Translation Scams: A Emerging reality in the Translation Industry

In a recent blog post on the Chartered Institute of Linguists’ (CIOL) website, Carino Balbo, founder and Managing Director at My Language Hub, Honorary Treasurer of the Association of Translation Companies, and an internationally recognized language service ISO standards specialist, wrote about the rising number of scams in the translation industry. But what do translation scams look like?

Like in the “real world”, a translation scam can come in different shapes and sizes, but like all scams, they have one thing in common: money. Scammers act as a Language Service Provider (LSP, known colloquially as “Translation Agencies”) looking for a translation to swindle you out of money – whether that is actual cash or money you should have made from this translation. Like other scammers, they offer an attractive offer, but you must “act soon”. These offers are usually urgent translations, meaning that the translation is needed very quickly or as quickly as possible. With a good offer and an urgent deadline, some translators failed to investigate properly and only found out afterwards that it was a scam.

Like other types of scams, the targets are not just translators but also LSPs and end clients (i.e. the person or company that commissions/wants the translation), tailoring their scams to the intended victim.

Carino Balbo offers the following practical tips for vetting and verifying translation project offers:

Pay close attention to the initial contact email. The devil is in the details. Often these emails have poor wording or grammar. Scammers also primarily use free email domains, so look for emails from a business domain, meaning the offer is more likely to be genuine. Finally, the sender’s signature should have specific information, such as their email, telephone number, position, etc. If the signature is vague, it is more likely to be a scam.

After receiving an offer, research the LSP or client who contacted you, starting with their website. Does it look like a trustworthy website, or has it been thrown together quickly for a scam? Does the client or LSP have reviews? LSPs should have them on websites like Proz.com, especially if they have been active in translation, but other clients should also have Google Reviews or Trustpilot data. If you find these on their website, make sure they link back to the original website and are not just a static image – a technique scammers use frequently.

From an LSP perspective, scammers pretend to be translators with real credentials and then use Google Translate or other tools to do the work. Due diligence will verify if they are telling the truth or not.

Look at the terms and conditions of the offer. Accurate translations take time and effort. Urgent translations should exist in certain situations, such as time-sensitive information. This is likely a scam when these deadlines become unrealistic and the pay rate is high. Also, the payment terms should be clear and set out in a document such as a contract – a standard in the industry.

If you received a scam offer, you are likely not the first one. Translation forums like Proz and TranslationCafe have forums where people report these experiences and share scammers’ information.

Always work with a contract. This ensures legal protection and accountability for both you and the other party.

My thoughts on Translation Scams

I have to admit that recently I have been lucky so far. I have only received a couple of “questionable” project offers from new clients. When questioned about some of these aspects, they either never respond or provide the information and corresponding documentation, proving it is a genuine offer.

When I look at job postings or receive job offers, I look at several criteria before I decide whether to apply to or accept a project offer. If almost nothing is written in the offer (some are just a sentence or two), it is not worth wasting my time going back and forth trying to get more information. If they were serious about the translation, they would have put a lot more information in the initial offer or post. If they have put information in the offer, I would begin by looking up the verifiable information that was given:

Does the LSP or client exist beyond this offer? (e.g. website, Proz page and rating, etc)
How long have they been around? For example, a “new” company can be a rebranded company that had a bad reputation or created for a scam. A company that has been around for a few years has been successful and is a lot less likely to have anything to do with translation scams.
Which country is the translation company from and does it make sense for the offer? For example, a company contacting you from Niger about German-to-English translations. Niger historically has had little contact with Germany, so why is a company like that working with German-to-English translations. It is either 1) a scam or 2) being used by the end client to keep costs as low as possible, even under minimum wage in their location (e.g. a German company using a translation agency in Niger to get around German and EU minimum wage laws). As a translator, neither of these possibilities is good for you; you will either not be paid or would be paid far less than you and your translation are worth.
Does their contact information look genuine? What is the reported size of the company? Can you find any director or employee information (e.g. of the person who contacted you) on the internet?

In short, the more information you can find, the better. I check Proz for this information usually as most if not all of it will be there with links for evidence. Proz is a long-standing translation forum website where LSPs and ocassional end clients will post translation job offers. They also have verification and review tools as well as information about LSPs and translators, which help professionals in the translation world find each other.

If I can answer the above questions to my satisfaction, I will apply or respond to the offer and request more information, including rates and contract terms. I have only started working on a translation once before getting the contract, and that was when I was much more naïve – I never did get paid for that translation and I have never been in that situation since. You should know rates and payment terms and sign the contract before you ever begin working.

From this point, if there have been no red flags in your conversations/communications, this offer is unlikely a translation scam. It is usually safe enough to start as long as that contract has been signed. If you can, try to start with smaller projects to make sure that the LSP follows the contract without you risking much. That way if something unexpected happens, at worst you have only wasted a bit of time. If you want, you will then also have the recourse to use the contract as the basis for legal proceedings.

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