I am an artist whose website has been up for about 6 months now and I've just received my first scam email. Fortunately, I'd read a bit about these types of scams already, so when I received the email, I was very skeptical right away. I did a quick search online and found sample scam emails worded almost identical to what I received. Then I clicked a link to your site listing the names of known scammers. The first name on your list was the name on the email I received. Surprise, suprise (not).
Just thought I'd include a copy of the letter (pasted below). The email address used on the scam email was tallencourt@gmail.com.
Thanks,
Conn
Good day to you.
I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing these creative artworks from you.....................
No More,Warrior Breeze,Over the Under,Buddha Me, Baby ! and 58 20 29
Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home in South Africa.As well,I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.
We are traveling from our Seattle home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.
I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.
Take care,
Tricia Allen
Well, it looked suspicious to me at first too, but I didn't google until now, the message I got a couple of days ago looked almost exactly the same. and from the same gmail address, which now has been "disabled". It was also suspicious that the email always were posted about 1:xx am! They are "customizing" and also no grammatical errors like they used to! Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI have received the exact same mail a couple of days ago, however I did waste some time on it because there were no grammatical errors and names of paintings were personalized. It's also from the gmail address, which has now been disabled, so perhaps someone complained to google and they shut it down.
ReplyDeleteYou'd be surprised how many of these emails still have horrible formatting and grammar but in some cases, they do take care a little bit more. And yes, the time of mailing out is usually set by some software so that part doesn't surprise me.
ReplyDeleteWe'll keep posting them and hopefully artists googling these names will find us and have confirmation NOT to proceed with the transaction!
Thanks for writing in!
We also try and submit reports to google and yahoo and hotmail or live.com when we see these. Sometimes something is done (probably because enough people complained or they could clearly see it was being misused) and something nothing happens.
ReplyDeletesurprisingly, after their first email account was disabled, hopefully because google got some report of abuse, they have created another one, Tricia Allen , after I ignored the mail from the "freight company" whose email is on hotmail
ReplyDelete------------
From: HARVESTFIELD FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS SERVICES Ltd.
Date: July 18, 2010 5:56:00 AM PDT
To: ,
Subject: Shipping Arrangements for Mrs.Tricia Allen`s Artworks
Good day,I have received a communication from Mrs.Tricia Allen that we should work with you to ship some artworks from you to her new house in Johannesburg, South Africa when you two are through with the transaction, as she advises.
I will like you to give me the kind and nature of the things she wants to ship so as to send in my charges to her. I will like to have your studio address as well, so I can make arrangement with any nearby FedEx Agent that will be coming for the pick up once you and Mrs.Allen are through with the transactions.
Thanks. I will appreciate your earlier reply.
Yours,
Mr.Steve Edwards
Harvestfield Freight And Logistics Services Ltd.
The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.
---------
someone claimed to be Tricia's husband CALLED ME (my email signature has my studio contact info), no caller ID, and he had a really bad accent, hard to understand, he claimed his name was James Allen, and asked me to check my mail again and respond to his wife's email...
hmmm.
Portia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing in. It is a disturbing trend that scammers are now calling artists directly. It could be they only do this once an artist gets to a certain stage of the scam but still, that is unnerving.
Thanks for this share. Hopefully, it help alert other artists.
I rec'd the exact same email, only from a Kristen Carson. Also one from the Harvestfield Fright and Logistics. I can't figure out what the scammers are getting from this, besides the thrills.
ReplyDeleteJeanne,
ReplyDeleteWe've already recently reported the use of the name Kristen Carson. It was funny, because in that case the scammer got confused with the name of the artist they were trying to scam (Christine) and their email started out with Kristen as their name, but then they signed the email Kristine. Funny how lame they are.
What scammers get out of it is easy- money. It's always about money. They'll send a faked check for more than the amount and ask for a refund on the "difference". Then the whole check will turn out to be fake - so you are how the artwork, the original check, and the "difference" you refunded. If an artist (or anyone for that matter) falls for this, they can be out over $5000 a pop - or more. So in the scammer's world, if they keep sending these emails (and what does it cost to send an email? Nothing!) and they get even one or two unsuspecting people to fall for it, they've done very well.
And so it goes on. But I'm fighting back. I'm posting *everything* they send that I become aware of. I'll make it so its easy for artists (or anyone) to just google the name and verify its come up as a scam.
I'm looking forward to the day when all artists can easily recognize these and delete them on sight, as quickly as they would delete a viagra ad.
They're still at it (on Aug. 9, 2010). I stopped responding after the first e-mail exchange from "Kristen" -- but her "shipper" and she continues to e-mail me. These are the latest two.
ReplyDeleteIf she does send payment, I'll look into sending that to the state AG and/or BBB and see if it helps them track these creeps. Has anyone ever met with the "shipper" or tried to track where they try to ship your art?
Thank you for posting these and trying to alert fellow artists.
MC in Missouri
from HARVESTFIELD FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS SERVICES Ltd.
to
cc krison.landslide@gmail.com
date Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 12:54 PM
subject Shipping Arrangements For Mrs.Kristen Carson`s Artworks
hide details Aug 5 (5 days ago)
- Hide quoted text -
Good day,I have received a communication from Mrs.Kristen Carson that we should work with you to ship some artworks from you to her new house in Johannesburg, South Africa when you two are through with the transaction, as she advises.
I will like you to give me the kind and nature of the things she wants to ship so as to send in my charges to her. I will like to have your studio address as well, so I can make arrangement with any nearby FedEx Agent that will be coming for the pick up once you and Mrs.Carson are through with the transactions.
Thanks. I will appreciate your earlier reply.
Yours,
Mr.Steve Edwards
Harvestfield Freight And Logistics Services Ltd.
Reply
Reply to all
Forward
Reply
|
Kristen Carson
show details Aug 8 (1 day ago)
from Kristen Carson
to
date Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 2:29 PM
subject Fwd: Shipping Arrangements For Mrs.Kristen Carson`s Artworks
signed-by gmail.com
hide details Aug 8 (1 day ago)
Hi ,
I hope this email meets you well.I have just been updated by my husband that he has made arrangement for your payment to be sent in next couple of days by a creditor client of his,as he told me he`s been occupied with various official responsibilities which will not let him be home in the next couple of weeks and will not want this to delay our move.
However,I heard from the shipper that they had been in contact with you but yet to have a response from you,kindly make all the necessary arrangements with them prior to when the payment will be received this week.
I`ll be in the hospital in the next couple of days as I`ll be on bed rest as advised by my doctor,but I`ll try my best to keep you posted.As soon as the payment is sent,I`ll email you the tracking number.I apologise for the delay as I understand that the payment ought to have been received by now but I hope you too know that there is a lot involved in this kind of move.
Sincerely,
Kristen
I got almost the same thing
ReplyDelete-------
I hope this email finds you well and I`ll want to first thank you for your patience and understanding all this while regarding this purchase,I`m very happy to inform you that the payment has been sent out yesterday by a creditor client of my husband`s who promised to send the payment since my husband had been indispensable to be home in the last couple of months,but there are one or two faults with the payment,though it`s not really a fault but I just think it`ll be a wise thing to inform you before it arrives so that you can be sure it`s actually the payment for my purchase.
One,he erroneously included The Shipper`s payment with your payment as he could not really understand what my arrangements were with you and two,while in Seattle,he misplaced your mailing address to mail the payment,and he was also unable to see me since I was in the hospital for bed rest as advised by the doctors because of my new baby.The payment was sent via UPS with tracking number: xxxxxxxx and according to him the payment should be delivered to you today.
Therefore,upon arrival I`ll want you to deposit the check and once processed by your bank remove your asking price and forward the rest of the money to the Freight company from which arrangement will be made for the shippings of our housewares from Seattle and to also pickup my shipments from you to be shipped to Jo-burg.
I`m very sorry for the inconvenience,I was in the hospital for bed rest as advised by the doctors as I`m carrying another baby that is almost due so it was never a deliberate thing.I hope you understand what I`m going through to with my husband away and still carrying another baby.I do hope we can finalise the transaction as soon as possible so I can join my husband in our new home.
I`ll look forward to hearing back from you so I can know that you got the email.
Have a pleasant day and best wishes,
Tricia Allen
-------
There are more emails, "she" is claiming to be having a baby soon and in the hospital, and her "husband" is too busy to send me the money, so it is coming from a "creditor client", a check was sent via UPS, and I was given a tracking number. The envelope originated in Oregon, containing a check from an auto parts store 97 Auto Parts in Warren, Michigan, all very bogus. I took the check to the bank to see what they would say, they said it was fraudulent, and took it. But the "husband" had called me 3 times so far, so today he called again and said his "wife" did not hear from me. I told him I got the check and the bank said it was fraudulent, and he hung up in a hurry. I hope that's the end of it.
One almost dreams - especially when scammers get to the level of bothering you by phone, that you start out the phone call by saying, "one moment, please, I'm recording this conversation and the phone company is tracing this number - now, what did you want to ask me?"
ReplyDelete[smile] I can dream...
Thank you all for taking the time to share this scam. I, too, have been a target. I thought it stunk from the start, but friends suggested it might be fine, and I should just cash the check (also from the auto shop in Michigan), and then send the art.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I didn't.
The similarity in letters is astonishing. Here's what i got from "Kristen Carson:"
I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am
interested in purchasing these creative artworks from
you.....................
Nezu Renewal,Are-You-There,/Moon-Chasing_Beneath_the_Sea and
But_Not_Everyone....
Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to
give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new
home in South Africa.As well,I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.
We are traveling from our Seattle home to our new apartment as soon as
possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a
Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.
I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.
Take care,
Kristen Carson

Hi Diane,
Thanks so much for your prompt response and I`ll want to first thank
you for your patience and understanding all this while regarding this
purchase,I`m very happy to inform you that the payment has been sent
out yesterday by a creditor client of my husband`s who promised to
send the payment since my husband had been indispensable to be home in the last couple of months,but there are one or two faults with the
payment,though it`s not really a fault but I just think it`ll be a
wise thing to inform you before it arrives so that you can be sure
it`s actually the payment for my purchase.
One,he erroneously included The Shipper`s payment with your payment as
he could not really understand what my arrangements were with you and
two,while in Seattle,he misplaced your mailing address to mail the
payment,and he was also unable to see me since I was in the hospital
for bed rest as advised by the doctors because of my new baby.The
payment was sent via UPS with tracking number:J2283026500 and
according to him the payment should be delivered to you today.
Therefore,upon arrival I`ll want you to deposit the check and once
processed by your bank remove your asking price and forward the rest
of the money to the Freight company from which arrangement will be
made for the shippings of our housewares from Seattle and to also
pickup my shipments from you to be shipped to Jo-burg.
I`m very sorry for the inconvenience,I was in the hospital for bed
rest as advised by the doctors as I`m carrying another baby that is
almost due so it was never a deliberate thing.I hope you understand
what I`m going through to with my husband away and still carrying
another baby.I do hope we can finalize the transaction as soon as
possible so I can join my husband in our new home.
I`ll look forward to hearing back from you so I can know that you got the email.
Have a pleasant day and best wishes,
Kristen Carson
I also got the phony shipper email:
Good day,I have received a communication from Mrs.Kristen Carson that we
should work with you to ship some artworks from you to her new house
in Johannesburg, South Africa when you two are through with the
transaction, as she advises.
I will like you to give me the kind and nature of the things she wants to
ship so as to send in my charges to her. I will like to have your studio
address as well, so I can make arrangement with any nearby FedEx Agent
that will be coming for the pick up once you and Mrs.Carson are through
with the transactions.
Thanks. I will appreciate your earlier reply.
Yours,
Mr.Steve Edwards
Harvestfield Freight And Logistics Services Ltd.
Thanks for writing in, we definitely have a separate alert on Kristen Carson and *many* have received a scam email from the person using this name. It's always good to post the full email contents to share with others, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteOMG I got scammed! WTF is wrong with me! I should have checked this out before. IS there anything I can do to get out of this?
ReplyDeleteI'm SO so sorry to hear this!!! I hate when anyone ends up fallen for these.
ReplyDeleteIf you actually sent money and/or product (i.e. art) use the links in the upper right hand corner column for reporting the fraud. I'm not saying much will be done - because these guys are hard to track down, but sometimes they DO catch them.
I'm in the process of being scammed by Michelle Campbell...I was telling my daughter of my good fortune of being contacted to buy some of my artwork from my website...Right away she said I think you are being scammed...
ReplyDeleteWe were on the phone and within less than a munite she checked it on the internet and found the same language used on me as was used in other scams...I'm lucky since my daughter was at work where she is a Compliance Officer with a large insurance company...
Michelle Campbell is the name they are using now and the shipper is the same using the same language...I'll report how this plays out...
August 28, 2010 9:20 AM
So glad I took the time to Google HARVESTFIELD FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS SERVICES Ltd.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you for posting the information about this scam. They are still at it. Here's a new name they are using: Susan Watson
Good day to you.
I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing these creative artworks from you.....................
South of the Border,Just Visiting,The Imaginary West and Outlaw
Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hung in our new home in South Africa.As well,I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.
We are traveling from our Seattle home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.
I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.
Take care,
Susan Watson
And another email from the "freight co":
Good day,I have received a communication from Mrs.Susan Watson that we should work with you to ship some artworks from you to her new house in Johannesburg, South Africa when you two are through with the transaction, as she advises.
I will like you to give me the kind and nature of the things she wants to ship so as to send in my charges to her. I will like to have your studio address as well, so I can make arrangement with any nearby FedEx Agent that will be coming for the pick up once you and Mrs.Watson are through with the transactions.
Thanks. I will appreciate your earlier reply.
Yours,
Mr.Steve Edwards
Harvestfield Freight And Logistics Services Ltd.
Thanks again for letting artists know about this scam.
Dave Wilder
And this just in:
ReplyDeleteHi David,
I hope this email meets you well.I have just been updated by my husband that he has made arrangement for your payment to be sent in next couple of days by a creditor client of his,as he told me he`s been occupied with various official responsibilities which will not let him be home in the next couple of weeks and will not want this to delay our move.
However,I heard from the shipper that they had been in contact with you but yet to have a response from you,kindly make all the necessary arrangements with them prior to when the payment will be received this week.
I`ll be in the hospital in the next couple of days as I`ll be on bed rest as advised by my doctor,but I`ll try my best to keep you posted.As soon as the payment is sent,I`ll email you the tracking number.I apologise for the delay as I understand that the payment ought to have been received by now but I hope you too know that there is a lot involved in this kind of move.
Sincerely,
Susan
Couldn't help myself, I wrote back (hey, they've already got my email info):
Nope. Sorry. Already sold these pieces to another woman named "Trica Allen." Amazing coincidence, she was moving to South Africa too and her english was almost as bad as yours. Small world, huh?
DW
Hi everyone
ReplyDeleteI just got the same EXACT email 2 weeks ago. A woman named Susan Watson selected artworks to purchase. Then she sent one that included the wording:
"There are one or two faults with the payment,though it`s not really a fault but I just think it`ll be a wise thing to inform you before it arrives so that you can be sure it`s actually the payment for my purchase.
One,he erroneously included The Shipper`s payment with your payment as he could not really understand what my arrangements were with you and two,while in Seattle,he misplaced your mailing address to mail the payment,and he was also unable to see me since I was in the hospital for bed rest as advised by the doctors because of my new baby.The payment was sent via UPS with tracking number:A3783110328 and according to him the payment should be delivered to you today.
Therefore,upon arrival I`ll want you to deposit the check and once processed by your bank remove your asking price and forward the rest of the money to the Freight company from which arrangement will be made for the shippings of our housewares from Seattle and to also pickup my shipments from you to be shipped to Jo-burg."
I received the check via ups, and deposited it. Today I found a negative balance on my account, and when I went to the bank, it was flagged as fraud, and my account has a freeze until the check comes back.
I was suspicious anyway, because I had heard of scams where a person was sent more money, and asked to give a refund, so I wanted to ask the bank about that.
Just wondering what else they could get out of my info?
Adrienne M
If you didn't send them any money or artwork, then congratulations on making them spend a little money sending you the check. Good for you. Yes, the Susan Watson email has been floating around. We have a different alert on it in our blog. Glad you didn't send anything.
ReplyDeleteWe've heard the scammers will bother you via phone to get you to send them money (if they can determine your number online, some people have gotten calls from scammers acting all indignant on their cell phone numbers! but then admitted it could have been looked up online). Just tell them you are recording the call for the authorities and how can you can help them and you can bet they will get off the phone fast!
Some people have fallen for this scam all the way so the scammers are motivated to find more victims.
I say have them send the check and spend a little of their money (request the check be overnighted so they spend a little more) and then just end the scam there. They keep losing money with no successful victims, they will move on to other methods.
Holy Cow!! I feel like an idiot! I should have known. I just received the same email from a MELISSA GOLDMAN! I was skeptical but she sounded so real. I gave her my address and telephone # but have not received the check or sent any art. I told her in no uncertain terms that I will NOT SHIP ANYTHING until the check clears and the money is in hand..She still went forward, so I really started thinking it was real! She used the same wording as stated above to the other artists..Sooo upsetting! You think you struck gold and your website must be moving up in searches and then this! What a world we are living in..Thank God I googled the freight company and thank you very much to the kind soul who took the time to warn us all!
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
Karen
No need to feel like an idiot. It's why I started this blog. People fall for this ploy - in all its variations (which, when you've been looking at them like I have, it turns out they really all do look so similar after all).
ReplyDeleteIt is my hope that artists will just trust their gut when something doesn't feel right - and google the name, the email, the shipping company... and hopefully some report from this blog will pop up in the results, helping to confirm it is a scam.
Thanks so much, KatieMoe! What a nightmare! You are very kind to do this blog!
ReplyDeleteKaren
Thanks, Karen. I got so fed up hearing about artist friends having the wind taken out of them by getting caught up in these, I had to do something. I figure if the internet is making it easier for scammers to find victims, then I would figure out how I could also use the internet to fight back, even if just a little bit. I'm still seeing artists fall for these and lose money, but I also hear of the many who now realize early enough not to send any money back on a large overpayment on shipping or send their artwork out to these scammers.
ReplyDeleteThey are like cockroaches - they've been around for awhile and they will always be around, just adapting and evolving. All we can do is educate ourselves and share with each other online so we all benefit from bringing them out of the dark and into the light. Cockroaches hate light...
Here is what we received. Unfortunately this artist is in hospice.
ReplyDeleteGood morning to you Shelly,
I hope this email finds you well.Let me first thank you for your patience and understanding all this while regarding this purchase,I`m very happy to inform you that the payment has been sent out today by a creditor client of my husband`s who promised to send the payment since my husband had been indispensable to be home in the last couple of months,but there are one or two faults with the payment,though it`s not really a fault but I just think it`ll be a wise thing to inform you before it arrives so that you can be sure it`s actually the payment for my purchase.
One,he erroneously included The Shipper`s payment with your payment as he could not really understand what my arrangements were with you and two,while in Seattle,he misplaced your mailing address to mail the payment,and he was also unable to see me since I was in the hospital for bed rest as advised by the doctors because of my new baby.The payment was sent via FedEx with tracking number:794161232649 and according to him the payment should be delivered to you this morning.
Therefore,upon arrival I`ll want you to deposit the check and once processed by your bank remove your asking price and forward the rest of the money to the Freight company from which arrangement will be made for the shippings of our housewares from Seattle and to also pickup my shipments from you to be shipped to Jo-burg.
I`m very sorry for the inconvenience,I was in the hospital for bed rest as advised by the doctors as I`m carrying another baby that is almost due so it was never a deliberate thing.I hope you understand what I`m going through to with my husband away and still carrying another baby.I do hope we can finalize the transaction as soon as possible so I can join my husband in our new home.
I`ll look forward to hearing back from you so I can know that you got the email.
Have a pleasant day and best wishes,
Sharon Collins
I have been in contact with a Jaden Marshall. A little bit reworded two years later, but it is the same information. I couldn't find anything at first when I tried to google info, but since copied and pasted the body of her(?) emails and found sites like these. Wanted to add this new name to the list.
ReplyDelete