| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Looking for advice to detect scammers/fake translators Thread poster: WWL
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WWL 
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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We have recently been involved in very suspicious relations with "translators" who, apparently subcontract the jobs assigned to them and then, they don't pay their subs. What have you done in situations like this?
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 07:57
Romanian to English
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| the subs should take the ”translator” to the Small Claims Court | Dec 15, 2021 |
if the amount is under $5000 (depending on the state).
Let me see if I understood it correctly.
You got a request from your client and assigned the project to a ”translator”.
The translator sent it to a sub to do the work; you received the completed work from the ”translator” and you are happy with the outcome; you paid the ”translator” accordingly after you got paid by the satisfied client.
Where is YOUR problem? If the ”translator” d... See more if the amount is under $5000 (depending on the state).
Let me see if I understood it correctly.
You got a request from your client and assigned the project to a ”translator”.
The translator sent it to a sub to do the work; you received the completed work from the ”translator” and you are happy with the outcome; you paid the ”translator” accordingly after you got paid by the satisfied client.
Where is YOUR problem? If the ”translator” did not pay his subs, it is his/her problem, not yours.
If the subs contacted you directly and you are pleased with their work, get them on your list and discard the ”translator”.
My 2c.
Lee ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 07:57
Japanese to English
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You could thoroughly vet them before using them.
| | | | Mihai Badea (X)
Luxembourg
Local time: 13:57
English to Romanian
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| Protecting business and ensuring peace of mind | Dec 15, 2021 |
You may want to take a look at ProZ.com business membership options.
There is hardly any pair of languages that is not covered by translators in the ProZ.com directory. You might want to check a few things before hiring anyone:
Do they have the identity identified?
Are they active on KudoZ and on the fora?
Do they participate in events organised by ProZ.com (in-person and virtual).
There is a lot of value an outsourcer can derive from ProZ.com, ... See more You may want to take a look at ProZ.com business membership options.
There is hardly any pair of languages that is not covered by translators in the ProZ.com directory. You might want to check a few things before hiring anyone:
Do they have the identity identified?
Are they active on KudoZ and on the fora?
Do they participate in events organised by ProZ.com (in-person and virtual).
There is a lot of value an outsourcer can derive from ProZ.com, even with a free membership.
And when two translators are equal, choose the one with an email address on his/her own domain. ▲ Collapse
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Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 14:57
Member
English to Turkish
| Just an idea | Dec 15, 2021 |
Instead of allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry who clicked on your "Join Us" button to your database, you can ask them to provide references (preferably PMs from different translation agencies with genuine email accounts) and actually contact those references to see if the applicant is who he says he is, and not some Arabic scammer masquerading as a Turkish/Spanish/Russian translator with a stolen CV outsourcing jobs to bottom feeders on Upwork.
And you know what? You can actually learn fr... See more Instead of allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry who clicked on your "Join Us" button to your database, you can ask them to provide references (preferably PMs from different translation agencies with genuine email accounts) and actually contact those references to see if the applicant is who he says he is, and not some Arabic scammer masquerading as a Turkish/Spanish/Russian translator with a stolen CV outsourcing jobs to bottom feeders on Upwork.
And you know what? You can actually learn from those references if the applicant is a reliable and competent translator! (Surprise, surprise!)
It's a much more reliable method than asking for a 250 word test translation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 13:57
French to English
How did you find out about this? The only thing I can think of is that the sub contacted you directly to tell you about it? If so, and if you were happy with their work, you can tell them that you can't do anything about the work already completed, they'll have to sue the "translator", but you'd be happy going forward to work with them directly without going through the "translator". They are actually paid, at a better rate, and you'll benefit from faster turnaround and a direct relationship wi... See more How did you find out about this? The only thing I can think of is that the sub contacted you directly to tell you about it? If so, and if you were happy with their work, you can tell them that you can't do anything about the work already completed, they'll have to sue the "translator", but you'd be happy going forward to work with them directly without going through the "translator". They are actually paid, at a better rate, and you'll benefit from faster turnaround and a direct relationship with a good translator. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| Which end are you on? | Dec 15, 2021 |
If you are the client, you could take action if you have appropriate NDAs.
If you are the defrauded subcontractor, you should attempt to glean the end client information from the job text, and after a couple failed attempts to collect from "your" suspect client, contact said end client and inform them that they are in business with a scammer.
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | WWL
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Dealing with scammers | Dec 15, 2021 |
Lee, the problema was that the "sub" contacted our client directly demanding to be paid. Obviously, the client didn't have a clue about the connection between our company, the "translator" working on this project and, now, all of a sudden, a third person demanding payment. Our client was wondering if we were doing something tricky or we were dishonest. Thank God we have a clean record and they couldn't find anything negative about our company.
| | | | WWL
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Requesting ides to better vet future translators | Dec 15, 2021 |
Mike,
Thanks for your input. I am hoping to get some good ideas on how to avoid situations like this in the future. I am sure many of you have some good ideas about the best way to do it.
| | | | WWL
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Communication with a second "sub" | Dec 15, 2021 |
Kay, the problem is that the "sub" never contacte us. Our client contacted us with the complain. We don't have any means to talk to the person demanding payment.
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WWL
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Reviewing processes to hire translators | Dec 15, 2021 |
Now, we modified our contract with the potential translators (including NDAs). When we post a job, we are asking for a videconference with the candidate. We are also asking for references. If you folks have any other recommendatiosn, please let me know
| | | | | Stolen translation | Dec 15, 2021 |
If the translator hasn't been paid, they may still own the copyright to the translated text and could possibly file an injunction against the end client for copyright infringement.
What if your company had ordered 50 keyboards from a supplier for a customer of yours and you then found out that the keyboards had been stolen by your supplier? The genuine owner of the keyboards could still claim them back, as the ownership had never changed. As for you, buying and reselling stolen good... See more If the translator hasn't been paid, they may still own the copyright to the translated text and could possibly file an injunction against the end client for copyright infringement.
What if your company had ordered 50 keyboards from a supplier for a customer of yours and you then found out that the keyboards had been stolen by your supplier? The genuine owner of the keyboards could still claim them back, as the ownership had never changed. As for you, buying and reselling stolen goods would make you a fence.
Your supplier is a thief and you unwittingly acted like a fence, so you may need to take a more active role to protect the reputation of your company.
While you are not responsible for the theft, you could perhaps have vetted the supplier more to prevent this from happening. We don't know all the details, but which steps did you take to establish if your supplier was above board?
Instead of just washing your hands, you could help the cheated translator take legal action to recover what was stolen from them, bearing in mind that you could perhaps have done more to prevent this, as could the translator, of course. ▲ Collapse
| | | | WWL
United States
Local time: 06:57
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Response to Thomas | Dec 15, 2021 |
Thomas, there is very little we can do because we don't have any means to communicate with the person claiming to be the real translator of the document. Our client is not sharing that information with us. The purpose of sharing this with all of you is to be better prepared to vet and hire future translators.
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