Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Fake messages are sent from ProZ.com under my name with reference to a fake domain
Thread poster: Valery Afanasiev
Valery Afanasiev
Valery Afanasiev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 03:12
English to Russian
+ ...
May 7, 2018

This started two or three days ago. The sender signs using my name but providing fake contact details, a phone number and a domain. The messages look like that:

===============================

From: Valery Afanasiev - GEF Head of Production via ProZ.com
Date: пн, 7 мая 2018 г., 22:40
Subject: [ProZ.com mail] Urgent De-Ru (Oil&Gas)
To:


-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery Afanasiev
... See more
This started two or three days ago. The sender signs using my name but providing fake contact details, a phone number and a domain. The messages look like that:

===============================

From: Valery Afanasiev - GEF Head of Production via ProZ.com
Date: пн, 7 мая 2018 г., 22:40
Subject: [ProZ.com mail] Urgent De-Ru (Oil&Gas)
To:


-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery Afanasiev - GEF Head of Production
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 46.165.254.166
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Alexander! Our company is looking for a translator
capable of handling our current urgent job.
Do please reply me to receive the details of this offer and
negotiate the conditions.

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production
Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]

==========================================================================

Both the phone number and the domain geftranslators.ru are fake. The message is fake. I have already received about a dozen complaints from my contacts.

Can we do something with that?

Many thanks in advance

Rgds,
Valery Afanasiev
Collapse


Herman Hordienko
 
Morano El-Kholy
Morano El-Kholy  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 02:12
Member (2011)
English to Arabic
+ ...
Report to Proz staff. May 7, 2018

Dear Valery,

I do not know if you have already reported this issue to Proz staff or not.

But, I think that you should do.

My regards


 
Kalinka Hristova
Kalinka Hristova  Identity Verified
Bulgaria
Local time: 02:12
Member (2007)
English to Bulgarian
+ ...

MODERATOR
Also report to TSD May 9, 2018

As suggested by Morano, you should report such issues immediately both to ProZ.com AND Translator Scammers Directory http://www.translator-scammers.com/translator-scammers-directory.htm

 
arterm
arterm  Identity Verified
Serbia
Local time: 01:12
English to Russian
received one of these, checked the domain. it does not even exist Jun 5, 2018

Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) via ProZ.com

18:16 (4 minutes ago)

to webmaster
-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 89.249.65.30
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Artem! Our company, one of the l
... See more
Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) via ProZ.com

18:16 (4 minutes ago)

to webmaster
-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 89.249.65.30
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Artem! Our company, one of the leading in Russia, is
looking for qualified English-Russian translators in
technical field.
Please reply to this message or write directly to
[email protected].
Thank you in advance!

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]
Collapse


 
Denis Danchenko
Denis Danchenko  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 02:12
English to Russian
+ ...
Another one: Jun 5, 2018

Dear Denis! Our company, one of the leading in Russia, is
looking for qualified English-Russian translators in
technical field.
Please reply to this message or write directly to
[email protected].
Thank you in advance!

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millenni
... See more
Dear Denis! Our company, one of the leading in Russia, is
looking for qualified English-Russian translators in
technical field.
Please reply to this message or write directly to
[email protected].
Thank you in advance!

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]
Collapse


 
Dmitry Tolstov
Dmitry Tolstov  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 03:12
English to Russian
+ ...
just received Jun 5, 2018

You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators)
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 185.212.171.37
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Dmitry! Our company, one of the leading in Russia, is
looking for qualified English-Russian translators in
technical field.
Please reply to this message
... See more
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators)
[NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 185.212.171.37
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Dmitry! Our company, one of the leading in Russia, is
looking for qualified English-Russian translators in
technical field.
Please reply to this message or write directly to
[email protected].
Thank you in advance!

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]
Collapse


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:12
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Help me out if I have missed anything Jun 5, 2018

Is the OP the real Head of Production for Global Education Facilitators, LLC? If not, what is the problem here?

The request may as well have come from a genuine company whose Head of Production happened to have the same name as the OP’s.

Is "The name of the Head of Production is the same as the OP‘s" a base strong enough to support the assumption that the requester is a scammer?


[Edited at 2018-06-06 00:27 GMT]

[Edited at 2018-06-06 01:05 GMT]


 
Danila Krokhalev
Danila Krokhalev
Türkiye
Local time: 03:12
Russian to Turkish
+ ...
Just got caught Jul 30, 2018

Unfortunately, I just got caught and made an urgent translation for this person.
It was an urgent work sent at 11:00pm on Sunday. I didn't make a call as it was too late and that was the mistake. Another mistake was trusting the person who sent the message without signing-in to proz.

The phone number indicated in the e-mail signature belongs to someone else.
The correct domain name is geftranslators.com (NOT the geftranslators.ru)

-----------
ProZ.com
... See more
Unfortunately, I just got caught and made an urgent translation for this person.
It was an urgent work sent at 11:00pm on Sunday. I didn't make a call as it was too late and that was the mistake. Another mistake was trusting the person who sent the message without signing-in to proz.

The phone number indicated in the e-mail signature belongs to someone else.
The correct domain name is geftranslators.com (NOT the geftranslators.ru)

-----------
ProZ.com üzerinden size bir mesaj gönderildi.
Gönderen: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) [NOT: Gönderen, Proz.com’da kayıtlı kullanıcı değil veya bu mesajı siteye giriş yapmadan göndermiş.]
Gönderenin IP adresi: 81.92.200.250
Mesajın konusu: Job-related
-----------

Добрый день!

Нашему клиенту требуется
срочный перевод с русского на
турецкий язык текста объемом
около 4-5 условных страниц. Но
перевод требуется срочно.

Прошу Вас ответить на мой запрос
письмом с резюме и ставками на
корпоративный адрес:
[email protected]. Заранее
благодарю.

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]
Collapse


 
Kaori Myatt
Kaori Myatt  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 01:12
Member
English to Japanese
+ ...
Started in May 10th Aug 27, 2018

It started in May.

I left a comment on your blue board. I saw your comment. If this is not your company, then I will contact the end client. They (you) owe me about 1200 euros.
I will contact the end client to warn them also get more detail. I will report to police after finding out details, best.

-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.c
... See more
It started in May.

I left a comment on your blue board. I saw your comment. If this is not your company, then I will contact the end client. They (you) owe me about 1200 euros.
I will contact the end client to warn them also get more detail. I will report to police after finding out details, best.

-----------
You have been sent a message via ProZ.com.
Author: Valery from GEF (Global Education Facilitators) [NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.]
Author's IP address: 216.218.222.12
Message type: Request for quote
-----------

Dear Kaori Myatt! Our company, one of the leading in Russia,
is looking for qualified English-Japanese translators in the
field of IT.
Please reply to this message or write directly to
[email protected].
Thank you in advance!

GEF - not just another translation agency.
Russia

Valery Afanasiev - Head of Production

Global Education Facilitators, LLC
Millennium House Business Center
12, Trubnaya Street
127045, Moscow

Tel. +7 495 787 9924
Fax +7 495 787 9924
[email protected]
Collapse


 
Kaori Myatt
Kaori Myatt  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 01:12
Member
English to Japanese
+ ...
We will contact Authority Aug 28, 2018

Hi,

In order to put the complaints to the authority, we need some more evidences so please be a little more cooperative to my Email and please understand keep saying "You got scammed" is not enough.

Please provide us an evidence of your company detail and .ru domain ownership explanation in Email with someone's signature, preferably your Lawyer.

Otherwise, you can't refuse your invoice. The email I forwarded you have YOUR signature and YOUR company deta
... See more
Hi,

In order to put the complaints to the authority, we need some more evidences so please be a little more cooperative to my Email and please understand keep saying "You got scammed" is not enough.

Please provide us an evidence of your company detail and .ru domain ownership explanation in Email with someone's signature, preferably your Lawyer.

Otherwise, you can't refuse your invoice. The email I forwarded you have YOUR signature and YOUR company detail. You need to prove that the order is not done by you. We admit that the phone number stated on the Email is not yours.


I hope you can react professionally.

Best,

Kaori
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Arianne Farah
Arianne Farah  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 20:12
Member (2008)
English to French
A little more info Aug 28, 2018

Hi Kaori,

If you search the IP address the message came from, the origin is Nairobi, in Kenya. I don't think you'll have much recourse there. Your best bet is probably to contact the end client as you mentioned since you know who that is (I assume from the text content). You should however expect there to be many layers (eg. the end client outsourced to a large agency, who outsourced to a smaller one, who outsourced to another one, etc.) if they don't simply stonewall you. In all ho
... See more
Hi Kaori,

If you search the IP address the message came from, the origin is Nairobi, in Kenya. I don't think you'll have much recourse there. Your best bet is probably to contact the end client as you mentioned since you know who that is (I assume from the text content). You should however expect there to be many layers (eg. the end client outsourced to a large agency, who outsourced to a smaller one, who outsourced to another one, etc.) if they don't simply stonewall you. In all honesty, you probably won't ever recover the money.
Collapse


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 01:12
Member
English to Italian
Different countries Aug 28, 2018

Arianne Farah wrote:

If you search the IP address the message came from, the origin is Nairobi, in Kenya.


Actually, each of the scam messages quoted above originates from a different IP. The one quoted by Kaori points to the US...

In the end, if you use a proxy, VPN, etc. it should not be so hard to do it.


 
Katalin Horváth McClure
Katalin Horváth McClure  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:12
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Kaori, I think you got it backwards Aug 28, 2018

Kaori Myatt wrote:

Hi,

In order to put the complaints to the authority, we need some more evidences so please be a little more cooperative to my Email and please understand keep saying "You got scammed" is not enough.

Please provide us an evidence of your company detail and .ru domain ownership explanation in Email with someone's signature, preferably your Lawyer.

Otherwise, you can't refuse your invoice. The email I forwarded you have YOUR signature and YOUR company detail. You need to prove that the order is not done by you. We admit that the phone number stated on the Email is not yours.


I hope you can react professionally.

Best,

Kaori

Kaori,
The email you quoted above does not have Valery's company details.
His domain name ends with .com, not .ru, as used in the email.
If you try the given web address (ending in ru), nothing comes up.
The phone number is also different.
I am sorry for what happened to you, but the truth is you should have checked the identity of the person you took the job from, and these should have been warning signs.
IMHO, Valery owes you nothing, he certainly shouldn't be made responsible for the actions of the scammer.

You are an outsourcer yourself, so imagine the same thing happening to you: someone sending job order emails to people with your name, your company's name, from an email on a domain that is almost the same as yours, except for a different ending, (such as .jp - you don't seem to own that).
Would you be willing to pay for invoices issued to that fake person? I bet not.
Do you think it would be fair to demand you to prove your own innocence in such case? I bet not.

All this said, I think it would be good for ProZ to put up a more visible warning on Valery's company's BB record. The current one is only visible if you click on the little red "i" icon, and the wording of that warning is not clear enough, IMHO.


B D Finch
Ekaterina Yakushcheva
Vladimir Filipenko
IrinaN
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
verified Sep 3, 2018

Unfortunately, the very first sign
NOTE: The author is not a registered ProZ.com user or was not logged in when sending this message.
is red enough at least to question the sender's ID. It's a business custom to deal and communicate with proper people, so I thought that registered members know how and can automatically filter shady offers from non-registered/not logged-in, not to mention ProZ biz rules...


 
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Fake messages are sent from ProZ.com under my name with reference to a fake domain







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