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Scammer Impersonating a legitimate agency (Global Lingo)
Thread poster: Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
Nov 16, 2016

I've recently been scammed for over USD 800.00 by a person posing as a PM at the above mentioned agency.

The email used by the scammer was: [email protected]

I was approached directly via said email (now I know that the suffix "co" relates to Colombia) and I failed to further investigate the legitimacy of the "client".

I did contact Global Lingo by phone and was told that this is not the
... See more
I've recently been scammed for over USD 800.00 by a person posing as a PM at the above mentioned agency.

The email used by the scammer was: [email protected]

I was approached directly via said email (now I know that the suffix "co" relates to Colombia) and I failed to further investigate the legitimacy of the "client".

I did contact Global Lingo by phone and was told that this is not the first time their name has been used for scamming. They also told me that the scam originates in "Palestine".

So beware colleagues! I busted my seating element with this job, and I was scammed for the first time in my many years of freelancing.
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Tereza Rae
 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 21:24
English to Czech
+ ...
No title Nov 16, 2016

Sergio Kot wrote:

I've recently been scammed for over USD 800.00 by a person posing as a PM at the above mentioned agency.

The email used by the scammer was: [email protected]


I think in such obvious cases you're allowed to post the name(s)... There seems to be plenty of precedents for this in this group.


 
Michael Newton
Michael Newton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:24
Japanese to English
+ ...
Scamming agencies Nov 16, 2016

Virtually all of the obviously scam agencies which have contacted me are located in 'Palestine'.

 
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Posting the full name and email address used for scamming Nov 16, 2016

Thanks Katarzyna!

I'm following your advise and posting here the full name used by the scammer, for the benefit of other freelancers who may be approached with the same email address and name.

The full email address used was [email protected], and the name used by the scammer was Diana Segura (of which a thorough search in ProZ gave zero results).

Please do not confuse with UK's agency Global Lingo
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Thanks Katarzyna!

I'm following your advise and posting here the full name used by the scammer, for the benefit of other freelancers who may be approached with the same email address and name.

The full email address used was [email protected], and the name used by the scammer was Diana Segura (of which a thorough search in ProZ gave zero results).

Please do not confuse with UK's agency Global Lingo (http://www.global-lingo.com/)!

Also, I found the following website, which probably is also phony:

http://globallingo.co/index.php

On the Quote Request page (http://globallingo.co/Qutarequest.php), the following phony email address appears: [email protected]

As I suspected that there is a connection with the scam I fell for, I did send an email supposedly requesting a quote and got the following failure-to-deliver message:

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

[email protected]
No Such User Here
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Eddie Ginieniewicz
Eddie Ginieniewicz  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 17:24
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Same has just happened to me Jan 7, 2017

Same has just happened to me.
The sender of the job offer was
[email protected]
but when I reply, my e-mails are rejected.
She tried to offer 171 pages of a Hebrew into English project, at a fairly reasonable rate.
Supposedly, she works as a Project Manager for Globallingo for Language Services,
although such company has the domain: @global-lingo.com
(BTW: Palestine isn't a country)


Alex Singer
 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: err
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Scammer! He or she is trying to strike again! Jan 7, 2017

I just received an email with the same offer.
Is that hootzpa or what? The guy just scammed me for 800 USD, and here he is again!
He either has a large list of future victims, or is so utterly disordered that he can't keep track of his scams.OR BOTH..
Keep away, and caution everybody.
Also, I believe that ProZ should and could at this point issue and publish such cautionary note to all its service-provider members.
Happy 2017!
S.K.

[Edited at 2017
... See more
I just received an email with the same offer.
Is that hootzpa or what? The guy just scammed me for 800 USD, and here he is again!
He either has a large list of future victims, or is so utterly disordered that he can't keep track of his scams.OR BOTH..
Keep away, and caution everybody.
Also, I believe that ProZ should and could at this point issue and publish such cautionary note to all its service-provider members.
Happy 2017!
S.K.

[Edited at 2017-01-07 13:13 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-01-07 17:14 GMT]
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Raphael Blumberg
Raphael Blumberg  Identity Verified
Israel
Local time: 22:24
Member (2016)
Hebrew to English
+ ...
How does "Diana Segura" get the 800 dollars? Jan 24, 2017

I, too, received the invitation to take part in translating the same 171 pages. "She" announces that she pays by Paypal. I've worked with Paypal before and it's pretty clear cut. All you provide to the client is your user name and email, so I'm very curious. How does she end up being able to steal 800 USD from somebody? What does she do or say to get it? (If this is embarrassing, never mind, but I'm very curious).

Raphael Blumberg, Israel


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 21:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Fake information on their web site, too Jan 24, 2017

Sergio Kot wrote:
Now I know that the suffix "co" relates to Colombia...


Although the "co" TLD is assigned to Columbia, it is used primarily for vanity domain. Anyone in the world can get a "co" domain. Many legitimate companies use the "co" domain because it reminds them of "company".

I did contact Global Lingo by phone and was told that this is not the first time their name has been used for scamming.


Yes, if you Google for the number listed on their web site, you'll notice it is the number of a restaurant in Madrid, Spain.

They also told me that the scam originates in "Palestine".


Well, it would seem that it is believed that this scam is from a Palestinian entity. The domain name is registered to an address in Gaza (query globallingo.co at http://whois.co/whois-gui/). But whois information can also be faked, and Palestinians are a favourite scam scapegoat.

The same phone number for globallingo.co's whois is used as the phone number of translationcommunity.co's whois entry, and translationcommunity.co admits on the web site itself that it is based in Gaza. Translation Community is banned from posting jobs at ProZ.com: http://www.proz.com/blueboard/41926


 
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
How? Jan 24, 2017

rdb1000 wrote:

I, too, received the invitation to take part in translating the same 171 pages. "She" announces that she pays by Paypal. I've worked with Paypal before and it's pretty clear cut. All you provide to the client is your user name and email, so I'm very curious. How does she end up being able to steal 800 USD from somebody? What does she do or say to get it? (If this is embarrassing, never mind, but I'm very curious).

Raphael Blumberg, Israel


Very simple. A scammer doesn't pay up front. I am not aware of many freelancers who demand payment in advance, or even a down payment, particularly if the scammer is impersonating a legitimate person of a legitimate agency known to the freelancer. Once you deliver the job and issue a PayPal invoice, the scammer simply disappears. I suppose the final client is legitimate, so it's no problem for the scammer to collect the money. PayPal is not at all involved .


 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 21:24
English to Czech
+ ...
no title!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jan 25, 2017

Sergio Kot wrote:

rdb1000 wrote:

I, too, received the invitation to take part in translating the same 171 pages. "She" announces that she pays by Paypal. I've worked with Paypal before and it's pretty clear cut. All you provide to the client is your user name and email, so I'm very curious. How does she end up being able to steal 800 USD from somebody? What does she do or say to get it? (If this is embarrassing, never mind, but I'm very curious).

Raphael Blumberg, Israel


Very simple. A scammer doesn't pay up front. I am not aware of many freelancers who demand payment in advance, or even a down payment, particularly if the scammer is impersonating a legitimate person of a legitimate agency known to the freelancer. Once you deliver the job and issue a PayPal invoice, the scammer simply disappears. I suppose the final client is legitimate, so it's no problem for the scammer to collect the money. PayPal is not at all involved .


I think the point of the question was, he/she/it (call me a misandrist, but I bet it was "him") must have given the client some legitimate piece of information to be able to collect the money. Even a Paypal account (why you say it wasn't involved? we don't know) has to be linked to a real bank account. So the client-scammer is a weak point and if it was possible to find the client, then theoretically you could maybe (a big MAYBE) go after the scammer.


 
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Futile attempt Jan 25, 2017

I did contact one of the parties which was repeatedly mentioned in the source document (A legal agreement). It was a law firm!!! Naturally, they refused to provide any information...

 
Katarzyna Slowikova
Katarzyna Slowikova  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 21:24
English to Czech
+ ...
1234567890-= Jan 25, 2017

Sergio Kot wrote:

I did contact one of the parties which was repeatedly mentioned in the source document (A legal agreement). It was a law firm!!! Naturally, they refused to provide any information...


Well, they don't have any obligation to give this info to you but they surely would have to, if asked by police/court/ whatever authorities...?


 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 16:24
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Copyright Jan 25, 2017

If they're a law firm they should understand your copyright rights to the translation for which you have not been paid.

[Edited at 2017-01-25 14:27 GMT]


 
Sergio Kot
Sergio Kot  Identity Verified
Israel
Member (2012)
Spanish to Hebrew
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Any suggestions how to proceed? Jan 25, 2017

I appreciate all the comments. Any ideas on how I should/could proceed?
Thanks!


 
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Scammer Impersonating a legitimate agency (Global Lingo)







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