Beware the Jabberwocky – avoiding translation scams

 

[the Jabberwocky*]

In the wild, faceless world of the Internet, the natural home of freelance translators, lurk monsters called scammers. They expertly solicit work from translators and then seemingly disappear from view as they seek another victim. Their actual financial damage is relatively limited in most cases but they have a significant and negative impact on our trust in others and ourselves. Plain and simple, it hurts to be scammed. Thus, I present some known ways  of identifying potential scam attempts and how to confirm or disconfirm the legitimacy of a translation request.

Indications:

A.     Email address

Always compare the email address appearing in the email with the email address appearing when moving the curser over the email title in the browser. They must be identical. The suffix .gmail as compared to .com is a sure sign that something is amiss.

B.     Language

With the possible exception of few agencies in China and Spain (in my experience), expect project managers to be able to write the basic sentences of translation requests in proper English. Private clients may have a lower level.

C.      Communication

If the customer is avoiding direct answer to specific questions regarding payment, listen to the warning light in the brain. Something may be far fishier than the reading comprehension ability of the respondent.

Actions to take to verify:

A.     Google-search the address:

Type the email address and the word scam in Google. There are very few brand-new scammers in the sun. The vast majority have been identified before. There are also specific scammer lists for those that have access to them.

B.     Check the official site:

For companies and institutions, it is easy to view the official site and compare details with those in the email.

C.      Contact the customer directly:

Write or call the customer using information on the site and ask for confirmation of the job order.

D.     Demand prepayment:

If you have doubts, insist on full prepayment before starting work, explaining that advance payment is standard practice for new customers. Private individuals are used to paying before receiving goods and services.

It is very important to have a proper perspective regarding scammers. In almost 20 years, I have been scammed once but have identified numerous attempts in time. It is safe to say that such bad apples do not represent the large barrel of customers. So, if you do get burned, emotionally move on quickly as there is basically no way to touch them, unfortunately. To make myself feel better, I choose to believe that there is a special place in hell for those individuals but I could be wrong.  To end on an admittedly irrelevant literary note and quote Lewis Carrol but in regards to avoiding them:

And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

      Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

      He chortled in his joy.

 

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Picture credit

Fear of flying

Having just returned from a family visit abroad, I had plenty of time, some 24 hours door to door, to reflect on the modern flying experience. While at one time, apparently, travel was exiting and almost magical, it has become unpleasant, even borderline insufferable.

The anxiety begins even before the trip.  Despite the plethora of options available to order airplane tickets, the sheer number of options in terms of airlines, types of connections, layover times and prices can be very daunting.  I have to admit that while for simple trips I use Expedia, for most trips I call the airline directly so I can compare the difference in price for specific days. It is far more time efficient. Unfortunately, the mere possession of the reservation guarantees no peace of mind. My flight paranoid has been justified on numerous occasions.  I have had flights delayed, cancelled and “disappeared” (never existed according to the airline, from Miami, of course). I have had to sit hours at the airport, been sent home from the airport and, just recently, even had to take a cab to another airport in order to make the connection.

The airport itself has become an obstacle course. Some airlines have self-checking in stands that easily confuse the easily confused. After checking in, US rules require a security process that is not far from a strip search and create long lines as each traveler gets his/her five minutes of unwanted attention. After that obstacle, in many airports, travelers of all ages can begin the long distance sprint.  Many airports, including San Francisco and Frankfurt, have kilometers of halls to pass to reach the golden gate of departure.  I have done it with an irregular heartbeat, a humbling experience.  I can imagine how older and less fit travelers feel.

The reward for having successfully reached the plane is sit in cramped seats like sardines in a can with generally efficient but not exactly friendly stewardesses and stewards, overworked themselves to be fair. Airplane food is rather infamous, justifiably. As for scheduling, officially, a half an hour late is on-time.  Try telling that to your boss. Some airports then play lottery with our luggage. Smart travelers try to avoid checking in luggage not just because of the cost.

Thus, traveling by plane involves stress to the third power.  Once upon a time, people were scared of flying because they were worried that the plane would crash.  The vast majority of Western flyers (not including Russian ones, I imagine) are now more concerned about what kind of physical and mental shape they will arrive at the destination.  That is the current meaning of the title of Erica Jong’s book.