Is this offer legit?

Alexis Lilja wrote:

They didn't give me video files but links. Part one was transcribing a few minutes of a very old tv segment. That's not something they can use. Part two was to listen to a few minutes of another segment and see if I heard anything that wasn't in the script.

I don't think either part of the test will be of use to them, as far as transcription goes. It seems odd that one of the largest agencies would resort to such cheap tricks.

It's bad that they were not able to answer my questions and that is certainly a red flag. Except when it comes to agencies, poor communication is far from unheard of. Many of them seem to know next to nothing about linguistics and simply started their agencies because they saw a market for it.

However, I agree that the radio silence is unsettling. I have worked with so many agencies over the years, but since the pandemic, every single agency that has reached out through Proz has tried to scam me. I am starting to wonder if there are any legit agencies left.

This was their latest/last email:

"Hello,

I hope that you are well.

Thank you for following up.

Your test is still in evaluation.

Please be advised that we will get back to you once we have the results."

[Edited at 2026-09-25 13:38 GMT]

Alexis Lilja wrote:

Deluxe Spain reached out to me about a transcription job and joining their transcription pool. After a lot of back and forth, they wanted me to do a 2 hour unpaid test. It felt a bit much, but I did it anyway. That was on a Friday. They assured me I wouldn't need to practice or do research, but also weren't able to answer any questions I had about the test instructions. Nevertheless, I figured it out and submitted it. But no one confirmed they received my test. Two days later, on a weekend, another person stepped in and let me know they received it and I'd have the results in a few days.

Then I heard nothing. I emailed twice and only got a reply this week. I asked if I'd have a definite result before the month is through, and they haven't replied.

Unlike most agencies, they had no NDA they wanted me to sign. Tomorrow it'll have been two weeks since the test.

They said they're only able to pay in USD and seem to favour PayPal and Payoneer over bank transfer. They mentioned nothing about what program they use or much details about the job. But they said one would go through training if accepted. I don't know if that would be paid or not.

Has anyone else been approached by them and do you think they're legit?