Looking for advice on how to verify clients. Thread poster: Jose Melgarejo
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Jose Melgarejo
Venezuela
Local time: 17:10
Member (2021)
English to Spanish
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Hey there. I became a member a while ago, but only recently paid for a membership (disregard my profile saying I began in 2021; mistakes were made). I am negotiating with someone who, hopefully, will be my very first client via ProZ.
Now, a good amount of work was secured via platforms such as Upwork, with strong measurements to secure the work got paid. I understand that ProZ has similar mechanisms for their members, so I'm most likely using them. The issue, however, is that the c... See more Hey there. I became a member a while ago, but only recently paid for a membership (disregard my profile saying I began in 2021; mistakes were made). I am negotiating with someone who, hopefully, will be my very first client via ProZ.
Now, a good amount of work was secured via platforms such as Upwork, with strong measurements to secure the work got paid. I understand that ProZ has similar mechanisms for their members, so I'm most likely using them. The issue, however, is that the client's personal account is quite new but associated with a company as employee account (with the blue squared badge and all). The client also has SecurePro™ and the business itself has a couple of positive reviews from several years ago.
I think my only complain is the client himself doesn't have a membership. Also, despite the good signs, I still lack experience to discern how trustworthy these are.
Thank you all in advance for your time reading ▲ Collapse
| | | | dkfmmuc 
Local time: 23:10
Member (2009)
German to English
+ ...
| A small deposit of some US Dollars | Nov 29, 2023 |
Dear Jose,
the fastest and most reliable way to secure that the client is who he says....
Just request an upfront payment of some US Dollars or your local currency.
As a first step you have then the "legal name" as it appears on the bank account. By this you sort out all people who try to steal a translation, eg the scammer from a specific North African country.
And then begin with a smaller project.
Hope this helps.
... See more Dear Jose,
the fastest and most reliable way to secure that the client is who he says....
Just request an upfront payment of some US Dollars or your local currency.
As a first step you have then the "legal name" as it appears on the bank account. By this you sort out all people who try to steal a translation, eg the scammer from a specific North African country.
And then begin with a smaller project.
Hope this helps.
Best regards
Gerd ▲ Collapse
| | | | Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 23:10
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
If the client, that is, the company, has a profile, they are likely to have a few BlueBoard entries. If these are positive, and you have a good feeling about the client, go for it.
A few things you might take into account:
Does the offer seem genuine, i.e. realistic (not too good to be true)? Does your contact person use an email address associated to their employer (not a personal freemail address)? Do they ask the right questions about your rates and experience?
You ... See more If the client, that is, the company, has a profile, they are likely to have a few BlueBoard entries. If these are positive, and you have a good feeling about the client, go for it.
A few things you might take into account:
Does the offer seem genuine, i.e. realistic (not too good to be true)? Does your contact person use an email address associated to their employer (not a personal freemail address)? Do they ask the right questions about your rates and experience?
You could ask for a small deposit as the previous poster suggested, but I think most clients, even very trustworthy ones, are unwilling to do this. On the other hand, plenty of scammers make a fake payment to lure people in first.
As long as your first job with them is not too big and your gut feeling is right, I think you don't have much to lose. For extra confirmation, you could contact one or more of the translators who have left a BlueBoard entry, meaning that they have worked for this client.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
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In deciding whether to work with a company or not, one must carry out some due diligence. The first order of due diligence is geographical: Have you checked their IP address? Then, there are lots of things you can do: Have you visited the ProZ.com Scam Centre? Have you searched the Internet in all the right places (BB, Hall of Fame and Shame, Payment Practices, LinkedIn groups, etc.)? Why don’t you give the company a call or get in touch with them through their Proz profile?
Besid... See more In deciding whether to work with a company or not, one must carry out some due diligence. The first order of due diligence is geographical: Have you checked their IP address? Then, there are lots of things you can do: Have you visited the ProZ.com Scam Centre? Have you searched the Internet in all the right places (BB, Hall of Fame and Shame, Payment Practices, LinkedIn groups, etc.)? Why don’t you give the company a call or get in touch with them through their Proz profile?
Besides all that, google for "Risk Management" and "Due Diligence" for lots of other ideas. When I can't really find anything about that potential client but it doesn't feel good, I don't proceed. ▲ Collapse
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Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 23:10
German to Swedish
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| Old school method | Nov 29, 2023 |
Get the main phone number of the company from public sources and ask the switchboard to connect you to the client.
| | | | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 23:10
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Jose Melgarejo wrote:
Platforms such as Upwork [have] strong measurements to secure the work got paid. I understand that ProZ has similar mechanisms for their members...
Nope. ProZ.com has no mechanisms to ensure that clients who find translators via ProZ.com actually pay the translators. There are mechanisms to help ensure identity e.g. the SecurePro card and to keep track of translator reviews (the Blue Board), but ProZ.com does not make any effort to help ensure payment.
The client also has SecurePro™...
Everyone at ProZ.com "has" or can get a SecurePro card. The SecurePro card is simply a page that shows what information has been verified by ProZ.com. Here is part of my SecurePro card:
...and here is part of the card of another poster in this thread, just for comparison:
Only the green labelled items have actually been verified.
The issue, however, is that the client's personal account is quite new but associated with a company as employee account (with the blue squared badge and all).
What blue squared badge are you talking about?
On a person's ProZ.com profile page, you can see whether they are affiliated with a Blue Board entry (i.e. with a company), e.g.:
...or whether they are listed as an employee of a company that has a ProZ.com company profile, e.g.:
...but I don't know what you mean by "blue squared badge".
...and the business itself has a couple of positive reviews from several years ago.
When you say "reviews", do you mean Blue Board entries?
I think my only complain is the client himself doesn't have a membership.
The owners of ProZ.com unfortunately use the term "member" to refer to a paying member, so if your client's profile page says that they're not a "member", it just means that they're not a paying member. I don't consider it a red flag if an outsourcer is not a paying member of ProZ.com.
[Edited at 2023-12-29 12:19 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 00:10
Member
English to Turkish
A wise man once advised me to ask a shady looking client to provide their bank details and PIN number to prove their bona fides...
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Baran Keki wrote:
A wise man once advised me to ask a shady looking client to provide their bank details and PIN number to prove their bona fides...
A client can provide false details.
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Follow the advices given by your colleagues, and at the end, follow your guts. The bottom line is, there is no security. You are an entrepreneur, and no "entreprises" without risks.
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Payment Practices,
make sure to be a member of this network. It saved my financial life more than once.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 23:10
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Yes, Payment Practices by Ted Wozniak
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