First, here is the comment from the artist who received this scam email and forwarded it to me to post:
Hi Kathleen,Now here is the scammer's actual first email (bad formatting is as it was sent):
I just put my work up on Nevada Artists Association website last week and already have been approached by a ?scammer? I'm pasting his emails in this message. Luckily Nevada Artists have a "scam alert" so I'm grateful that I haven't spent more time on this. Thank you, Nancy
From: Dale Adams [dreallorry@gmail.com]And here is his second email after the artist replied to the first email (she provided more information about how the piece was mounted, the framing and the shipping, and all the costs):
Subject: Subject: Ancestors of the Crane 16 x 20 Mixed Media
Hello there,
My name is Dale Adams and am from Indiana. Was going through your works and love this piece.
What's your final price for it and am really interested in purchasing the piece.
Thanks and i await your response.
Dale.
From: Dale Adams [dreallorry@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Ancestors of the Crane 16 x 20 Mixed Media
Hello,
Thanks for your prompt reply.I really appreciate your detailed breakdown and frankness on this.
Im on my way to India on an official trip(I'm a marketing Executive) and wont be back for another two weeks, I would have come to inspect the piece personally. Im taking your word for true on It though .
Im okay with the price, I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like to know, Im relocating to the UK soon and I'm trying to gather some good stuff for my new abode. Im buying yours amongst others,quickly! before someone else grabs it.So, I'll arrange to send you payment ASAP.
However, I'll have to notify my shipper who's helping me move my stuff from the US,to get set for the pickup of the piece from your place as I MIGHT be delayed in India depending on how things goes.
Thanks,
PS: In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your contact address and also your phone# so I can get certified check prepared and have it sent out to you ASAP.
so glad you posted this! I just received the exact same email about one of my paintings and this posting saved me from traveling down similar steps.
ReplyDeleteJamie,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you looked it up before proceeding and found this blog to confirm your suspicions!
It is exactly my intent to make it harder and harder for scammers to catch artists unaware.
Now you can just go back to concentrating on making art!
Just wanted to let you know that a friend, an artist, also received this exact same email. She contacted me because my brother's name is Dale Adams and she thought he was writing to her! Luckily we figured out pretty quickly that this guy was a scammer.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is unfortunate! It does happen though. The scammer's use pretty basic fake names and it is bound to also be someone's legitimate name. But the coincidence in this case - amazing. Glad you guys figured it out quickly!
ReplyDeleteI just got this same e-mail. I always google the name and/or e-mail address to check. If the grammar is bad it's usually a scam. Usually they are from abroad, this time from Indiana. So pathetic. Glad you posted this. I think artists are wising up to this stuff.
ReplyDeleteBasically the same M/O. Additional Red Flags for us were the "shipper would be in the US next week ( why use a foreign shipper to move from the US?)and shipper wanted to be paid upfront, with an overdraft check to us", and, Dale Adams stated he had "no access to a lot of cash, at present, so wanted to kill two birds with one stone".
ReplyDeleteIs there any way to catch these predators...additional authorities to report to?
Thanks for writing in. Yes, they usually have some story for why they are sending *more* than the amount owed - that is the sweet spot they are targeting, that cash. Then when the original payment check turns out to bad, they have that "overdraft" amount in their hands.
ReplyDeleteAnd so far, these *always* seem to involve a third party shipper, though scammers are waiting until second and third email exchanges before revealing that. That seems like one consistent flag. And that they are either moving from a foreign country or to a foreign country.
If they actually send a check, its mail fraud and you can report it to the post office, but I don't think its worth revealing your postal address for that to happen. Before that part of the process, there is not much to be done because its just "talk" at that stage. Which is exactly why I started this blog (and recently a facebook page) - I wanted to fight back in some way. So my way is to educate as many people as I can before they get caught in it, and provide some type of resource that will help them confirm quickly that the email is a fake. Even if they will never be caught, I can help reduce the number of victims.
I received the same email this week. I suspected a scam but did answer without revealing my address or phone number, etc. He replied with the exact words you posted. I decided to see if I could look this guy up online and there he was on your site. So glad I didn't go further with this - it just felt wrong somehow and I have learned to obey when the little red flags go up in my mind!
ReplyDeleteGosh! So glad I found this website!
ReplyDeleteI'll add my similar experience to this with getting the same type of email today. I decided to heavily investigate the person's name and body of letter before I sent in a reply. Glad I did. They used the exact same letter except the name was changed.
Here it is:
"My name is phill layon and am from South Carolina and Was going through your works and love this piece.
What's your final price for it and am really interested in purchasing the piece.
Thanks and i await your response."
So nice to know that there are others out there looking out for the security of other artists.
Cheers.
I'm another grateful artist. Thank you so much for posting this blog. I took the bait on the first letter (identical to what is here, though the name is different). When the second letter came, I was suspicious of the bad grammar and did a search. And I found you. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI got the exact same email as Christopher on Dec 15, 2010 from phill layon. My correspondence with phill led to an email exactly like the one described in the initial post of this thread. I have just received a check with instructions to subtract the amount for my artwork and send the rest via Western Union to his "shipper" in Utah. I was suspicious from the start but was curious to see where this transaction would lead. I will not be cashing any checks but will be reporting this to the autorities instead.
ReplyDeleteAlso, watch out for a person named "Roger" as well. One of phill's emails was signed "Roger"
Thanks Kathleen for your Samurai spirit!