Pages in topic:   [1 2 3] >
New Scam: Penguin Random House
Thread poster: Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:25
German to English
Feb 22, 2019

I saw reference to this on the GLD division group of the ATA.
Apparently, following the Carl Zeiss scam, someone is offering jobs through the publisher Penguin Random House. The wording is very similar, requiring an odd on-boarding procedure.
The usual warnings apply.


Yolanda Broad
Josephine Cassar
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Thayenga
Kaz
usaviet
Carlotta Boyd
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Der Mohr hat seine Arbeit getan, der Mohr kann gehen Feb 25, 2019

Why change something if so many gullible still fell victims? Ain't it fancy many inattentive* translators fret and fume at colleagues and agencies, whose names were used by cons, yet I see no righteous indignation at celebrities and organizations with good lawyers... Self-efficiency, please.
A moor has done his duty, so let him go


Yuliia Behen (nee Herus)
 
Ilaria Brandolin
Ilaria Brandolin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:25
Italian to English
+ ...
It's just happened to me Mar 1, 2019

Yes, Mr Fulton is right. They were trying to scam me too but I managed to understand that before it was too late. I also phoned Penguin Random House to check and they confirmed they have heard about this.

usaviet
 
Elisa Stucchi
Elisa Stucchi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 14:25
English to Italian
Same here Mar 2, 2019

I even went through the "interview" but it all seemed so odd. The interviewer didn't even use proper English to communicate. Eventually I contacted Penguin Random House and they confirmed they never reached out to me.
I don't get it though; what are they trying to do? Have documents/books translated for free? Steal personal information?


Angelica Platas
usaviet
 
Alexander Somin
Alexander Somin
Local time: 16:25
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
The same scam here Mar 4, 2019

A simple way to check the scam: send any email to the sender email address. It bounces back. The email address is non-existent.

usaviet
Lisa Grayson
Olavo Nogueira
 
Ilaria Brandolin
Ilaria Brandolin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:25
Italian to English
+ ...
They want your money Mar 6, 2019

Elisa Stucchi wrote:

I even went through the "interview" but it all seemed so odd. The interviewer didn't even use proper English to communicate. Eventually I contacted Penguin Random House and they confirmed they never reached out to me.
I don't get it though; what are they trying to do? Have documents/books translated for free? Steal personal information?


Yes, the interview was very odd. Many things seemed odd to me...Anyway, they told me I had passed the test/interview and that I had to purchase a software to do a 5-day trial. They sent me a cheque, which turned out to be fake, and with that money I was supposed to purchase the software from one of their "trusted" vendors. That's when I started getting suspicious; I did some phone calls and understood the attempt of scam.


usaviet
Araceli Patino
 
Ilaria Brandolin
Ilaria Brandolin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:25
Italian to English
+ ...
Not all emails bounced back Mar 6, 2019

Alexander Somin wrote:

A simple way to check the scam: send any email to the sender email address. It bounces back. The email address is non-existent.


Alexander, only the last emails bounced back. Unfortunately the moment I started a correspondence with this "hr manager", they didn't.


usaviet
 
Dilek Yigit
Dilek Yigit  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 14:25
Member (2006)
Turkish to English
+ ...
Just happened to me too Mar 9, 2019

I’ve received the email today and I almost never believed it. Maybe it was just too good to be true 🤪 The email was not professionally formatted and all names, ie. the sender, HR manager, and the person who signed the email were all different. I thought it was something silly after I had a closer look at the content.
We don’t know what they are after, beware!

[Edited at 2019-03-09 17:30 GMT]


usaviet
Taner Tanrıöver
 
Angelina Kovaleva
Angelina Kovaleva  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:25
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
Sender has a Gmail address May 9, 2019

I just received one of these emails today, and I noticed it was a scam pretty quickly, because the sender sent it from a Gmail address. It said in this case, Director@penguinrandomhouse, but was from [email protected]. Another tip off, there are lots of English grammar errors in the email.

Linda Burns
Lisa Grayson
 
Linda Burns
Linda Burns  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
I've just received this same email, from "Brad King" at Penguin Random House May 13, 2019

What I find pathetic, and somewhat amusing, is that as a native English speaker, I could immediately tell that this e-mail was most certainly not written by one. Someone with the name of Brad King ([email protected]) is likely to be a native English speaker, but the e-mail is full of syntax errors that not even a poorly educated English speaker would make.

 
Lisa Grayson
Lisa Grayson  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
Same Penguin Random House scam, but with a real PRH employee named May 23, 2019

On May 21 I received one of the e-mails supposedly from Penguin Random House. Here's what gave away the scam:

1. "Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION(ATA)": There's no such portfolio.
2. The message was supposedly from "[email protected]," but the reply address was [email protected].
3. The same Gmail address was given in the body of the message, aski
... See more
On May 21 I received one of the e-mails supposedly from Penguin Random House. Here's what gave away the scam:

1. "Your portfolio published on AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION(ATA)": There's no such portfolio.
2. The message was supposedly from "[email protected]," but the reply address was [email protected].
3. The same Gmail address was given in the body of the message, asking me to "add up the company Hiring Manager Mrs. Val Garside."

I checked the Penguin Random House website; yes, Val Garside really is the Human Resources Director at Penguin Random House UK. But there's no doubt in my mind that this is a scam. I forwarded the e-mail to Penguin Random House UK.
Collapse


 
Belinda Chan
Belinda Chan
United States
Local time: 09:25
Member (2017)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Suspicious PRH google hangouts interview May 28, 2019

I also received a gmail from Brad King who claimed to be a director at PRH, but used a personal gmail address to hire work-from-home translators. They offered up to US $50 per hour for editing, and US $0.30 per source word for translation. They even used a PRH letterhead and logo in the email, and then referred me to contact a Helen Wu, who also used gmail to communicate on behalf of their HR department. I have a scheduled online job interview with them tomorrow on Google Hangouts, but after rea... See more
I also received a gmail from Brad King who claimed to be a director at PRH, but used a personal gmail address to hire work-from-home translators. They offered up to US $50 per hour for editing, and US $0.30 per source word for translation. They even used a PRH letterhead and logo in the email, and then referred me to contact a Helen Wu, who also used gmail to communicate on behalf of their HR department. I have a scheduled online job interview with them tomorrow on Google Hangouts, but after reading your posts above, I am convinced that it's a scam to maybe lure the translators to buy their "training" software later....Collapse


Gabriella Vento
 
Ruth Hollard
Ruth Hollard  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:25
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Almost fell for the Penguin RH scam also Jun 5, 2019

I'm so thankful for ProZ.com. I was actually just googling "Penguin Random House Google Hangout" when I came upon your entire thread about this scam. I was just about to walk right into this trap. Everything matched what others have said here: Gmail address in the name of Brad King, horrible punctuation/grammar, Helen Wu as head of HR and also using a gmail address, and great rates. Thank you, ProZ.com, for watching out for us translators trying to make an honest living!! Gosh I feel dumb. ... See more
I'm so thankful for ProZ.com. I was actually just googling "Penguin Random House Google Hangout" when I came upon your entire thread about this scam. I was just about to walk right into this trap. Everything matched what others have said here: Gmail address in the name of Brad King, horrible punctuation/grammar, Helen Wu as head of HR and also using a gmail address, and great rates. Thank you, ProZ.com, for watching out for us translators trying to make an honest living!! Gosh I feel dumb. Dad always said there's no free lunch.Collapse


JenniferLigas
 
ArabicWord
ArabicWord
Local time: 06:25
Scammers have updated their email address... Jun 6, 2019

I've received an email with a different address... PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE [[email protected]]

I've also received text messages first requesting an email address to send a BIG translation job, then the job comes from an individual with a Gmail account, then they agreed to a full prepayment for a job that would take two weeks to finish (you can guess how much money that is). At this point in time, I was already on to them. I was totally convinced that they were sc
... See more
I've received an email with a different address... PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE [[email protected]]

I've also received text messages first requesting an email address to send a BIG translation job, then the job comes from an individual with a Gmail account, then they agreed to a full prepayment for a job that would take two weeks to finish (you can guess how much money that is). At this point in time, I was already on to them. I was totally convinced that they were scammers. "She" gave me her address in CA, which a quick reverse search proved that no one was there with "her' name, and "her" phone ended up being a google phone. Then, "she" asked for a physical address to send me the check.

Anyway, I have no idea what they do with this information, which can be obtained in various ways, however, try not to use your home address for business and be careful whom you give out your address to.

[Edited at 2019-06-06 19:03 GMT]
Collapse


 
Charles R. Castleberry
Charles R. Castleberry  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:25
Member (2009)
Portuguese to English
BK from PRH is still at it Jun 12, 2019

Thanks PROZers,

Mr. BR is still out there and while vetting his e-mail, I came across your posts

I appreciate you all.

Have a good one


 
Pages in topic:   [1 2 3] >


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 »

New Scam: Penguin Random House







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »