A discussion about translation services, translators, and translation software

Why are there malicious predators?  Why can't they just get a decent job, or find religion, or get caught?  I'm referring to scam "artists" and their awful, nasty work.  I was scammed out of more than $4,000 US by--I have come to learn--the oldest scam in the book, and I want everyone else to know about it.  (Details below.)  It has several names.  I call it the "bad check" scam. 

If anything like this happens to you, alert the authorities.  Chances are the crook won't be caught because the international law enforcement agencies have bigger fish to fry, but your information could help take down a vile scammer, hopefully allowing him to mend his ways before going to hell for his misdeeds. 

I have since seen other offers like it on freelance sites.  Don't be afraid.  Just be careful.  With an unknown and unproven client , don't "return" any money that hasn't been in your acount for at least a month.  If the client wails and moans about how much they need their money back, your suspicion should grow.

In my case, it went like this:

A client (who was actually a thief and a liar) posted a project on a website for freelance translators.  He said he was in the United Arab Emirates, but with e-mail addresses, who can tell?  He said he needed an interpreter to accompany an Arab business client of his during a business trip in the United States, and that he was willing to pay well.  I took the bait and asked for details.  He gave his name (bogus) and contact information (also bogus, except for the e-mail address, which he later dropped) and said he would send $2,500 right away.  He also explained carefully, for some reason, that the entire budget for the stay in the U.S., including lodging and expenses, would be $4,500. 

I received the money as an international money order in the amount of the entire $4,500.  When I alerted him to the error (as I supposed), he asked me to kindly return the difference via Western Union, keeping money to cover the fees and inconvenience.  I felt this was no problem because the money was showing as available in my account.  How else could I have "returned" his $2,000?

A few days later, he informed me (all lies) that his client had to cancel the trip and needed the rest of the money back.  I was to send the remainder via Western Union, keeping several hundred dollars for myself as recompense for the bother.

Result: the money order was bad.  I had sent him nearly $4,500 of money I didn't have.  He knew that it would take weeks for my bank to discover that the money order was a fraud.  By then he had dropped the e-mail address.  And my bank--and your bank--offers no protection against bad deposits.  In fact, they suspected me of arranging the bad deposit to steal money from them.  It is their practice to show deposits as available when they really aren't.  It takes weeks for international checks and money aorders to be traced and truly collected.  Until then, the money appears to be in your account, but it isn't.  Shame on the banks!

But how did the scoundrel get the money, if his ID was fake?  It turns out, incredibly, that Western Union has HUGE HOLES in its security, in the name of convenience.  A recipient is able to contact Western Union and explain that delivery number XYZ, intended for pick-up in Dubai, must be re-routed to Lagos, and that it won't be picked up by Mr. Doe, but by Mr. Jones, and the sender is not made aware of the changes.  Shame on Western Union!

The scammer took thousands of dollars that didn't belong to him by duping an honest guy trying to make a living.  Shame on him!  And I was the dupe.  Shame on me!