. The Penguin Random House Foundation has awarded more than two million dollars in scholarships through its Creative Writing Award program for young writers since it was established in 1993, with separate, additional grants distributed through our newest Foundation program, the National Teacher Awards for Literacy.

We believe in the power of reading to connect and transform us in ways small and large, both transcending and uniting generations and cultures, enlarging our understanding of others and of ourselves, building empathy and expanding our imaginations.

“…We believe in the power of reading to connect and transform us in ways small and large…”

...............................................................................................................................

Translation: Conversion of one written document into the target language.

Translator responsibilities include reading and thoroughly understanding the context of given material, using specialized dictionaries and translation tools and proofreading finished pieces of work. To be successful in this role, you should have a keen eye for detail and be fluent in at least two languages in addition to your native language.

Responsibilities:

- Read given material and research industry-specific terminology
- Convert text and audio recordings from one language to one or more others
- Ensure translated content conveys original meaning and tone
- Prepare subtitles for videos and online presentations
- Cross-reference specialized dictionaries and translation tools to check quality of translation
- Proofread translated texts for grammar, spelling and punctuation accuracy
- Follow up with internal team members and clients to ensure translation meets their needs
- Edit content with an eye toward maintaining its original format (e.g. font and structure)
- Network with field experts to stay current on new translation tools and practices



Requirements

- Proven work experience as a Translator, Interpreter or similar role
- Fluency in at least two languages in addition to your native language
- Excellent proofreading skills with the ability to identify grammar, spelling and punctuation errors
- Good knowledge of content editing tools
- Familiarity with translation software
- Time-management skills
- BSc in Translation, Interpreting or similar field
- Additional certification in Linguistics is a plus



Ultimately, you will provide ready-to-use translated content that meets our internal needs and helps us reach a broader audience.


Training:
You'll go through a thorough, comprehensive, five (5) days training online program during your probationary period. The candidate will be getting a career, not a stepping stone. This is an amazing opportunity for the right individual who will get all the necessary guidance and training to have a far-reaching career.



INTERVIEW INSTRUCTIONS

Google hangout will be used for the purpose of the interview. To contact Him, setup a gmail acct. (www.gmail.com)and also download a Google talk app (www.google.com/hangouts) on your phone or computer using your email and add up ([email protected]) for more information and interview.


Your verification code is (PRH/P2019-6548). This would serve as your identification number throughout the on-line hiring process. This is a remote job and working hours are flexible.

Job description, pay scale, duties and briefing about the company will be discussed during the interview.

Training is also available
NOTE : Freelance Job
Interview Scheduled:
9:00 AM-5:00 PM CST
(Monday-Friday)


Your swift and timely response matters a lot as this is an immediate hire position... We look forward to having you on the team.


Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Natalie Loucas
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usaviet
Kevin Blahut
 
usaviet
usaviet
United States
Local time: 07:57
Member (2017)
English to Vietnamese
I got the same email from a [email protected]. Note the domain is "co.in" Mar 13, 2019

Katarzyna Proctor, Dr. wrote:

I've just received the same email from Zeiss. They sent it through American Translators Association.


If you are not paying enough attention, you would have thought the email is legitimate, and there IS a lady from PRH with the name they are faking with the fake email. They went far enough to create a domain name that looks the same "penguinrandomhouse", but instead of ".co.uk" or ".com", it's "co.in" which is from India. I did some research and the company does NOT have an office in India.

It also felt weird about interviewing via a chat tool and they refused a phone call.

They then send a $2000 check and ask you to deposit it right away. This tactic is old but they had clearly improved it to make it a lot more believable. But the moment I got the check and they asked me to go to bestbuy and buy a bunch of google play gift cards, I knew.


Liviu-Lee Roth
 
Maren Pärn
Maren Pärn
Local time: 15:57
English to Estonian
+ ...
Carl Zeiss scam continues Jul 15, 2019

I received an almost identical email this morning, and was wise enough to Google before sending out any response.
So be aware, they have disappeared nowhere.


 
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Fraudulent Carl Zeiss employment offer (mod.: Nigerian scam)







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