Scam alert: Dr. Paul Vanderser May 18, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Scam alert.trackback
Many people on the various payment lists to which I belong are discussing a scammer making the rounds. One person reported being approached by a “Dr. Paul Vanderser” (doyenski09@yahoo.co.uk and puresthoney1@yahoo.com are two of the e-mails that have been used so far) about a 10-page translation job. The document and the wording of the e-mails caused him to be suspicious, so he asked for 50% payment upfront (not a bad idea when dealing with new clients who appear to be private clients). The “client” agreed, and in a few days the translator received a check for six times the amount of the quoted price. The smart and savvy translator was rightly suspicious and found the local branch of the bank, which confirmed that the check was fraudulent. Several other colleagues wrote in reporting similar requests from this “gentleman” (and I use the term loosely). He has been trolling the ATA directory and ProZ.com for Hungarian and Dutch translations (among others I’m sure).
Dr Vanderser will most likely be sending the translator an e-mail informing him that he inadvertently sent him an amount in excess of the agreed fee (or a payment intended for another translator, etc.). He will then ask the translator to transfer the overpaid amount back to his bank account. By the time the translator’s bank determines that the check is fraudulent the money and the bank account holder will be long-gone. As one colleague wrote, “While most (intended) victims will ensure that his cheque clears before parting with their own funds, some will be trusting enough to fall into the trap.” Don’t be that person!
This should serve as a reminder that caution should be exercised when dealing with people with free e-mail accounts or people you do not know and do not have a known reputation in the industry. It is never a bad idea to implement a practice such as demanding upfront payment for new private clients, and if the client sends you more than the quoted amount, ten times out of ten (!!) the check will be fraudulent! It is very difficult to prosecute someone for issuing bad checks that are sent to a foreign jurisdiction.
Snopes.com is a good source to research Internet scam and fraud cases. This particular type is called the ‘Cashier Check Scam’ http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp
Musings from an overworked translator 
Very interesting… Here is the email I received:
> Hello My name is Paul Vanderser, I live in London now and I will need
> to speak with some section of swedish speakers by the 20th of May and
> I will need you to help me translate my document so I can give each of
> them a copy for their reference. Please let me know how much it would
> cost you to translate the document and how many days.Once you tell me,
> I will tell my associate in the USA to mail you a check for the
> payment immediately. Thanks.
I started the translation, but fortunately never sent anything. I was waiting for the check first. Thanks for spreading the word!
I’m about to file a lawsuit against a different deadbeat client, so I’m now wary of anything with a whiff of scam about it — and PV’s mail (sent from doyenski09@yahoo.co.uk) absolutely reeked. I Googled his name… and up popped your web page.
Here’s the e-mail I received (in duplicate), probably because I’m an ATA-certified Spanish>English translator. I suspect he’ll just use another pseudonym and e-mail address soon.
“My name is Cyril Paul Vanderser, I will be presenting to some audience who speaks both ENGLISH AND SPANISH in the United Kingdom and I have attached the document they will be expecting me to present on to this email. I will be presenting in English and I would want this document to be translated from spanish to english. I will like to know how much it would cost me. Once I know the amount, I will have my associate mail out a cashiers check payment for the service. The deadline for the translation is by the 3rd of August.”
I’m sure that your blog entry will save translators many headaches — not to mention time and money. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
TODAY I received this exact email from Venderson. When I Googled him, your blog came up. I had already received another email with another name, and I almost fell for it!!! I received this email on feb 28:
Hello My name is Randy, I am presently in the UK now for some conference and
by the 20th of March, I will need to talk to some section of Spanish Speakers.
I will want you to help convert my english power point slide and word document to spanish for the purpose
of my spanish speakers. I will like to know how much it would cost to translate the documents and I will like to have the name and address you would want my
associate to mail the payment to. Lastly, the duration of the work.
His email is: Randy Raymond
What followed is exactly what you describe! I was lucky (and really naive) because my bank wouldn’t cash the check and my husband (who is not as naive as I WAS) told me not to deposit the check. By the way, according to Snopes, it can take up to 3 weeks for the bank to realize the check is a forgery!
I wasn’t exactly sure what had happened then, but thanks to your blog, now I do. Scammed (well, almost)! Thank you!
He’s back today, with a different name:
“My name is Curtis Denmarn, I am a business consultant and I have a document that I would love to present in the next annual conference of the business analyst association which will take place in London, United Kingdom. Due to the versatility of the association, the document is expected to be presented in three different languages of which spanish is one. I will want you to assist me in translation this document from english to spanish. I will want to know the cost of the service and once you tell me, I will tell my associate to mail you cashiers check payment for the amount. Lest I forget the deadline will be 6th of august, 2010. I will be awaiting a reply from you.
Thanks
Curtis Denmarn.”
This e-mail was sent from curtden10@yahoo.com, and was doubtless sent to many people on the Vanderser list, i.e., doyen06@yahoo.com.
Thanks again both for posting the scam alert and for your interesting blog.
From: Randy Raymond
Date: 02/24/10 21:18:01
To: vero@traduki.com
Subject: I NEED A SPANISH TRANSLATOR
Hello My name is Randy Raymond, I am presently in the UK now for some conference and by the 20th of March, I will need to talk to some section of Spanish Speakers. I will want you to help convert my english power point slide to spanish for the purpose of my spanish speakers. I will like to know how much it would cost to conver the 17 page power point document and I will like to have the name and address you would want my associate to mail the payment to. Lastly, the duration of the work.
From: Randy Raymond
Date: 02/24/10 21:18:01
To: vero@traduki.com
Subject: I NEED A SPANISH TRANSLATOR
I almost fall into the trap
From: Curtis Denmarn
Date: 7/26/2010 10:52:01 AM
To: doyen06@yahoo.com
Subject: In need of Spanish translator
Hello,
My name is Curtis Denmarn, I am a business consultant and I have a document that I would love to present in the next annual conference of the business analyst association which will take place in London, United Kingdom. Due to the versatility of the association, the document is expected to be presented in three different languages of which spanish is one. I will want you to assist me in translation this document from english to spanish. I will want to know the cost of the service and once you tell me, I will tell my associate to mail you cashiers check payment for the amount. Lest I forget the deadline will be 10th of august, 2010. I will be awaiting a reply from you.
Thanks
Curtis Denmarn.
I am a counselor in Texas and have just received one of these emails. I was suspicious all along but baffled as to what the motivation for such an email could be (aside from wanting help). I never would have imagined such a scam! I went as far as to schedule sessions with this fake client, but now that I know what it is I just emailed her that I no longer accept cashier’s checks and all future payments must be cash or credit. We’ll see if there’s a response to that… Next step will be just to tell this person I know it’s a scam and I will no longer respond to their emails.
Randy Raymond/Curtis Denmarn on the blacklist of the most wanted translator scammers
Beware of this guy!!
Hola Fernando,
Soy Ana, una traductora de espanol del NCTA (Northern California Translators Association) y victima del monstruo “Curtis Denmarn”. He perdido $3800 y aunque se que no vere mi dinero, me gustaria ver a toda esa pandilla de “criminales impresentables” pudriendose en la carcel. Crees que hay algo que se pueda hacer? Yo desde luego voy a contactar a mi FBI local!
Muchas gracias y me alegra saber que escapaste de las garras de semejante monstruo!
Thank you for your scam alert!
I just received an e-mail from Curtis Denmarn requesting a translation to Spanish of a document for a conference he is going to give in London as part of the business analyst association meeting.
There was something it did not sound right to me, so I did a search and I found your notice.
Thank you again and be aware this scam continue
I received exactly the same email from Curtis Denmarn as Fernando Martínez (6 & 7 above). I almost fell for it but the document was so badly written that I asked for an edited version. I got a reply stating that the conference would provide editors and not to worry. Later, I received an email with an UPS tracking number, which didn’t exist, and two days later another email stating that his associate was waiting to receive the package back from UPS and then he would mail me a cashiers check. I became suspicious and decided to “google” this Curtis and found your posting. Fortunately I had translated just the first page of a 20-page document and will cut off all communication with this scammer. Thanks for passing the word about this cheaters.
I received a very suspicious Check: Cashier’s Check, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A, 2701 NW Vaughn St., Poetland (not Portland??), Oregon 97210, for the amount, believe or not, $3800, for a translation English into Spanish that would be maybe $300 worth. Sender: Curtis Denmarn, e-mail: cdenmarn10@yahoo.com. Friends, this Curtis Denmarn seemingly doesn’t sleep trying to scam translators all over America. I think he is using the ATA Online Directory to get our e-mail addresses. Dear Colleages, Watch out! On my facebook page you will find a picture of the check
Nigerian Scam Alerts Targeted at Translators/Interpretors
“Nigerian check” and similar scams have long been a problem for the unwary. In recent years, the scam has evolved to target interpreters and translators specifically. The basis scam works like this: A “potential client”, sometimes an individual but recently also an “agency”, sends a mass email asking about obtaining interpreting/translating services in the target’s country. When they get a response, the “client” agrees to normal or even higher than normal fees and wants to make an advance payment for whatever reason. The target then receives a check or money order for the advance payment to deposit in the bank. Shortly thereafter, the client cancels the job and requests the money be refunded, which the uninformed target then does. But the check or money orders subsequently turn out to be forgeries or drawn on closed or non-existent accounts so the target’s bank reverses the deposit and the target is out not only the deposit but any funds that he/she refunded to the client.
These scams are often characterized by:
•Poor English
•Gmail or other “anonymous” email accounts
•Higher than market rates offered
•A lack of verifiable contact data
•The use of a legitimate translation agency’s contact data EXCEPT the email address
To help prevent freelancers from falling prey to these scams, Payment Practices is establishing this list where you can report names and other contact data when you receive an offer you believe to be a scam TARGETED SPECIFICALLY AT TRANSLATORS or INTERPRETERS. (Reporting every suspicious email your receive would quickly overwhelm the database.) Just enter whatever information you have below to add the attempted scam to the list.
PLEASE NOTE: This database is NOT for reporting ACTUAL agencies or LSPs that may not have paid for work. Any such entries made here will be deleted. Please use the actual Payment Practices database to post reports on real LSPs.
For further information visit: http://www.paymentpractices.net/Scams.aspx
the Nigerian Scam
http://www.paymentpractices.net/Scams.aspx
I am a therapist in the US, message received from this email (doyenski09@yahoo.com and dexterty099@yahoo.com) today:
Hello, my name is patricia phanner and am based in the uk with my neice.
I will like to have your services rendered to my aunty’s daughter
sarah who is 9years old. I see her as my child now as her only relative
cos her parents were involved in an accident that claimed their lives
and she was the only survival in the accident inwhich she has recovered
from over time and her doctor has recommended
that she sees a play therapist which will help to heal her totally and
i also feel will do her a lot of good.
We are comming for an holiday in the usa in november for about 4 weeks
and i was thinking we could use the oppourtunity
for her to have 8 to 10 sessons of play theraphy treatment.
I would like to know if you will be available to take
this up and I will like to know how much it would cost per sessons so
i can tell my associate in the USA to mail a cashiers check to you to sort out the payment for the sessions
Guess translators aren’t the only ones who are prone to this scam.
I was just sent the same message as Jill
Hello my name is Dorothy, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here last August this year. My husband and I have agreed to spend our holiday in the United States starting from the 10th of November. We intend to have dance theraphy treatments to keep fit and improve our physical and mental sense. I will like to know how much you charge for each sessions and we will like to have about three sessions each. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance.
So scary! I almost fell for it too!
here is an email sent to me a few days ago
notice the email. They also used doyenski09@yahoo.co.uk
Randy Raymond wrote:
.
Hello my name is Randy, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here last August this year. My husband and I have agreed to spend our holiday in the United States starting from the 12th of November. We intend to have an accupunture treatments to relieve some of the usual work related pains that we do have. I will like to know how much you charge for each sessions and we will like to have about three sessions each. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance
I received a similar e-mail today of differing format, but same return e-mail address. Attached is a copy of e-mail they sent.
dexterty099@yahoo.com
to doyenski09
show details 2:03 AM (8 hours ago)
Hello my name is Patricia , I’m in the United Kingdom for a year
contract and I got here last August this year. My husband and I
have agreed to spend our holiday in the United States starting
from the 17th of November. We intend to have some deep tissue
massage to relieve some of the usual work related pains that we
do have. I will like to know how much you charge for each sessions
and we will like to have about three sessions each. Once am sure
of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send
you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and
bookings in advance.
I got the same email.. And I don’t recognize either of these email addresses…
“doyenski09@yahoo.co.uk to mellow060”
Hello my name is Randy, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here last August this year. My husband and I have agreed to spend our holiday in the United States starting from the 29th of November. We intend to have some deep tissue massage to relieve some of the usual work related pains that we do have. I will like to know how much you charge for each sessions and we will like to have about three sessions each. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance
Hi Everyone,
Randy must know you are onto him because he just contacted me about making a career change. :- ) One has to laugh! I am not sure what made this email sound fishy, but it just did.. Googled his emails: doyenski09@yahoo.com, mellow060@yahoo.com, and found this tread!
Hello my name is Randy, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here August this year. I have been working for 2 years as an accountant but recently I think I should have a change of career to nursing. I will be coming to the USA from the 6th of Dec and will be in the States till the 5th of Jan 2011, I will like to know how much each sessions with you as a coach will cost me. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance
I wonder how much in free services he’s racking up.
Donna,
I got the same exact message from Randy about making a career transition….how about helping him make a career transition straight to jail!
He’s all over the place. As others note, he has moved into health care, sending this received at our anxiety center yesterday:
From: mellow060@yahoo.com
Date: November 20, 2010 8:08:26 PM CST
To: doyenski09@yahoo.com
Subject: In need of anxiety therapist
Hello my name is Randy, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here last August this year. My relationship of 7 years just hit the rock and It’s really telling me. I’m extremely depressed and don’t think I can do it all alone. I need a professional advise and treatment to lift me up from the deep feelings of depressions. I will be coming to the USA from the 6th of Dec and will be in the States till the 5th of Jan 2011, I will like to have about 4 to 6 sessions with you and I will like to know how much each sessions will cost me. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance.
My Name is Fernando, I’am a Tranlator living in Louisville Kentucky and I got this message
From: Stephen Flubby
Date: 11/23/2010 1:05:54 AM
To: steflu147@gmail.com
Subject: Transalation needing.
Hello, my name is Stephen Flubby. I am entitled a contract to be carried out in Spain, in order to help philanthropists, educationally, mentally and financially. The attached document would be a free pamphlet or little novel, I am to make sure gets distributed among each charity home, Im assigned to cover in Spain.
I need your assistance to FULLY translate the document attached with the email, for me to SPANISH. Please do the counting of each words, and kindly get back to me how much it will cost for me to have the translated copy as soon as possible.
I will look forward to hear from you.
Sincerely,
S.
_____________
A second e-mail came after that:
From: stephen flubby
Date: 11/23/2010 10:34:06 AM
To: Fernando
Subject: [Bulk] Re: Transalation needing.
Thanks so much for your response. The price is Ok by me and I will be glad to proceed with your payment as soon as possible. I work with ELTG company, bing the vice president for the company. My company is raising this contract for $7,500 to make sure I get the whole mission about assisting philanthropists in Spain, accomplished in all necessary areas, as paying fee for my project your translating for me, getting them in thousands of pamphlets to be shared among the philanthropists and sharing the rest funds among each charity home Im assigned to cover up in Spain.
In order to meet urgent need of my project, I will want you receive the contract funds for me in your bank account, so that you can begin my with project as soon as you confirm the whole funds in your account, and you wire the rest funds to my lawyer via western union, who will be in charge to handle the pamphlets, and the rest funds to be shared among charity homes.
Kindly provide me with your full name, bank name, bank account number and routin number which my company will need to wire the funds to your account. Once I hear from you, I can proceed with the payment.Thanks again, and I look forward to read from you.
Sincerely,
S.
______________________________
I got in contact with the real Mr. Steven Flubby at the ELTG.com and he sent this message:
From: Steve Illyefalvi
Date: 11/23/2010 12:23:47 PM
To: Fernando
Subject: RE: Transalation needing.
Yes that is not my email address and I have never contacted you. I am not sure what is going on, but I will certainly look into this
——————————————————————————–
From: Fernando [mailto:fermartin2011@att.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:54 AM
To: Steve Illyefalvi
Subject: Fw: Transalation needing.
Hello Mr. Flubby
I suspect someone is trying to scam me as a traslator using your name
I would appreciate that you confirm it
Sincerely Fernando Martinez
——Original Message——-
I was almost scammed as well by a Randy K. Raymond. Luckily I did not cash the check and notified the police. Here is the last email from the scammer:
“My associate just contacted me now that he mistakenly send the whole amount he is owing me $2998 instead of sending the amount for the job as I directed him. Please I will want you to deduct as follows;
Session Charge; $310
Additional $200 for your running around to the western union making a total of $510 for you.
Then help me send the difference via western union money transfer service as without the money, journey to the states will be impossible.
Remainder; $2488
Western Union Charges to send it to me; $150
Amount I would recieve = $2338
The information to send the money to is;
Name; Randy K Raymond
City; London
Country; United Kingdom.
When you finished sending the money, they will provide you with the 10 digit money transfer control number and that is what you will provide for me in other to collect the money here, thanks a lot.”
His email address: mellow060@yahoo.com and secondary email: doyenski09@yahoo.com
I am in the middle of dealing with this one. Interestingly from a doyen related yahoo address, but using a woman’s name, coincidentally with the same first name as me! I did book appts for these people before I understood what I was dealing with. They stood me up on Friday, but then sent an email insisting that the cashier’s check is “in the mail”. Do they think we are more likely to consider them sincere by using this poor English? If the check does arrive, I will be turning it over to the police, who were incidentally standing by at my office at the time of the appointments last week.
Hello my name is Deborah, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year contract and I got here last August this year. My husband and I have agreed to spend our holiday in the United States starting from the 10th of feb. We intend to have an acupuncture treatments to relieve some of the usual work related pains that we do have. I will like to know how much you charge for each sessions and we will like to have about three sessions each. Once am sure of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance.Please send reply to my personal email at; doyen00066@ymail.com
Hello,
I’m a mental health therapist and just received a very similar message :
From: “mellow060@yahoo.com” Add to Contacts
To: doyen00066@ymail.com
——————————————————————————–
Hello my name is Rebecca Bruno, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year, but I will be coming for my annual holiday in the United States from the 13th of March and I will like to see a counsellor because my fiancee just jilted me and this is affecting me and I think I need a counsellor to speak to. I have therefore decide to attend about 4 to 6 hour sessions , please let me know how much each session would cost, Once am sureof the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance
The Address listed in the “To:” header at the top is NOT my email address, but it ended up in my email Inbox anyway. Glad I found this web forum before I responded. It did seem a bit Phishy.
I received the exact same letter as the mental health practitioner above from doyen00066@gmail.com, and received a fake check for $ 3799. Anybody know where or who to report this to, so this scam artist can be stopped? Thanks.
I received an e-mail:
Hello my name is Jessica Duncan, I’m in the United Kingdom for a year, but I will be coming for my annual holiday in the United States from the 30th of March and I will like to see a holistic health practitioner to get proper nutritional counselling and probably pick up some herbs as I got some tips on living healthly. please let me know how much each session would cost and cost of some of your herbs and their use, Once am sureof the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a cashiers check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance
It is also a scam…be careful and listen to your hunches!
sorry, Hans and Gary! “doyen00066@ymail.com” Rebecca Bruno scheduled mental health hours with me for the same times as me!. The check amount and wording are the same as some of the other postings. I said the check would have to clear first-of course the credit union staffer laughed at the fake!
Can you believe she is still, 5 days later, asking me if the check has cleared yet!
I am currently messing with her head, telling her that the check cleared and I am wiring her nothing, thank you very much!
So to follow up, I sent an email cancelling all her future appts and told her I would refuse delivery of any correspondence from her, which would result in the check being returned to her or her agent. Also gave them a nice little lecture about the kind of world they are creating with their scams, and people can no longer trust one another, etc. I did receive an obviously fake casheirs check for $3799, no return address and mailed from Macon, GA. Local police did not want to get involved due to the interstate element, so I made a report through an Internet Crime affiliate of the FBI. You can find their website at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx. They tell you to hang on to all correspondence, emails,checks etc, as evidence if they decide to pursue it, though they receive thousands of complaints per day. But if they receive enough complaints about a single individual, they may be more inclined to follow through. So I would encourage every one contacted by this creep to obtain a case number and file a complaint.
Why me? The scams are endless. Now one of my Facebook friends has been hacked and the scammers took over her yahoo email address, sending me a distress email, saying she was in the UK and had been robbed, begging me to wire $2500 to her ASAP. (Almost was tempted to send these people that fake cashiers check! – see posting above) This did not come from her, and so now I have de-activated my Facebook account after reading a website saying anyone on ANY social networking site is just a sitting duck, asking for scammers to hit them eventually. This scam is SO common on Facebook, they actually have a whole security reporting section devoted to it. Almost always say to wire $$ via Western Union. Western Union has a fraud department that asked me to forward the email asking for wiring the $$ for their file.
Thank you for your posts!! I am so glad I googled this! This is what I received:
On Sun, May 1, 2011 at 7:00 PM, Joy Anderson wrote:
I am also glad I googled this! I am a therapist and I received a similar email in May. I thought it was odd but tried to be accomodating. She/he acted selective about appointment times! I guess I have Tuesdays at 10:00 open…
NEW SCAM ALERT:
From: Dr Stephen Robinson
Date: 10/18/2011 9:46:38 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:,
Bcc: feralina2010@att.net
Subject: Enquiry About Your Translation Service !!!
My name is Stephen Robinson from Gordon,GA,am presently on business trip here in cairo,Egypt
I actually need to make a presentation to some Spanish group on 28th of Nov,2011 in Honolulu,Hawaii.Therefore i need you translate the presentation to Spanish,so each participants can have a copy and they can follow through.I will also need the work be delivered by/before Nov 25th,2011.
Let me know your rate and charges for a total of presentation of word.Presentation is attached.
Thank you.
Dr Stephen
NEW SCAM ALERT (II)
From: Dr Stephen Robinson
Date: 10/18/2011 1:34:58 PM
To: Fernando Martinez
Subject: Thanks
Am very much happy to read back from you.I felt so great and comfortable with the charges for the pages in which am sure it will be well prepared,easy and well understood by the reader.I will instruct my financial manager to issue out the full payment as soon as possible for the service.I want you to note that you will not send the translation not until you have the payment with you.
Kindly get back to me with information below:
1: Your Full Name to be on the payment
2: Your Address and zip code
3: Your cell phone number
I will need your immediate response via email assuring me that i can trust you to handle this with care
Best Regard
Dr Stephen
0020149733728
Hey guys, got another one:
Greetings,
I want to book for 2 weeks checkups and counseling, 1 or 2 hours each day Monday to Friday (morning or evening hours) for a group of 10. We will be coming for a one month vacation/holiday from 1st December 2011 and in line with our plans we will require 2 weeks Acupuncture to help maintain healthy body due to the nature of our job and also to make our stay fun. The checkups and counseling should basically be on Acupuncture consultations or any other Natural Therapy you can offer.
Please let me know if your clinic can handle this for us and get back to me with requirements to enable me contact you with more clarifications. Also confirm if you can arrange a one on one checkups and counseling for us or if its better in group.
Awaits your email.
Harry Clark
From: Harry Clark
To: h.clark50
and another one to know about:
From: amir anuar ghani
To: Lw.nss
Good Day
I have contacted you in request for investment to be a fund manager to
my client. I am an attorney with the Malaysia bar, Law Firm
(www.malaysianbar.org.my)
client Mrs Sofia Aziz Nationality of Libya
She is in agreement with me to source on her behalf, a foreign
investor with many years of experience to manage her late husbands
funds.
Get back to me for more details.
Regards,
Amir Esq.
you can actually forward these emails to spam@uce.gov
NEW SCAM ALERT
Don’t know if anybody is following this thread anymore but here is a new one for you. First this woman actually left a message asking me to email her about an order she wanted to place. I emailed her telling her I think she had the wrong number. Then she emailed back with this:
Hello Dear
How you doing today and how is business?… Thanks for the reply to my call, I would have come in the store to place the order, but presently am in the hospital for my breast cancer surgery, so we can best communicate via email…
I will like you to bake for me separated 5 tier cakes, that can serve approximately 250 to 280 guest, and I want the cakes to be decorated with pink roses ( it may be icing roses or artificial).
Or
You can make me 50 whole pie of different varieties of flavor.
Please let me know which of the two listed order you can bake for me to be ready for pick up by 3pm on 13th of December 2011.
Please reply me back to know which of the above order you can make for me, also let me know much cost estimate am looking at….??? then I can reply you with further details to conclude the order, more also let me know if you accept all major credit cards…Await your soonest reply.
Thanks and God bless.
Cynthia Scott.
cynthia_scott28@yahoo.com
I wrote her saying I am not a baker and there is nothing I can do for her, but I think the real tag line here is the bit about the breast cancer surgery. The caller ID was from out of state. Her grammar on the voice mail was just fine, and then this email sounds like all the others above. Wonder where this one is headed.
Happy holidays, Deborah
Deborah, we received this exact same email on 12/29 after she left a v/m at our bakery from a Las Vegas # (we’re on the east coast). Caught on real quick.
This website http://www.419baiter.com/ is a lot of fun. It shows the detailed emails this guy sends to scam the scammers, sometimes going on for months at a time. Very funny to read in your spare time!
GAH! He is also on SitterCity.com trying to recruit young girls for “sitting/nannying”. What a CREEP! I reported him and his email to the owners 😦
I’m a translator and got this piece of junk, which is very similar to other ones posted above:
Hello My name is Isabel Benson, I live in Phillipine now and I will need to speak with some section of Spanish speakers by the 10th of May and I will need you to help me translate my document so I can give each of them a copy for their reference. Please let me know how much it would cost you to translate the document and how many days.Once you tell me, I will tell my associate in the USA to mail you a check for the payment immediately. Thanks.
From: doyen00066@ymail.com
I received the following email today from the same email doyen00066@ymail.com:
Hello my name is Isabel, I’m in the Phillipines for a year, but I will be coming for my annual holiday in the United States from the 8th of May and I will like to receive therapy.
My fiance jilted me last March and it has been tough since then. Though I have overcome the situation but I still feel depressed from it and it has kill my self esteem. I will like to get my self esteem up again and rise from the depression. I have therefore decided to book 4 to 6 hour sessions , please let me know how much each session would cost, Once am sure
of the price, I will have my associate in the United States send you a check payment as I will like to make payment and bookings in advance.
Sounded like a scam glad I looked into it before replying.
I can’t believe I just got scammed…I wish I did look into it much sooner…the email was fishy, but trusted her anyway….
I received a message on 4/27/2012 from this same person….the email was doyen00066@ymail.com
Hello My name is Isabel Benson, I live in Phillipine now and I will need to speak with some section of Spanish speakers by the 10th of May and I will need you to help me translate my document so I can give each of them a copy for their reference. Please let me know how much it would cost you to translate the document and how many days.Once you tell me, I will tell my associate in the USA to mail you a check for the payment immediately. Thanks.
About 1 hour ago I tried to look up her email in google and noticed it was scammed, the two assignments are done, and the check never came….
Hello Sonia,
My name is Maria – and I´m also a translator. I received the same message — same exact wording. I asked her for the text so I could provide a quote – and she sent the text to me. I provided the quote and she accepted. I made the translation – sent it to her along with the invoice. I´ve been sending her messages to follow up but haven´t received a response. Today – actually about an hour ago I decided to start looking – and did a reverse look up – and the “sample” report indicated that she could possibly be in Sunnyvale in the US- but there are a lot of Sunnyvales in the US. If I want a more detailed report the reverse look up site needs advance payment. I wish there was legal recourse because these type of malicious communications are really quite frustrating. Every translator invests time, knowledge and real commitment in pursuing translating jobs and to think that there are people that are so inconsiderate really is quite sad but they need to be punished. This person has my address, an invoice from me and yet hasn´t had the decency to respond.
Hi Maria, See my postings above. The next phase of the scam is to overpay you with a fake cashier’s check and request that you refund them the over payment amount. It really has nothing at all to do with receiving your services for nothing. They are trying to get your money.
Deborah
Hello Deborah – yes I know that´s the aim – but I´m always very careful with any type of check or anything having to do with money. I know what to do if they send a fake cashier´s check.
What upsets me is that in the effort to get customers one has to take a chance that inquiries are real – and my website is out there – and I´m a member of several services and then there´s word of mouth so I was very much enthused and produced the translation -with full expectation of getting paid for it not ripped off.
Thanks for your comments!
Have a great weekend!
Maria
I received the email below from “Isabella Raymond” some days after uploading my cv to the ATA directory. I almost fell for it; it was too suspicous and fortunately, I did not invest any time in the translation.
I know now it is a scam.
On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 3:32 PM, Isabel Raymond wrote:
Hello My name is Isabel, I live in Phillipine now and I will need to speak with some section of Spanish speakers by the 10th of June and I will need you to help me translate my document so I can give each of them a copy for their reference. Please let me know how much it would cost you to translate the document and how many days.Once you tell me, I will tell my associate in the USA to mail you a check for the payment immediately. Thanks.
And “Isabella Raymond”‘s follow-ups:
On Fri, Jun 1, 2012 at 9:02 AM, Isabel Raymond wrote:
The check came back to my associate because there was a mistake on the address, I have given him the correct address today and you should get the check by Monday or Tuesday, please confirm the receipt of my email.
On Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 1:47 AM, Isabel Raymond wrote:
I must sincerely apologise for the long silence, my father has been terribly sick in the hospital and I don’t have internet while watching him. I have just contacted the usps and I have the tracking number for you 420 10546 9405 5036 9930 0040 0809 86, it is mailed via priority mail via usps.com and should get to you on Wednesday at the lastest, once again accept my sincere apology. Is the translation ready?
i just got this scam email from Isabel Raymoni / doyen00066@ymail.com wanting to book me for DJ services. The gig is in a week and i haven’t gotten the check yet. It sounded suspicious so quoted her a ridiculous price, she agreed without haggle or usual DJ related questions. So i googled her email and found this site.
You’d think they’d be smarter than using the same email address / names for new scams hehe.
Thanks for keeping This thread alive.
That’s why I do it. Thanks, Jeremy. Glad you didn’t fall for it.
I just got this one SCAM..SCAM…SCAM… From ISABEL BENSON
doyen00066@ymail.com
Sent: Wed 9/19/12 10:41 AM
To: Isabel Benson (doyen00066@ymail.com)
Hello Rep,How are you doing? I am interested in ordering some beijobags.I have been a fan of beijobags for some time now and also the lovely products
they have developed during the years and i am delighted to have used
some.I am a model though.I’ll kindly like to order the below item.
On the town Item #6885
Pinky promise Item #8800
Also do let me know if you accept payment by check. If you are wondering where i got your contact details from its from the beijobags.com web site. Once you confirm the amount and that you accept check, I will have my associate send you payment and we will send a fedex pick up to pick the item up as am doing some fashion shot in the Phillipines which will take me couple of weeks.
I got aan email from Isabella Benson doyen00066@ymail.com
Hello my name is Isabella and am on contract as an editor in Phillpines. I would need some nice landscape and wildlife pictures for the next issue of our magazine here. I will like to know if you have some pictures to sell and if yes how much and if I can see them so I can pick the ones that suit what I want.
—
I thought something was fishy because when I asked the name of the magazine it was Metro Magazine (Philllipines) basically a fashion magazine, and I photograph birds. I suggested she take a look at the photos in my portfolio on the web. She picked out three recent images of drab birds, all in horizontal formats, then said she wanted them as vertical full pages. I quoted a space rate and pressed for details on usage. to which I got no answer, except a request for a mailing adress to send payment. from her associate in the U.S.
I’m always very careful to iron out all the details for rights and usages when I sell photos, and must have either a signed contract or send the client an invoice before money or photos change hands.
To the list of other professionals being scammed, we can now add photographers.
I also got an email from: doyen00066@ymail.com and said her name was Isabella, wanting to buy three half page photos from my website and wanted to use them half a page for a fashion magazine in the Philllipines. Same exact letter you got, word for word. I noticed that the magazine had nothing to do with landscapes so I pressed on for payment first and was told it was coming from an American associate. Same exact scam! Glad I didn’t send the high resolution images and if the check ever arrives I will surely toss it in the trash. Thanks for this website which has “confirmed” my suspicions about this whole thing. Jim
Here is the e-mail I received. Thought it sounded funny.
Hello my name is Isabella Benson, I’m presently working on contract in Phillipines where I will be till next February before I come back to the States. I will like to order some 2cutiepatooties products which I want to give my friends here for christmas, I will be delighted if you can send me the catalogue so I can pick what I want, I will be ordering about $400 worth of products. And I will give you my fedex account to use in shipping it down here for me, I will be paying via check which will be mailed out by my associate in the United States, once you provide me the catalogue and I pick, I will expect you to send me the name and mailing address where the check payment should be mailed to, thanks so much. Waiting to hear from you asap.
She’s still active… I received this email today from doyen00066@ymail.com:
Hi I want this russian document to be translated to english and I have a turn around time of 3 weeks, let me know how much it would cost to translate it.
Thank you
Isabel Benson
6304734274
Isabel is back……
Hi I want this chinese document to be translated to english and I have a turn around time of 3 weeks, let me know how much it would cost to translate it.
Thank you
Isabel Benson
6304734274
I’m thinking of a creative way to slaughter this person verbally, I’ll report back. Unfortunately I answered this scammer first prior to doing a search…something smelled fishy right off the bat but it didn’t dawn on me until I replied with my rates and contact info….oh well, looks like this person found me on ATA and included me in his/her trolling list….
Hi Rita,
Just to let “Isabel” know that we’re on to her, I copied many of the comments here listing her previous misdeeds, plus others I found online (scamming therapists, photographers, DJs, etc.) and sent them all to her. It was fun. 🙂
Hey Amy,
Boo! You should have charged her for your research efforts. One time I got something similar from a different scammer who then asked for my western union account (or the branch closest to me)…as his English was reminiscent of Indian English I then sent him a picture of the Indian Ocean with a red arrow pointing towards the middle of it, telling him that there’s where my branch is located. 😀
Some of my most popular blog posts are the ones in which I warn readers about some of the more notorious scams going on in the industry. I try very hard to stick to factual information in my posts, but that doesn’t mean an unscrupulous person won’t come after me once they find out their info has been posted. I also have absolutely no control over what my readers post in the comments because I choose not to edit comments. So please do not share any information on this site with third parties. I really don’t want to be sued.
I’m very sorry, Jill. I included information from multiple publicly available sources, but I should have been more thoughtful. I know of another translator who responds to scammers with this link [http://hitagroup.org/scams] to let them know that translators are wise to them and their scams won’t work… I was trying to send the message that we are a community that is not to be crossed. I never meant to put you at risk! A thousand apologies. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to rectify my mistake.
Still learning from my mistakes… -Amy
Hi Amy,
That’s okay. I know you meant well. I think it’s just best to ignore them. You aren’t the first person to do this, so it just had to be said. Don’t worry about it. I just want to make sure no one comes after me. Thanks.
Jill
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SCAM:
From: AUSTIN THOMPSON
Date: 03/21/13 11:36:39
To: fer…….@…
Subject: Translation
Hello,
I’m Austin,I got your email from the website that you are a competent translator.
I have an article i want you to help me translate from (English into German).
I would like to know your terms and how much it would cost for the article?
Hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
Sincerely
Austin
Can’t believe I just got this too!
doyen00066@ymail.com
Hi I want this spanish document to be translated to english and I have a turn around time of 3 weeks, let me know how much it would cost to translate it.
Thank you
Isabel Benson
6304734274
I can’t believe that same thing happened to me a couple of days ago. Here is the email from “Isabel Benson”:
doyen00066@yahoo.com
Hi I want this chinese document to be translated to english and I have a turn around time of 3 weeks, let me know how much it would cost to translate it.
Thank you
Isabel Benson
6304734274
The interesting is that I did receive a check sent via overnight from Michigan, but the check is paid out of the account of somebody from Carmel, IN. The amount is 4 times that of the actual cost of the service.
I sent an email to “Isabel” that she has to stop and I have no interest in her scam.
I got suspicious because the telephone number is from Pinger. I will keep you posted on the finale.
Sun