How to recognize a scam June 24, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices.9 comments
One of the most common questions I get from beginning translators is how to tell if a job request is a scam. I developed a PowerPoint presentation for the KSU grad students several years ago and thought I would share some of the tips with you so you don’t fall for a scam.
The most common warning signs:
- Offer advanced payment (which the “client” would overpay and/or then claim a change in plans and ask you to “return” the overpayment.)
- Spelling and grammar errors
- Capitalized information suggest form letter
- No contact information (freemail account like Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.)
- Not much concrete information offered about the job
- Wife, daughter, etc. does not speak English and is coming to the U.S. for a shopping trip, conference, etc.
- Require the purchase of software (my one agency client that also sells a TEnT supplies me with the software and license for free, so you should not be expected to buy software as a prerequisite to work with a client. We are freelancers and as such should be “free” to choose which tools we use)
I find most legitimate job requests give lots of detailed information about the job, offer concrete contact information, do not suggest payment up front, and usually do not use a freemail account. Gmail is an exception to that rule.
Some agencies aren’t as forthcoming with information as they should be and do have project managers who may not be the best spellers, so a job request from an agency may in fact be legitimate. Any agency that is upstanding will have its own domain or will pay for their Internet access. You can quickly check their payment record on a site like Payment Practices or Translator Client Review (PP costs $19.99 a year for non-ATA members and $14.99 for ATA members and TCR costs $12.99 – money very well spent!). I published a post on payment practice lists a while back, but it is still fairly current. If you aren’t following one or two of them you really should!
If you do get a job request from an individual that perhaps doesn’t fit all the criteria, but your gut tells you it is most likely legitimate, there is nothing wrong with requesting payment in advance.
If you have any other tips for new (and even experienced) translators to help recognize a scam please share them in the comments.
I’m Comic Sans, Asshole June 18, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.1 comment so far
I know a lot of people don’t like the Comic Sans font. I myself don’t get all the hate, because I find it to be a pretty legible font. That said, I usually stick with Arial or Times New Roman in my translations because I know a lot of people don’t like crazy fonts. I hope Jost reads this and reposts it to the Toolkit newsletter. Michelle Rafter at WordCount just included it in her recommended reading post, and I have to say it is absolutely brilliant. Here’s what she had to say about it:
McSweeney’s runs a regular column called Short Imagined Monologues where the writer assumes the persona of some real or fictitious character to expound on a particular point. This week’s installment from designer/writer Mike Lacher, will make the font fanatic in you smile. (Warning: language may not be suitable for work.)
So I hope you all enjoy I’m Comic Sans, Asshole as much as I did!
TGIF: How to swear in English June 18, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.add a comment
It’s been a while since I’ve had a TGIF video on the blog. I just haven’t found anything worth posting recently. Thanks to Fidus interpres, a German to Portuguese translator based in Rheinbach, Germany, for posting this video originally. As Fabio explains, “It’s an English lesson given by a Korean teacher who initiates students into the ‘metaphysics’ of four-letter words – he even explains graphically what an asshole is. The man is really good! The YouTube video has been translated from Korean into English so that you can enjoy the teacher’s insights – even if the subtitles are too difficult to follow.” Enjoy!
Freelance Folder: How to overcome freelancing stress June 17, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices.3 comments
We all know freelancing can be stressful. The ebb and flow of freelancing can sometimes be hard to deal with. If you are busy, you have lots of work and deadlines to contend with. Jobs can sometimes fall through the cracks. Your work-life balance suffers. If you have a day or two with no translation requests, you worry when the next job will come (and if it will come in at all) and might even worry about how you will pay the bills if business slows down significantly. Freelance Folder published a must-read post on How to Overcome Freelancing Stress that offers “Seven Tips for Reducing Your Freelancing Stress.” It is a must-read for every freelancer and contains tips for dealing with common stressors such as client conflict and not finding enough clients. You might find a solution you haven’t thought of to one of your biggest stressors. If you feel something is missing that affects translators in particular and have found a solution, please share it here in the comments.
It’s official… I hate moving! June 16, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.3 comments
I know I have been really quiet here of late. Regular readers and my Twitter followers know that I moved at the beginning of the month. The first couple days were tough. Yes, I translated 10,000 words DURING my move and several thousand immediately afterward. Ah, the life of a freelance translator… I worked off my back-up computer with an English keyboard. After two days of that I set up my office computer and German keyboard on a provisional solution of the legs and the middle panel of my new desk. I’m still waiting for my friend who gave it to me to come by and help me put it together. I still don’t have the office set up to anywhere near what I would call comfortable, but at least I can walk in the room amidst the boxes. I can’t find my hanging file folders for this year’s check stubs, bills, business expenses and bank statements, which is frustrating. And to top it all off, yesterday our estimated taxes were due and I can’t find my refill checks in any of the boxes. I need to check the garage to see if a box slipped through the organization process. But at least most of the important things have been unboxed and have found a home in the new place. It took about a week for my dog to settle into the new place and feel comfortable. I love the new neighborhood and the serenity. And most of all, I love having a real office with a tall ceiling and walls I can hang things on! OK, maybe moving isn’t SO bad…
Freelancing means the freedom to say no June 7, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices.8 comments
I love freelancing. It affords me the freedom to work from home and to work when I want on the jobs I want. As freelancers we are free to say no. I just said no tonight and do not regret it one bit. I received an e-mail from a client informing me they were changing their payment terms to 60 days (“60 days after receiving the invoice, on the 15 or last day of every month” to be exact). They also informed me they would only be paying in Canadian dollars and only via Paypal. If I didn’t have a Paypal account I was to “please attain one, and provide us with your Paypal email address.” I sent them an e-mail asking them to remove me from their database. I am willing to accept quite a few things from my clients, such as a payment term of 45 days from my favorite client; however, it is a two-way street. Treat me with respect, and I will treat you with respect and bend over backwards for you (like translating 10,000 words during my move when I initially agreed to 5,000 and being happy to do so). I don’t like being dictated to, and luckily I am free to choose the clients with whom I wish to I work. They feel like they needed to change their payment terms because their clients changed theirs. I am glad that I at least have the freedom to say no.
Scam alert: Dr. Paul Vanderser May 18, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Scam alert.67 comments
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
A Modern Language Analyst by Everette E. Jordan May 18, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in ATA, Fun stuff, Translation.3 comments
As most of you regular readers know, I am moving in a few weeks and am purging my belongings. I have almost finished going through 8 years of ATA Chronicles and just found this little gem. For those of you who didn’t get the pleasure to hear him live, Everette E. Jordan was the keynote speaker at the ATA’s 44th Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on November 6, 2003. He was the Director of the National Virtual Translation Center at the time. The NVTC is a federal center that helps translate a backlog of documents for the CIA, FBI, and other government agencies. I have since become disillusioned with the NVTC (and he is no longer the director there), but in my eyes Mr. Jordan was, is and always will be a rock star. He speaks a ton of different languages and is a very poised speaker (not to mention good-looking and a really nice guy who is devoted to his family). I have a framed photo of us from that conference in my office. At the time ATA and the federal government were really working hard to establish a relationship, and the NVTC was trying to recruit linguists for their herculean effort of translating the backlogs of documents.
Anyway, back to Mr. Jordan. He was an outstanding keynote speaker. In fact, I think this is the only keynote speech that has ever been reprinted in the ATA Chronicle. To end his speech, he recited a poem he and a colleague had written styled after the famous Gilbert and Sullivan song, I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, to describe the job that a government language analyst performs on a daily basis. It brought the crowd to its feet.
I am the very model of a modern language analyst
I scan and translate info that the average person might have missed.
I’m quite adept at understanding language spoken quite absurd
If modesty permits me, I’m a master of the garbled wordI’m very well acquainted, too, with leaders quite political
And deal with situations from the mundane to the critical
I’ve heard the best and all the rest and dabbled in analysis
While trying to avoid the dreaded translator paralysis.I’d like to think my studies have equipped me to work miracles
To tackle concepts ranging from the humorous to lyrical
I’ve met and mastered every grammar point designed to trip me, all
The adjectival short-form passive future participials.It’s safe to say I know my subjects by their name without a doubt
I keep them on a list to say what’s hot, what’s not, what’s in, what’s out
My scientific knowledge must be stunningly meticulous
My slang and techno-jargon, all stupendously ridiculous.For all and any question you encounter in this lurking trade
Consider me a living, breathing, walking, talking, language aid.
So when you need someone to translate what mere mortals might have missed,
Just call on me, the model of a modern language analyst.
If you want to read the entire Keynote Address, you can read it on pages 9-11 of the January 2004 issue of the ATA Chronicle, which can be found on the ATA website. However, you must be an ATA member to access old issues of the Chronicle online.
Shoes missing from German town May 13, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in German culture.add a comment
Since I occasionally like commenting on German culture, this story on NPR this morning is just so bizarre that I had to share it with you all. I have never heard of an animal stealing shoes, but there you have it… So think twice the next time you take your shoes off on the porch. They may not be there when you get back.
Voting for Top 100 Language Blogs has begun May 12, 2010
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Translation.1 comment so far
Hi everyone,
Sorry I have been MIA lately. Business has really picked up, but my main focus is packing up my place for my move on June 1st. I can’t believe all the stuff I have accumulated in the last 8 years. It’s unbelievable. I just returned from my third trip to the recycling center. The back seat of my car was stuffed with broken down boxes that aren’t appropriate for the move and old issues of the ATA Chronicle, Real Simple and Shape magazine – not to mention tons of papers I have kept over the years. Everyone should have to move every ten years if only to just get rid of all the garbage one really doesn’t need!
Anyway, the reason I am writing today is to let you know that voting has begun for Lexiophile’s Top 100 Language Blogs. This little blog is one of the 400 blogs in four categories that has been nominated. I am once again honored that someone (or several people) nominated me. Thank you to all my readers. I promise I will have lots of new blog posts once this move is behind me! If you would like to vote for me, be sure to click on this button:
Musings from an overworked translator 