Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Possible Translation Scam from a David Klopp
Thread poster: mcesar
mcesar
mcesar
United States
Jul 10, 2015

Hello:

I've been reading a lot about scamming on the forums here and I think I have another one. Being new to this and not knowing any better I replied to this e-mail from a David Klopp:

ATTN: I am looking to hire a translator,One who is able to proof-read well and translate documents in Source Language {English} to Target Language {Spanish}
Please do inform me as to your availability for this job as well as the figures you charge for your services per source word
... See more
Hello:

I've been reading a lot about scamming on the forums here and I think I have another one. Being new to this and not knowing any better I replied to this e-mail from a David Klopp:

ATTN: I am looking to hire a translator,One who is able to proof-read well and translate documents in Source Language {English} to Target Language {Spanish}
Please do inform me as to your availability for this job as well as the figures you charge for your services per source word,As the timeline for job completion is slated for the 17th of August 2015.
Thanks
David Klopp
7290 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90036


I googled the address from the email and it ended up being several store fronts in L.A. Long, sad story short he's been trying to send me a check for more than the quoted amount, and I'm pretty sure he's using someone's UPS account to do it. I've had numerous UPS alerts under different tracking numbers, all of which have been held back by the sender at the last minute, because surprise! The sender doesn't know anything about it. I'm not sure how exactly to proceed, because like I said I'm new to this and obviously more naive than I thought I was. Can anyone offer me any advice?

Thank you!
Collapse


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:27
Danish to English
+ ...
Yes, that's attempted fraud Jul 10, 2015

mcesar wrote:
he's been trying to send me a check for more than the quoted amount


The next thing, if you had received it, would be a demand for a refund because of some made-up circumstances, refund to be sent by Western Union or another untraceable method. After you've sent the money, the cheque bounces, and you're out of pocket.

Stop all contact with that person immediately. If you receive a cheque, don't try to cash it. Just do nothing.


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Tahira Rafiq asked to delete the post.
Frank Gerace
Frank Gerace
United States
Local time: 08:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
thanks Jul 10, 2015

Thanks for reminding me of this scam. I have been approached this way from other angles . Now I will be ready for it in my new translation activities. Frank

[Edited at 2015-07-10 17:31 GMT]


 
Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:27
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
No Harm Jul 11, 2015

Not so long ago I went along with a scammer to see what would happen. He finally sent me a check for an amount considerable greater than the amount I had quoted for translating some text he sent to me. The check naturally looked phony to me, and being that it was on the same bank I use, I took it to my local branch manager and in a couple of minutes he confirmed it was a fraud. I still have it. He e-mailed me a few times to ask if I had received it and I never replied. End of story.

... See more
Not so long ago I went along with a scammer to see what would happen. He finally sent me a check for an amount considerable greater than the amount I had quoted for translating some text he sent to me. The check naturally looked phony to me, and being that it was on the same bank I use, I took it to my local branch manager and in a couple of minutes he confirmed it was a fraud. I still have it. He e-mailed me a few times to ask if I had received it and I never replied. End of story.

As long as you do not send any refunds, there is no harm done.
Collapse


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:27
Member
English to French
I did reply Jul 11, 2015

Henry Hinds wrote:
I still have it. He e-mailed me a few times to ask if I had received it and I never replied. End of story.
...

Thanking him/her for contributing to a work of art in the making involving fake cheques. I got no reply or encouragement for this. That one was for an amount of 2200 euros from an alledgedly German bank.
I didn't even bother to check if it was forged, because the modus operandi is pretty well known.

Any crooks out there, please send me a translation request.

A variant when I was selling a second-hand couch locally on a used items website, the lady was to send a cheque for a higher amount and ask me to pay the carrier to pick it up on her behalf. To a Moneybookers/WU account of course, with all the documentation to make it look real. And it was urgent.

Philippe


 
mariedesmers (X)
mariedesmers (X)
France
DAVID KLOPP AKA JOHN DA ROCHA : same guy, same address, no number, SAME SCAM...BEWARE... READ ON Jul 11, 2015

Hello,
This gentleman contacted me yesterday under the name of JOHN DA ROCHA and gave the EXACT SAME address and information you are giving here.
The only variation to his scam was that he was asking for a translation to be done from English to French.
He gave the address of 7290 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, which also happens to be the address of a very well known RESTAURANT BY THE NAME OF "MILK".
PLEASE READ ABOUT THE FOLLOWING RED FLAGS:
1) HE GAVE NO PHO
... See more
Hello,
This gentleman contacted me yesterday under the name of JOHN DA ROCHA and gave the EXACT SAME address and information you are giving here.
The only variation to his scam was that he was asking for a translation to be done from English to French.
He gave the address of 7290 BEVERLY BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES, which also happens to be the address of a very well known RESTAURANT BY THE NAME OF "MILK".
PLEASE READ ABOUT THE FOLLOWING RED FLAGS:
1) HE GAVE NO PHONE NUMBER NOR DID HE SAY WHO HE WAS, JOB, COMPANY...
2) HE GAVE AN ADDRESS THAT HAPPENED TO BE A RESTAURANT IN LOS ANGELES.
3) HE SENT ME A MEDICAL ARTICLE TO TRANSLATE WHICH AMOUNTED TO 10805 WORDS SO HUGE AMOUNT TO CHARGE HIM.
4) AFTER THE FEE QUOTED, WHICH WAS VERY SUBSTANTIAL,HE DID NOT EVEN FLINCH AND ACCEPTED THE PRICE
5) HE WANTED TO KNOW RIGHT AWAY CHECK INFORMATION AND DID NOT ENQUIRE ABOUT MY TRANSLATING ABILITIES... FOR $4000 ANYBODY WOULD ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR!!!
6) I SENT HIM A REPLY TELLING HIM I NEED A REAL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND THAT I WOULD CALL HIM TO ASK A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MEDICAL ARTICLE (format requested, time to do project...)
7) THEN JUST FOR FUN I SENT HIM ANOTHER EMAIL ASKING HIM IF HE ALSO WENT BY THE NAME OF DAVID KLOPP SINCE BOTH JOHN AND DAVID SEEM TO LIVE AT THE SAME RESTAURANT... I DID NOT KNOW YOU CAN ACTUALLY SLEEP AT A RESTAURANT, I THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE JUST TO EAT AT BUT 7290 BEVERLY BOULEVARD HAPPENS TO BE A COMMERCIAL AREA....
Guess what my friends? I GOT NO REPLY BACK!!!
SO YES IT IS A TOTAL SCAM...
LAST THING THAT BOTHERED ME IS THAT THE SUPPOSED ARTICLE HE SENT ME HAD NO AUTHOR ON IT SO HE PROBABLY COPIED AND PASTED IT FROM A MEDICAL JOURNAL....

IT IS VERY SAD THAT SUCH PEOPLE ARE THAT DISHONNEST BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEY FIND THIS BETTER THAN LOOKING FOR A REAL JOB. SO PLEASE BE AWARE TO ALWAYS ASK FOR INFORMATION BEFORE DOING ANY JOBS...I AM PASSING THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO MY FELLOW TRANSLATORS SO HOPEFULLY IT WILL STOP THESE GUYS THANK YOU TO THE PERSON WHO POSTED THE INFORMATION ABOUT DAVID KLOPP BECAUSE IT IS THANKS TO THAT THAT I QUESTIONNED THE EMAIL I WAS SENT...




[Edited at 2015-07-11 22:15 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-07-11 22:24 GMT]
Collapse


 
Andreea Boscor
Andreea Boscor  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
Same attempt at scamming Jul 17, 2015

I recently had the same issue with this person who identified himself as John DaRocha - glad I did not ignore the warning signs. Claimed to be from California at a frozen yogurt shop, sent a check from Ohio under a different name. As expected, the check was an overpayment, there was no negotiation as to price, payment in advance and a strange sense of urgency about me depositing the check. Called the bank of origin and confirmed that it was a fraudulent cashier's check with the number of an actu... See more
I recently had the same issue with this person who identified himself as John DaRocha - glad I did not ignore the warning signs. Claimed to be from California at a frozen yogurt shop, sent a check from Ohio under a different name. As expected, the check was an overpayment, there was no negotiation as to price, payment in advance and a strange sense of urgency about me depositing the check. Called the bank of origin and confirmed that it was a fraudulent cashier's check with the number of an actual account from Missouri. Very surprisingly, US Bank did not want to further investigate. I filed a complaint on the FBI's Internet Crime page and suggest that everyone do that - perhaps if enough of us do it, it will be noticed and investigated.Collapse


 
Anna Carter
Anna Carter
United States
Local time: 08:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
Same bad writing, same bad scam, one of the same names Jul 19, 2015

How good it is that translators are looking out for each other.

[Edited at 2015-07-19 14:36 GMT]


 
George Hopkins
George Hopkins
Local time: 13:27
Swedish to English
Remember Jul 19, 2015

My father explained to me, way back in the 20th century, that nobody is interested in filling my pockets with money.

 
João Roque Dias
João Roque Dias
Portugal
Local time: 12:27
English to Portuguese
David Klopp is now John Fowler Sep 29, 2015

Email circulated from [email protected] :

I am looking to engage the services of a certified translator,One who is able to proof-read well and translate a (2) two part documents in Source Language {English} to Target Language {Chinese}

Please do inform me as to your availability for this job as well as the figures you charge for your services per source word,As the timeline for job completion is slated for
... See more
Email circulated from [email protected] :

I am looking to engage the services of a certified translator,One who is able to proof-read well and translate a (2) two part documents in Source Language {English} to Target Language {Chinese}

Please do inform me as to your availability for this job as well as the figures you charge for your services per source word,As the timeline for job completion is slated for the 5th of November 2015 and also flexible.

Thanks
John Fowler
7290 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90036
(631) 913-8875 - Text only please
Collapse


 
Thomas Shou
Thomas Shou  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:27
Chinese to English
+ ...
Beware of John Fowler and Chinese Scam! List of scam docs Oct 7, 2015

Dear Joao and all,
Thanks for all of us looking out for each other!
I got same scam from John below and he had the audacity or should I say stupidity to put down a that fake MILK addy and a text #! As for the attachments, I think it time for us all to put out a list of Fishy scam doc that come around all the time!

1. Racial Discrimination
2. Conflict Resolution
3. Healthcare Entrepreneurship,Marketing Plans and CSR
4. Sexual Harassment (?)
5. Add
... See more
Dear Joao and all,
Thanks for all of us looking out for each other!
I got same scam from John below and he had the audacity or should I say stupidity to put down a that fake MILK addy and a text #! As for the attachments, I think it time for us all to put out a list of Fishy scam doc that come around all the time!

1. Racial Discrimination
2. Conflict Resolution
3. Healthcare Entrepreneurship,Marketing Plans and CSR
4. Sexual Harassment (?)
5. Add to this blacklist!


Btw, here is red flag: emails always have TERRIBLE grammar and they love to use commas and not periods for their sentences! It's like they have no time or no knowledge (yikes!) to write proper English, cuz they gotta crank these scams out!

From: John Fowler
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 7:06 AM
To: Thomas Shou
Subject: Work

I am looking to engage the services of a certified translator,One who is able to proof-read well and translate a (2) two part documents in Source Language {English} to
Target Language {Chinese}
Please do inform me as to your availability for this job as well as the figures you charge for your services per source word,As the timeline for job completion is
slated for the 5th of November 2015 and also flexible.
Thanks
John Fowler
7290 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90036
(631) 913-8875 - Text only please
Collapse


Shizuka Matsunaga
 
Thomas Rebotier
Thomas Rebotier  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:27
English to French
classic scam Oct 8, 2015

The check overpay where you refund the remainder.... and then the first check bounces.

See it the positive way: you had the elements to see it was a scam. I once made a 2k words translation for someone who tried that scam on me at payment times. Contacted through this system, no less! I now only reply to ProZ direct offers when the agency has a blue board record or some other traceability.

Good eye!


 
Danik 2014
Danik 2014
Brazil
German to Portuguese
+ ...
What worries me! Oct 10, 2015

Even with all the warnings scammers are probably making a lot of money. Their numbers and tactics seem to be increasing.

 
Sofia Chesney
Sofia Chesney
United States
Local time: 07:27
English to Russian
+ ...
Van Jong - same story, different name Nov 20, 2015

Here's an email I received last night:

I have attached 2 documents in this email for your perusal and I will like for you to write back giving me a sum total figure of what each document will cost to translate respectively.
{A} Conflict Management with {10,750} words = $ ????
{B} Healthcare Entrepreneurship,Marketing Plans and CSR with {22,200} words = $ ????
We have a flexible deadline of on or before the 6th January 2016 for the submission of all translation wor
... See more
Here's an email I received last night:

I have attached 2 documents in this email for your perusal and I will like for you to write back giving me a sum total figure of what each document will cost to translate respectively.
{A} Conflict Management with {10,750} words = $ ????
{B} Healthcare Entrepreneurship,Marketing Plans and CSR with {22,200} words = $ ????
We have a flexible deadline of on or before the 6th January 2016 for the submission of all translation works
Thanks
Van Jong
1609 Veterans Memorial Highway,
Islandia, NY 11749
(631) 913-8875


After I sent a quote, he asked for home address and phone number. Both are listed on the sites where he could have found me. No questions about my experience or translation skills. So I googled him.

The zip code is not matching the address, the phone number is listed in Google among scammers. Surpriiiise.
Collapse


 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Lucia Leszinsky[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Possible Translation Scam from a David Klopp







Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »