Recently I answered a craigslist ad looking for a copy editor. I prefer to do web construction and maintenance work, but with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor, I figure copy editing is at least something I'm qualified for.
So this is the answer I got:
This is really intriguing. The bait is obvious but once the fish is hooked, what then? Identity theft? Extortion? Nobody pays in full upfront. What's the game here?
Subject: Versatile Copyeditor
From: Harish Challa [chacharich@gmail.com]
Hello,
Thanks for your email and response to the Proofreader ad. I am Harish Challa, I am a social entrepreneur and I have a work with the UNICEF ASIA projects. It is a material on Child Care, Parent Obligations and similar topics. The previous editions have been published in Bahasa and Chinese Language but the need right now is for the same material to come English language. I have transcribed the book to English but I am looking for a proofreader that can edit and correct the errors in the book. This project at hand demands some vital language learnings so I need your assistance to get this done ASAP. The book contain 95 pages, words counts is 25,000 to 35,000 ..written in english. I will like to know the cost to proofread and edit this for my usage.
However, I intend offering you the sum of $1000.00 for the proofreading because of the time frame so I will like to know if this works for you. I will need the book to be ready for publishing within 2 weeks from the day you received the book. I want to make it clear that I expect it to be carried out expertly. That is, ensuring that the book does not loose its original meaning in the course of editing; in as much you will prove yourself to be a reliable, trustworthy and above all able to meet up with my deadline; I will instruct my sponsor to proceed with your payment in full once I hear from you today as I will like you to have the payment before commencing your work so as to secure your service.
Upon receipt of the payment, I will instruct the publisher to mail you a copy of the book so you can commence your work. As soon as you are done with the proofreading, you will have to send the edited copy back to the publisher so he can commence the final publishing of the work. In the meantime, Kindly get back with the following information so I can start making arrangement for your payment. moreso, I will need your phone number for a better communication.
Full Name:
Full House Address with zip code;
Phone number:
Acceptance of offer:
All I need from you is total honesty and timeliness. I will be waiting to hear from you.
Best Regard,
Harish Challa
20 comments:
did you write back?
I sent a note saying: "No thank you. I can't do this work."
I also replied to this ad and I received the same e-mail that you did, word for word. Do you really think it's a scam? I've been laid off recently and the money would be a great help.
The only way I would take this job is if the guy agreed to break it down into chunks of work.
If he is serious about getting the book edited, he should be willing to give you one chapter at a time.
Judging from the quality of his English, I expect there's just too much work involved to make the job worthwhile. But maybe not. However, getting paid upfront before you know? That's a recipe for trouble.
I agree. I replied to his e-mail and asked that he verify his identity in a reliable way. I explained that it is not customary to receive payment before the work is completed and that I am wary of becoming involved in a scam.
We'll see. I'll keep you posted if you're interested.
I got the same form letter from my response and had the same misgivings. I did a Google search and saw your blog. I think I will opt out, too.
When I received the same reply it just didn't sound right, so I Googled his/her name and found this blog. I replied back with a polite refusal and a subtle warning. By the way, did anyone else send along a resume?
"did anyone else send along a resume?"
Unfortunately, I did provide a link to a resume I keep online. I pulled that down when I realized I didn't want this guy to have that much info.
Yes, I got the same thing. However, I do believe that I answered a Craigslist ad...and sent a resume, which brought on the note all of you have received.
I have had several email correspondence posts from him and he claims the check, from his publisher, will be in my mail box Monday along with a CD of his manuscript. If it is there, the check goes right to the bank to verify it is real (I have had previous situations where the check was a fraud, though very official looking).
Then and only then, will I proceed with the work. I will keep you posted on the results.
Scott
Oh, and by the way, I use a drop box address, not my personal address.
Somehow I doubt that this is a real situation since I am unable to track this name anywhere on the web.
Good luck, Scott. I look forward to hearing how this pans out for you. If you do actually start editing this book, I'd like to hear about that too. Perhaps a few samples of his writing.
I responded to the same ad on bestjobsusa.com and got the same response, verbatim. I said I could do the work within that deadline, and he wrote back to say the check is in the mail, same as he apparently told Scott.
Scott, did he tell you your name would appear as Copy Editor in the book? If he's said he's hired us both, then it's bound to be a scam, right?
Well, this is Harish Challa here, I got this link blog from a friend... Like i told you guys... I needed some1 to edit my book and I think I selected the best Candidate... The CD and the book would be delivered to scott alongside the payment... so theres no bullshiting about this. Anyways, myself and scott will keep you guys informed on the progress of everything.
Yup I got the same email. Check, huh? Who is he kidding? Does anyone know where this "check" is coming from? I called 2 different banks and BOTH told me that a cashier's check is EASILY FAKED and a personal check can take up to 45 days to collect on. They also told me that there's a BIG SCAM going around wherein someone will send a check for $5000 after he has promised you $1000, then he asks for $4000 back. The dope sends back $4000 & by the time the bank finds out they cannot collect on the $5000 check, the account holder is out the ENTIRE amount.
Harish, if you are legit, you'd skip the check and instead offer a Western Union transfer to my bank. You can transfer cash electronically immediately and I don't even have to give out my account number!
The rest of you clowns need to wise up...
I don't think anyone here is a "clown," Bruce. We're all posting because we're too skeptical go any further with this guy. To me, a clown is someone who needs to resort to name-calling to make his point.
For the record, here's the tracking info left by Harish's visit:
15 Dec 12:27:34
Firefox 3.5.5 Windows XP 1280x1024
Penang, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
134.115.in-addr.arpa (115.134.59.6)
ipsosacto.blogspot.com/2009/12/oddjob.html
mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=1qygpcgurkovy
Here's the follow up...
I received a check from Harish, or at least a from a person in the U.S. It had an Atlanta postmark and a return address from Tacoma. Yes, that sounds odd.
The check is on hold with my bank. Initial inspection by local bank officials says that it is REAL. I have been credited with the full amount, though the funds will not be released until 12/29.
Yes, I will still approach the project with caution. The manuscript has yet to arrive and I have informed Harish that the deadline for completion continues to move as the delay continues.
I note that Harish posted on your site. Certainly he also knows that there are numerous scammers out there...even among those who would take his money and deliver nothing (our side of the equation). Granted, Harish looks suspicious due to so many of us hearing from him, however a if Yahoo or Google sent along a mass email requesting our talents, would we not respond, even if cautiously?
I will let you know how the book looks when it arrives. But, for now, I think most of us were so caught up in 'scam mentality' that we were duped by ourselves when a legitimate opportunity presented itself.
Scott
Hello, my name is Angela and I too applied for and accepted this position. I was mailed a check for 3,500 and wrote back asking Harish to verify the amount and company to which he responded that I was to pay the publisher's fee myself using the money from the surplus in the high check I had been mailed. I responded that I was not comfortable sharing my bank information or mailing a personal check but that I was happy to tear up the check and have him mail me a check for the correct amount so he could pay the publisher himself.
*I have not heard from him since.*
**I never received a manuscript**
I believe this to be a definite scam as he sent me the exact same e-mails verbatum that you have posted.
Here is the e-mail I sent him, I have not heard from him since:
I have been very aware of the threat of internet scams and thus have been careful not to give out any of my personal information outside my name and contact information.
I feel it is strange that I still have not recieved the manuscript, and am totally not ok with sending a check to the publisher. Both of these aspects seem very strange to me and alert all my warning bells, however I am hoping things can still work out, please let me know.
I will wait eagerly for the manuscript, but will not conduct any kind of monetary involvement, including depositing the check, until it arrives. Also, under no circumstances do I feel it is acceptable for me to be giving out my personal banking information or sending personal checks. I would be happy to dispose of the original check so that you may pay the publisher directly and send me a check for the correct amount of $1000.
I hope very much that we can still work together under these conditions as I truly would love the opportunity to work for you as a copyeditor, but I must stand firm in these policies.
Thank you very much, and have a great day!
So, since it has been weeks and weeks since I have last heard from Harish, even just to tell me I no longer had the position, I would say that this was definitely a scam!! BeWare!
Well, Anonymous was right, as were the rest of you. No manuscript showed and the check turned out to be counterfeit.
Spread the word and make sure than anyone googling the name Harish Challa ends up here to find out he is a fraud.
Fortunately, I did not get scammed. The bank took care of it.
Scott
After all this, I received another note from Harish just today, Jan. 14. I'm guessing others did, too. His e-mail says this:
Happy New Year,
Thanks for your patience, I was away with my family for the Hols and the internet was not working overthere...
Anyway, I will like to check with you on the progress of things. Let me know if anything has arrived in the mail as of yet...
I mean the book and the payment from the financier. I will look out for your update ASAP today.
Regards,
Harish Challa."
I wrote back saying that he had to be kidding (in so many words). The "Harish" who chimed in here on Dec. 15 may also have been counterfeit.
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