Scam Email: Marcus Quintena

Really, this scam email is pretty much the same as what I've seen for years and years (which sadly tells me that unfortunately it is still working for scammers), but I wanted to post this one because of a little "twist" in the template they use.

This one tries to employ an appeal to a referral. It mentions that a friend referred them, and even gives the name of the friend (made up and probably just grabbed from something they've seen online). I guess the goal is to get the potential victim to believe that because the scammer was "referred" that they'll believe they are a legitimate buyer, when in fact they are not.

Remember the basic red flags of this scam. These have changed very little over time. They'll mention a third-party shipper who is helping them move (or something similar to that), they will overpay for the item using a counterfeit check or stolen credit card, they will ask you to forward the "difference" to their shipper, via Western Union (always via a wire transfer, the scam does not work without this part). Their money is fake but they hope you forward your good money before you find out their money is fake.

You'll stop this scam in its tracks by never accepting an overpayment and NEVER NEVER EVER using wire transfer services in your online dealings. EVER. The scammer will disappear quickly and move on to a more uninformed potential victim. It's a numbers game to them.

From: Marcus Quintena [marcusquintena@yahoo.co.uk]

Date: December 14, 2012 8:53:45 PM PST

To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Bcc: [artist email was inserted here]

Subject: Keen Interest in your visual Art

Good Morning

             I need to purchase some work of art to beautify my new apartment and i was told by a close friend  of mine Sandra Brommer that i would get a better deal by purchasing from you. Can you give me an insight into your work of art and a website or images to have them viewed.

Thanks

Marcus

Scam Email: Helen Brown

Hi, Kathleen,

Keep up the good work! I received this message today and another followed shortly. This scammer appears to urgently want many of my paintings! LOL.

cheers,
Lori

First email:

From: Helen Brown [helenbro1111@yahoo.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...
Reply-To: Helen Brown [helenbro1111@yahoo.com]

Hello,
Hope this message finds you well. I saw some creative works on your website and I must commend you are really doing a wonderful and captivating work.

I will like you to get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.

“Burn”
“Dance II”
“Cry”

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Helen Brown

And here's the second "request," landing in my mailbox only nine minutes after the first one!

From: Helen Brown [helenbro1111@yahoo.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...
Reply-To: Helen Brown [helenbro1111@yahoo.com]

Hello,

Hope this message finds you well. I saw some creative works on your website and I must commend you are really doing a wonderful and captivating work.

I will like you to get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.

Reach
Red Chair I
Steeples

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,

Helen Brown

Scam Email: Whitman Duvel; Frederick Kloppenberg

It is also a sign of a scammer, who makes up all the names and then can't keep them straight or even remember which name is a first name or a last name. This is one such scammer. signs off on his email by his supposed last name. Lame. Also, this "on behalf of" phrase allows the scammer to use the same disposable email account to receive replies (until it is shut down) while randomizing the fake names to look slightly different. Notice the second email and it's similar templated format.

FROM : sndtradingagent@gmail.com; on behalf of; Whitman Duvel
[whitmanduvel@yahoo.co.uk] - AUGUST 4, 2012

Good Evening

I hope you had a wonderful day?,i was able to see your work of art from your
website and i must say that your work is fascinating and vivacious,it shows
that you took your time to perfect its creation. I am a resident of Aberdeen
Scotland and am interested in owning some of your work to elevate my
lifestyle, unfortunately i lost the link to your website. I will be pleased
if you can send me the link to your website so that i can select the one's
had like to purchase from you. i await your response.

Regards
Duvel

FROM : sndtradingagent@gmail.com; on behalf of; Frederick kloppenberg
[frederickkloppenberg@yahoo.fr] - NOVEMBER 12, 2012
Good Morning

I hope you are having a wonderful day?,i was able to see your work of art
from your website and i must say that your work is attractive and lovely it
depicts that you took your time to perfect its creation. I reside in Paris
France and am interested in owning some of your work to decorate my living
room and office to elevate my lifestyle, unfortunately i lost the link to
your website. I will be pleased if you can send me the link to your website
so that i can select the one's had like to purchase from you. i await your
response.

Regards
Frederick

Scam Email: Andrew Hutton

Kathleen - I received an email from this person several months ago asking about purchasing my art. He asked if I could ship to Dubai and did I accept credit card payment. He contacted me through Fine Art America. I never heard back from him until yesterday. His email is below. Based on what I see I'm betting this is a scam and you'll want add this email / name to you list.

ahutton33@yahoo.com. Andrew Hutton

I do owe you an apology for the delay in reacting to your email. I have read the email you sent and is well understood. I do work as a safety person in an offshore oil rig presently in the Arabian gulf which makes communication a little difficult for me. I love arts and plan on retiring soon and opening a gallery in Dubai (UAE). I presently have some orders and for some, I do have the liberty to make a choice for my growing collection.

I am looking at opening a good business relationship with you, so as to supply me paintings for my Gallery.

Send me pictures of some of your collections so i choose, then you tell me the cost of the paintings will appreciate if you give me an quote too on shipping cost.

Soon as i get these informations i will communicate my card details to you for charge of both shipping and painting.

Scam Email: Luis Clarkson

Notice how the scammer email changed after the first email. And Luis is actually a male name but the scammer could care less about a detail like this when using a fake name. I'm assuming it is the same scammer who I reported on earlier this month, using the fake name Luis Huffman but having the same story about living in Fiji with her husband.

First Email:

"Luis Clarkson" [heatcomps@gmail.com] wrote:

My name is Luis from Baltimore, Maryland. I live in Fiji with my husband. I saw some of your works which i really loved and i will like to purchase them.

In regards to payment and shipping, Do you accept credit card and can you ship to Fiji Island ?

I will await your response.

Luis Clarkson

Second Email:

From: Luis [crustallinesales@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Order - Quotation

Thanks for your response . I will like to know the availability and the cost of each selected below.

ORDER LIST ...
 
“Circle of Beauty” Photography on Canvas

--- HONEYMOON ISLAND

"Reflections after the rain"
"Embraced by the Light"
"Colorful Honeymoon Path to the Sea"
"A Quiet Bench"

--- DUNEDIN CAUSEWAY

"Sunset on the Dunedin Causeway"
"Time to Rest"
"A Brilliant Day on the Causeway"
"Evening Clouds    2"
 
MY SHIPPING ADDRESS..
74 Naviti St,
Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji

Kindly send me the total cost of the above and call either UPS or DHL for a shipping quote , but if you can't ship i can arrange for the shipping . Hope to read back from you with the total cost and we can proceed and finalized my order.

Sincerely.
Thanks.

Scam Email: Peter Johnson

Flattery will get you no where. IF you can recognize it is a scammer. And check out that random number in his disposable email account. Now there is a scammer committed to making a LOT of disposable email accounts.

From: Peter Johnson [peterjohnson5312221@hotmail.com]

Subject: Shipping

Dear ,           

You must have devoted so much time and effort to create this pieces that i am about to purchase because i can vividly see the uniqueness of the pieces.Your work also have  a pleasant and a suiting feeling, I am so sure it will bring comfort and happiness into my life.

The piece listed below are the one's i will be purchasing.

1 piecs Blue nude  24x36................2400€

1 pieces of 14x19 nude...............900€

Total cost of pieces-------------------------------------------------------------3300€

Payment for those pieces will be made by cheque from bank in Germany  and the money can be withdraw from my account, i will be issuing 8,500€  to cover the cost of the piece and shipping of your work.

I have some Furniture  to be picked up from a store in Berlin,so you will deduct your fee from the payment issued to you and have the rest disburse to the shipper that will come over to your location to pick up your work and have it delivered safely to me at my residential address in Manitoba,Canada.

I would inform the shippers about it after have heard from you.They will just come over to your area to pick-up the piece and then have them delivered to me.Before i can proceed to issue to you the cheque  i  will be needing your contact details and phone number to write and send the cheque to you.The address written below is my address for shipping.

Thanks

Peter Johnson

1344 Waller Ave.

Winnipeg, MBR3T 1P9

Canada

Scam Email: Charles Rooney

Kathleen,

I think you've got another one to add to your list.  Besides all the other clues, the fact that they hadn't really dealt with the actual info in my last e-mail was a giveaway.

Alysia

First email:

Charles Rooney [charlesrooney01@gmail.com] wrote:

Good Day,

Do you still have this your Beautiful artwork available at the moment for Purchase? the artwork am talking about are written on the Subject line of this email.

Please let me know if they are still available for purchase and email me back their price.

Best Regards,

Charles.

Second Email:

Charles Rooney [charlesrooney01@gmail.com] wrote:

Dear Alysia,

Thank you for your email and the information about the pieces, now that you have notify me about the price am really satisfied with it.

I want you to know one Important thing, I should have use PayPal as the method of Payment but I have been scam before through using PayPal and that is why I have cross my mind that I will never use PayPal again for Payment method or to give my Credit Card information to people i did not know for Payment method on the Internet because of my past experience.

Meanwhile I live in Essex United Kingdom, so now regarding the mode of payment I can make available will be through Travelers Check or Personal Check or either Cashier’s Check or Money Order only.

Due to that kindly let me know the Payment method you choose out of the ones I listed above in other for me to be able to make the payment available and send it out to you, also please I hope you are a legit and straight forward Artist.

I will also need your information below in other for the Payment to be send out to you.

Name on Check;
Address;
Phone Number;
Your Skype ID;

When i received this above information then i will be able to Issue your Payment and send it out.

Also i want you to know that i will appoint a good shipping company that will come for the pickup of the Pieces in your destination and deliver it to me, reason is due to the lost of goods, breaking of Paintings and Sculpture and damages that normally happen because it has happen to my shipment several times through FedEx and UPS and so on, that is the reason i cannot use both FedEx and UPS Company again for shipment.

I want you to know that i will include the shipment fees on the Payment that i will send out to you.

My Skype ID is charlesrooney01, I will be expecting your reply.

Charles.

Scam Email: Steve Padilla

Hi Kathleen,

I am very appreciative of what you have done with all of this. Because of your blog and website info, I have avoided being scammed here. It is sick isn't it!? Incredible that these people would pick artists to go after, though we are the most powerful type :) Thank you so very much.

Here is the e-mail and name and address of this one:

Name: Steve Padilla
E-mail: stevepadi01@yahoo.com

Steve Padilla [stevepadi01@yahoo.com] wrote:

Good day, hope you are good. Was going through your website and saw some of your artwork I really like. You are doing a great job. I would like to make
the purchase of the artwork in subject field above if it is still available..i would also like to know what inspired you to paint the artwork. kindly get back to me asap.
Thanks and God bless,
Steve.

 I responded to his e-mail above and gave him pricing etc....And I get this:

Dear Sean,

Thanks for the message, Hope  you are doing  great. i must tell you i am very much interested in the immediate purchase.

Unfortunately,  i am on voyage to France at the moment as i am a civil marine engineer and due to the nature of my work, visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it :-). I wont be back for another couple of weeks, I would have come to purchase the piece personally.

I'm okay with the price $4500, I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like to know, I'm relocating to the Philippines soon and I'm trying to gather some good stuff for my new abode. I am buying yours (quickly! before someone else grabs it) So, I'll arrange to send you payment ASAP.

Scam Email: Luis Huffman

I've been receiving a bunch of reports on this scam from artists so it was time to add this to the blog so others may be alerted.

It's a pretty standard scam email. Just because they offer to pay by credit card doesn't mean anything. They often use credit cards that are stolen but not yet reported as such, so may "clear" at first but will always result in a chargeback later.

If you receive an email looking like this, it IS a scam and don't spend any more time on it. Delete it and go back to creating art.

p.s. isn't Luis a male name? gotta love when scammers are stupid...unless Luis is gay and got married to a guy...

From: Luis Huffman [ppcsales10100@aol.com]
To:
Subject: Inquiry

Dear,

My name is Luis Huffman, I saw some of your works which i really loved and i will like to purchase them, But i will like to know if you can ship to FIJI ISLAND. I am from Baltimore, Maryland, Got married last year and moved down to Fiji Island with my husband.

In regards to payment do you accept Master credit card. kindly get back to me so i can send you the list of arts i am interested in ordering.

I will await your prompt response,
Sincerely.

Luis Huffman
Baltimore , MD 21244
Tel : (301) 747-6295

Scam Email: FACCO GROUP LTD

This scammer is not letting on much in their first email, which they use to screen out people who do not reply. They don't even mention any product or item and have no idea what I "sell". Notice the Reply-To is a different email address. I'm confident their second email would provide more clues as to the next step of the scam, which would be mentioning the shipping company. They would overpay for their order with a counterfeit check or stolen credit card number and ask you to pay the shipping company for them out of the total amount - via wire transfer of course, because then once the scammer has your money, they and your money are gone and untraceable.

Usually these scams use a fake personal name as well. This scammer seems to have stuck with just using the company name. Sometimes they make up the name and sometimes they just grab the name of some existing company. No matter. Their scam works because victims accept overpayments and they are willing to wire money to someplace else. Don't do either one of these things and you'll be fine.

Return-path: [facco_groupltd@yahoo.com]

Received: from User [202.93.236.210] by mail.baillios.com with ESMTP
Reply-To: [faccogroupsal@yahoo.com.au]

From: "FACCO GROUP LTD"[facco_groupltd@yahoo.com]

Subject: Product Inquiry><<<

 

Dear Seller,

We are interested in your products,Would you please provide us with the

following information:

1. Prices FOB

2. Payment Terms

3. Handling Time

4. Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)

5. Specified delivery date from the Date of Order

We would appreciate a quick reply.

Best Wishes,

FACCO GROUP LTD

Scam Email: Anne Brown

This a fake name and email address making the rounds lately. I've been getting a number of reports on it so I assume this scammer has done a large mailing. The fake name is pretty common so look for those other clues - something about moving and having a moving company, sending a check for more than the amount owed and asking you to forward a portion of it elsewhere - via wire transfer... look out for these clues. There is no moving company, there is no sister's wedding - all of it is made up to get you to send your good money to them via wire transfer when their money is counterfeit.

From: Anne Brown [annebrownn@yahoo.com]

Good to hear back from you. Yes, I will like to proceed with the
purchase of the artworks. I think they are lovely works and I hope to
give them good home.

I am presently away in Cancun for my twin sister's wedding even
though it comes at a time when I was preparing for a big move and also
expecting a baby but it means so much to her. I should be back in few
days.

Meanwhile, I will like you to forward your mailing address and phone
number so I can inform my husband still shuttling between our home in
New Jersey and London on where to forward the payment. He has just
been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in London.

I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that
will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you
to arrange shipping details. They can arrange FedEx pick up of the
artworks from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so I can know how best to
proceed. Cheers.

Scam Email: Robert Hallins

I'm getting a rash of reports on scam emails from this fake name and disposable email:

Robert Hallins [sgtrobhallins@hotmail.com]

which, from the email address, might be the same scammer who loves to send out millions of scam emails under the name of Sgt Mike Walters.

These scammers pretend that they are not accessible or in a place where they can be contacted because they are in the military and out of the country. Just despicable to use the military as their cover story to trick people.

I've been getting a bunch of emails, from artists, so my guess is this scammer has found some site that has a bunch of artists that can be contacted. In any case, if you see an email from this name, or any name where they are trying to pay with a certified check, claiming to use their own shipping company, and (here's the for-sure red flag) they overpay and ask you to wire the difference to the shipping company (or back to them) - DON'T DO IT! Just delete everything, ignore all future emails, come share the emails with us and post them online, but then go back to making great art.

Kathleen,

Thanks for your post.

I received emails from a Robert Hallins (sgtrobhallins@hotmail.com), as well as from a Tom Woodruff.

Foolishly, I made the mistake of responding to the Hallins email.  He immediately wrote back.  But, I was suspicious, so I did some Googling and found your post. 

The reply email states that he's out of the country on business, but will send a bank certified check and would like me to work with his shipper. I have a background in corporate law, and it is my understanding that there's no such thing as a bank certified check.  There are checks certified by banks, which are called certified checks, and there are checks drawn on a bank's own account (as opposed to a client's account), which are called bank checks.  Banks don't certify their own checks.

I will now just ignore his emails, and if I get any calls I'll record them and refer them to the authorities.

Too bad there are people like this out there.  The Internet can be a dangerous place.

Thanks again for confirming my suspicions.

Ken

Scam Email: Judy Delmonico-Roll

I've been noticing this trend as well. I'm not clear yet how it is happening but I'm sure as scammers use this approach more, it will become clear. In my own case, lately I've been receiving scam emails where the FROM is someone I know, two different people, but I know them well and the SUBJECT was "FOR KATHLEEN" - so they knew the names of two of my art friends and they knew my name but the FROM email address was the usual scammer email address - not the email address of my friends. For both friends, they have yahoo accounts and the usual scammer email address used were also yahoo emails so I had both friends change their password and that didn't stop it so I changed the password on my hotmail account and THAT didn't stop it. So I'm not sure how they are getting these names....yet.

On the below email, the scammer was stupid, once again, and switched names and email addresses midstream, not remembering which fake identity they had used, and got called on it, but just kept going with the scam, never addressing why the change when asked.

You can tell the person their name is being used in scam emails but there is actually not much they can do to stop it so I'm not sure if its helpful to do or not. But we know, in this case, Judy Delmonico-Roll is NOT the actual scammer but the name this scammer stole to use.

Hi Kathleen,

I came to your blog tonight after finding too many 'red flags' in a recent email exchange with an interested buyer.  It seems I'm being baited, too! I'll forward the exchange below.  What was additionally puzzling about this one is that the author of the email was the name of an Arizona artist with a very unique name, Judy Delmonico-Roll. As I always do, I googled-searched the name when I got the first email and was thinking a fellow artist was just buying a piece she liked.  But then the emails got extremely strange and red flags went off.  But I wonder if Ms. Delmonico-Roll knows her name is being used?  I wonder if my name will be used next?  But my biggest question is, how do these scammers get our names?

I should also add that I likely received another email scam attempt like this just two or three weeks ago.  I didn't answer that one until much later and was surprised to find the email address had been deactivated. Once again, a google-search on the name of the sender turned up the identity of another fellow artist.

-Bev

Judy-Roll Delmonico judymoz@blumail.org
Aug 29 (3 days ago)
to bev

Hello,

These  particular artwork of yours that you have for sale, is it still available,if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about
it.
Regards,

Judy-Roll
---------
Judy Delmonico-Roll judymoz@yahoo.com
Aug 30 (2 days ago)
to me

Hello,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Unfortunately, Im on my way to France 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.

I'm okay with the price $500, I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like to know, Im relocating to the South Africa 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 to get set for the pickup of the piece from your place as I MIGHT be delayed depending on how things goes.

Thanks,

PS: In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your Full Name,contact address and also your phone# so I can get a check prepared and have it sent out to you ASAP.

Webb
------
Bev
7:20 PM (4 hours ago)
to Judy

Hi Judy (or is it Webb?  I see you signed this last email with that),

I'll add my contact info below.  I'm also curious to know, how did you come to find my work?

Let's be in touch about the matter of shipping.  I will be out of town briefly next week but will be reachable by phone.

Thanks again!

- Bev
---------
Judy Delmonico-Roll judymoz@yahoo.com
10:46 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Hello,

I'm just reading your email now as I have been so busy all day preparing for the conference in the office,it starts this week. Thanks for the details which Ive noted down and have also forwarded to my shipper.

My shipper should be in town sometime next week and will definitely be getting in touch with you for the pickup and also to inspect it for me.

Truth is, I would have handled this much differently if i would be at home but Im a bit pressed for time myself. Im moving to South Africa this month as Im being transferred and Promoted.

As it is, I'm sending you check which will include my shippers fees as well.He has asked for an upfront before coming and since I have no access to a lot of cash, Im trying to kill two birds with a stone.

So, once you have received and cashed the check, deduct your funds and PLEASE help me send the remaining funds to him(shipper). I will forward his contact details to you once you have received the payment.

Now I'm concluding you are a responsible person and I can therefore entrust you with this arrangement.I'll let you know Immediately the check is sent out to you so you should be looking out for it.

I'll surely give you a call later when Im free.

Many thanks and talk to you soon,

Judy-Roll

Scam Email: Debbie Walker

This is a classic standard scam email targeting artists but I'm posting it to get all the fake names and disposable email addresses that they use out there.

From: Debbie Walker [debbie.w01@blumail.org]
Subject: Monhegan Cliff Pastel, 18" X 24"
--
Hi,

My name is Debbie Walker, from New York. I hope this message finds you well.I was going through some of your works and my eyes caught this particular piece, I'm interested in purchasing it as I'm moving to a new apartment this month.Please let me know if you still have the piece available, if yes let me know and it's final price and more information about it. I will be waiting to read from you.
 

Regards,
Debbie.

Scam Email: Karl Avdek

Hi Kathleen,

I'm attaching copy of the mails of a Karl Avdek, that supposedly wants to buy two or three of my paintings. As you'll see he offers payment by Money Order, Cheques, etc, and proposes to use his own courier.

Many thanks for your efforts to prevent artist scam!

Regards,
Juan

Karl Avdek
Email: karlavdek1@gmail.com

Hi Juan,

Thank you for your email and the information, now that you have
notified me about the price am really satisfied with it.

I want you to know one Important thing, I should have use PayPal as
the method of Payment but I have been scam several time through Skype
and that is why I have cross my mind that I will never use PayPal
again for Payment method or my Credit Card for Payment method on
Internet.

Meanwhile I live in Essex United Kingdom so regarding the mode of
payment i will be able to made available is through Money Order or by
Travelers Check or either Personal Check.

Due to that kindly let me know the Payment method you choose out of
the ones I listed above in other for me to be able to make the payment
available and send it out to you.

I will also need your information below for the Payment so that the
Payment can be able to be send out to you.

Name on Check;
Address;
Phone Number;
Your Skype ID;

When i received this above information then i will be able to Issue
your Payment and send it out to you.

Also i want you to know that i will appoint a good shipping company
that will come for the pickup of the Pieces in your destination and
deliver it to my place, reason is due to the lost of goods,  painting
breaking and damages that normally happen because it has happen to my
shipment several times through FedEx, UPS and so on, that is the
reason i cannot use both FedEx and UPS again.

I want you to know that i will include the shipment fees on the
Payment that you will choose.
My Phone Number: +447024093625.
My Skype ID:  karlavdek.

I will be expecting your reply.

Karl.

Scam Email: Leslie Pontz

Hi Kathleen.
So appreciate your efforts on art scams - I will fwd you an email string and wanted to add Leslie Pontz to your list of names. Thx

Leslie Pontz [leslie.pontzshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Hello,

I would like to place an order from you to Iceland,but before i do i want to inform if i can make the payment with my US Master card because presently my best form of payment is via credit card,that is where i put all my money for any international transaction.So kindly reconfirm your website/contact details and get back to me with it so as to know if I'm right with the site.
Concerning the shipment,my shipping company will be coming to pickup the items because i already have some merchandise with them in which they will be shipping together to me here in Iceland.So you don't need to be worried about the shipment nor handling fee.

leslie.pontzshop
Skólavörðustígur 12
101 Reykjavík,
Iceland.
Tel. +354 553 2690
Fax +354 552 3632

Best Regard,
Leslie Pontz.

---------

Leslie Pontz [leslie.pontzshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Hello Nicole,

I got you response,So below here is what i need.

"Ripe and ready" 24x30
Qty...3

Coffee Break" 9x12

Please kindly calculate the total cost of the items ,so that you can get the order processed for me.i will email you my credit card account information for the payment of the order.

Concerning the shipment, i will be having my shipping agent coming to pickup the order directly from you because i already have some large merchandise with them in which after picking up the items they will then deliver it to me here in Iceland.So i want you to get back to me with the size and weight items.

Regards,
Leslie Pontz.

--------

From: Leslie Pontz [leslie.pontzshop@gmail.com]
Subject: Concerning My Shipment....

Dear Nicole,

I got the total quote of the order which is ($1,955). The shipping company will have the order picked up from your facilities because i have made an arrangement with the shipping agent who will be coming to pickup the items right from your location so as to avoid the shipping responsibilities and difficulties that you might be experienced in shipping to Iceland.The Shipping Agent have all the documents and permits required for the exportation of these order.And they will handle all the custom duties and insurance as well because all will be dully paid by me .They have got similar items shipped to me here successfully.So i have discussed with the shipping agent about the nature,quantity of these items and i was charged ($1,780) for the shipping cost,including some of my merchandise i ordered from different countries that is with them which they will be delivering to me here in Iceland.I will need you to do me a favor as explained below:

I want you to please assist me to charge the shipping fee of the shipment which is ($1,780) on my credit card account and then Transfer to the shipping agency's office so it will enable their representative to come for the pick up.I know it's not your responsibility to do this,i just want you to try and understand me and be of assist to me and my next order will be ship by you.Also, I'm compensating you with the sum of ($200) for the transfer fee and for your efforts.So the charges that will be deducted on my credit card will be:

TOTAL COST OF ITEMS BOUGHT:                 ($1,955)
SHIPPING FEE GRAND TOTAL  :                    ($1,780)
CREDIT CARD SURCHARGING FEE :               ($80)  (FOR THE SHIPPING FEE)
TRANSFER FEE AND YOUR COMMISSION:    ($200)
THE GRAND TOTAL COST :                             ($4,015)

Note that my credit card will be charged for the amounts above.Please do get back to me if you are in the office right now so that i can email you my credit card details,then you can charge the full amount and transfer the agent fee to them so as to proceeding the shipment.And as soon as the shipping agency received the shipping fund, they will schedule the time for the pick up and then come to your location pick up the order.

Warmest Regards,
Leslie Pontz.

Here you are Kathleen. Post what you'd like but I'm glad I read your site and will not reply to his/her replies. My best

Nicole

Scam Email: Adam Barger

This scam email is pretty brief, the scammer is casting his net wide and then will spend more of their time and effort on those artists who actually reply. Then they will whip out their long story about moving and their shipping company and blah blah blah.

Remember - this scam requires two things: overpaying with a counterfeit check or stolen credit card and the use of a wire transfer to forward the "difference" on to a third party. Never accept overpayments and never agree to forward money for anyone and, most important, just never use wire transfers for your business online. That will keep you safe from this scam.

From: Adam Barger [adam_barger@rocketmail.com]
Subject: Red Fish”, 12" x 7" x 1 1/2
Reply-To: Adam Barger [adam_barger@rocketmail.com]

Hello,
Good day to you over there, Am Adam Barger I'm from Albany and i hope this message finds you well.I was going through your works and my eyes caught  Red Fish”, 12" x 7" x 1 1/2 , i will like to have it for my new apartment next month. please let me know if the piece is available, if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. i will be waiting to read from you asap.
Barger.

Scam Email: Rachael Cox

I'm seeing more scammers using their standard scam approach on Etsy, pretending to want to buy items. In order for their scam to work, they'd have to convince the seller to do the transaction outside of Etsy and outside of PayPal (though scammers do create fake paypal pages and then pretend to have paid sending a fake PayPal Confirmation page, or they will end up saying something like paypal isn't working or accepting their payment and then offer the wire transfer option they were after all along).

Remember, their ultimate goal to overpay with fraudulent money and ask you to send the "difference" on to someplace else, typically a non-existent shipping company, and always via a wire transfer. So their money is fake and your money is good. And they are untraceable once they pick up the money.

So just do not accept overpayments, do not accept money orders, only agree to ship to the billing address of a credit card (they will have some story about moving and needing items to go to the new address) - have them confirm the billing address (most scammers have stolen credit card numbers and do not know the billing address), and never never never never (have I emphasized this enough??) use wire transfers to do business transactions.

Listing: [name of item here]

Hello Seller,
Am Rachael Cox,I came accross your item on Etsy, i will like to buy the item,is it ready for the immediate purchase, before i proceed with the payment i will Like to ask about the item..

1) Is the item still available for sale?

2) What is the present condition of the item?

3) Do you accept PAYPAL as your mode of payment?

4) what is the final asking price?

kindly get back to me with your reply to my private email:

( rachael_cox10@yahoo.com )

hope to read from you soon,

Best Regards.

Scam Email: Paula White

Here is a scam email forwarded by an artist to me. It's the same ole content and scam approach we see over and over again, but we keep posting them to help alert others who may be searching on this particular faked name and disposable email address. This scammer did add that touch to try and look authentic about mentioning where they had seen her art, but they just grabbed that info off her website, no doubt. But interesting touch.

Clearly the artist had already replied to the scammer's initial inquiries.

From: "Paula White." [witchates@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi Aida ,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the
purchase of RedX. I think it is a lovely work  and i hope to give it a
good home. I think i first heard about your work at the Plaza Art
Fair, Kansas City.

We are going through a lot this summer and i am presently on my way to
Paris for my Sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when i am
preparing for a big move to Saratoga Springs, NY but it means so much
to her and i should be back in few days.

Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone
number so i can inform my husband on where to forward the payment . He
is also in London for a business conference but should be able to get
one of his PA to handle the payment. I can also forward your contact
info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house
decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details.
They can arrange FedEx or UPS pick up of the artwork from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to
proceed. Cheers.

Best Regards,
Paula.

Scam Email: Joshua Daniel

Hi Kathleen,

Here is a name and email address of a scammer and part of an email from him

Joshua Daniel
j.daniel2222@yahoo.com

From: Joshua Daniel [j.daniel2222@yahoo.com]
Subject: payment details needed

Hello ,

Thanks for the mail , I am very glad to read from you , I am really interested in the advert and am okay with your asking price So i have an associate of me who is owning me  the sum of 5,000 I will ask him to issue you a check , Immediately you are receive the payment you are to deduct the cost for the purchase and send the difference to my shipping agent. So i look forward to proceed as i await the needed details below to issue and send your payment immediately.
 
Name on cheque.
Full address.
Zipcode .
Phone number

Looking forward to read from you and also i want you to consider the ads purchase by me because i am very serious and will love to seal up this transaction with you .

Regard

He can't spell proper like
Thanks for your time keep up the good work
Yours

Ann

Scam Email: Sara Winters

Here is an email I received from an artist (I do agree that scammers don't typically attach a photo of the piece they've grabbed off the website):

Hello Kathleen, I have gotten at least 20 art scam emails. Looking one up a while ago, a came across your blog and fb. Way to go! Love it! I have never fallen for any, but yesterday I got one that was a little different. I thought the 2 "i" in the email was weird and the little poetic phrase at the beginning was too much. But, I didn't find her name on your list, and it was the first time they actually told me what they where interested in and even went as far as attaching  a photo of the piece. I checked my stats and only found someone here in the states that was looking at that piece. So I thought what the heck, I will email back. And yes, it was a scam. So wanted to send it your way. 

First email: sarawiinters@blumail.org

Hello,

Good image is the beauty of nature. My eyes caught this particular work of yours for my new apartment. Please let me know if the piece is available, if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. I will be waiting to read from you. Attached is the sculpture am interested in.

Regards,
Sara     

 second email:

Hello,

Thanks for your prompt reply.I really appreciate your detailed breakdown and frankness on this.

Unfortunately, Im on my way to France 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 $925 for the  Deconstruction, which is made out of copper and ceramic., I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like to know, Im relocating to the South Africa 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 to get set for the pickup of the piece from your place as I MIGHT be delayed depending on how things goes.
Thanks,

PS: In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your Full Name,contact address and also your phone# so I can get a check prepared and have it sent out to you ASAP.

Thank you for your efforts in fighting these jerks!  And by the way, saw your work, beautiful!!!

Scam Email: Betty Jean Clark

Kathleen,

Shown below is the second email correspondence between myself and a scammer that I encountered on ArtBreak.com. She was using the screenname Betty44 and sent the following message:

Hello,
Am interested in the following artworks(Trees,Swirls).

Let me know if the artworks are still available so that i can proceed with the payment as soon as possible.Send an email to (bettyjjclark@yahoo.com)I will await your quick response.
Betty.

I received this poorly structured message about 1 day after I got the first one from Marcus Mcfadden. Receiving two "too good to be true" opportunities in such quick succession added to my suspicions. It was after she requested to pay by check (just as Marcus had) that really sent up a red flag. That is when I did some searching on the internet and stumbled across your Art Scam Blog.

The scammer is using the name Betty Jean Clark, email bettyjjclark@yahoo.com. Unfortunately I could not find the IP address for this account.

Thanks for helping raise scam awareness!

Curtis

On Sun, Jul 29, 2012 at 12:41 PM, Betty Jean clark [bettyjjclark@yahoo.com] wrote:
Dear Curtis,
  Thanks for the mail.Well,i will be much happy to proceed with the payment of the artworks.Let me know the price of the artworks when framed.Regarding the shipment,i will inform our shipping agent that is moving our other home decors to our new home to get in contact with you via the shipping arrangement today.

Furthermore,do you do commission works?i will love to have a lovely artwork for my coming baby.Get back to me with your mailing address and your phone number so that i will be able to make an arrangement for the payment as soon as possible via check or bank draft which you can cash in any local bank around you. I will await your quick response.
Regards,
Betty.

Scam Email: Marcus Mcfadden

Kathleen,

I recently received two messages on an art website expressing interest in some of my paintings. Excited that someone was showing unexpected interest in my amateur artwork, I took the bait. The following emails are from the recent correspondence between me and who I now identify as a scammer, thanks to your very helpful Art Scam Blog. The emails are in reverse chronological order.

Although I proceeded with what I deem to be slight caution, unfortunately I gave the perpetrator my full name and home address. Thankfully, I did not divulge any more information. Being slightly suspicious at "Marcus's" blunt, poorly worded responses and lack of information, I had planned to confirm the authenticity of the check payment once I received it.

The scammer is using the name Marcus Mcfadden, email address marcusmcfadden@hotmail.com, IP address 93.186.30.245. He originally contacted me on Artbreak.com by sending the following message:

"Hello
How are you i saw your artwork online and i must commend you are a very good artist, please i will like to buy the following artwork from your lovelly collections,so get back to me with the price of them.
Chess 1
Based on Bubbles
Thanks.
Will prefer you send your response direct to my email marcusmcfadden@hotmail.com.
Marcus. "

His username on this website was mmc.

I will forward you a second email correspondence from another scammer.

Thanks,

Curtis

Scam Email: Cristina Bruce

This is the usual scam email with the latest fake name and disposable email account. Notice how the scammer spells the fake name in the headers but spells it different in the store name at the end of the email.

Return-Path: [wearet14@advanced857.inmotionhosting.com]
From: Cristina Bruce [cristina.bruceshop@gmail.com]
Subject: Placing An Order To Norway..

Good Day,

    I'm Cristina Bruce From Norway.I want to place an order and i know the difficulties encountered when shipping internationally,But that will not be a problem because i am registered with a shipping company which I've used severally times without any delay nor damage.
   Before i place the order,i want to inform you that i will be making the payment with my Mc/Visa cards because as for now i can only make payment with my US credit card account information,so if it's okay by you kindly get back to me with the contact details and please reconfirm your website so as to know if I'm right with the site.I awaiting your swift response so as to list out the items needed.

Christina-De-Bruce Shop
Michelets vei 67,
N-1368 STABEKK,
Norway.
Telephone: 4767102560
Telefax : 4767102569

Warmest Regards,
Cristina Bruce.

Scam Email: Doris Howard

We've written about the scammer using the Doris Howard name before. I wanted to create a new post because a great reader of the blog, Tom, wanted to share his experiences with the Doris Howard scammer. It's long but you might find parts of it illuminating, particularly in how this scammer is trying to move Tom along in the scam. I have pasted below what Tom sent me. Thanks, Tom!

This is my experience with 'Doris Howard.' (davidhowardd08@gmail.com). 'She' contacted me through my website:

'Hi, Hope this message finds you well. I saw these creative works on your website and i will like you to get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.
10th Ave & 17th Street   and  View from the Pulaski Bridge II
I will appreciate an urgent reply.
Best Regards,
Doris Howard.

* I noticed some funny wording and punctuation: 'creative works', 'I will like you to get back', 'I will appreciate', 'an urgent'... I assumed that English isn't her first language and gave her the benefit of the doubt. I was flattered that her request for my art was 'urgent' but simultaneously  thought it was odd.
---
Doris Howard's next email: 'Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will like to proceed with the purchase of  View from the Pulaski Bridge II. Can you pls get back with what motivate you to make the  artwork.
I will look forward to hearing from you soon .'

* More bad grammar: 'I will like', 'I will look', and some funny spacing between words. I was flattered that she wanted to know more about my 'motivation' for creating the art she was interested in, and I gave her a detailed response.
---
Doris Howard continues:
'I am presently away in Cancun for my twin sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby  but it means so much to her. I should be back in few days.
Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so i can inform my husband still shutling between our home in New Jersey and London on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in London.
I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange  FedEx pick up of the artwork from your studio. I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed.'

* I felt impressed that Doris was 'living the life' internationally, and could fit me into her busy schedule. More bad grammar though. I did send her my address and number.
---
There was all of a sudden a lapse of time where Doris didn't respond to my emails, but she re-appeared again:
'Hi Tom , Hope this message finds you well. I am very sorry that i couldn't get
in touch immediately. I was hospitalized in Cancun immediately after
my twin sister's wedding. I almost had miscarriage but thank God, i am
now feeling better and can't wait to have my baby and settle down.
I am not sure if my husband has been able to forward the payment to
your address. I will check with him and get back to you tomorrow
morning. Anyway, i have forwarded your contact info to the Moving
agency that will be handling the shipment of all our house decors.
They promise to get in touch with tomorrow. Try and arrange the
shipping details with them. I will like an update from you as soon as
you hear from the movers.
Try and get back as soon as you receive this email so i can be sure we
are on the same page. Thanks for your patient. Best Regards, Doris.'

* I felt some empathy for Doris who 'almost had a miscarriage', and it made me continue to be diligent in our correspondence.
---
Her 'mover', David Jones, (davmoverslogistics@yahoo.com) contacted me next:
Hi, I have received  communication from Mrs.Doris Howard that we should work with you to ship some artworks with her other house decors to her new house in London , UK  when you two are through with the transaction,as she advise.

I will like you to get back with the kind and nature of the things she want to ship.I will like to have your studio address ,so i can make arrangement  with any nearby Agent  that will be coming for the pick up  once you and Mrs.Howard are through with the transactions. Thanks. I will appreciate your earlier reply .

Regards, David Jones.
Dav Movers and Logistics  INC.
B12, THE BUSINESS CENTRE
davmoverslogistics@yahoo.com
T: 0870 863 9866
F: 0870 863 9867

* I saw more bad grammar and punctuation. What kind of phone numbers are those?
---
Doris got back to me:
'Hi Tom ,
Hope this message finds you well. Thanks so much for your patient regarding the transaction. It has been a very difficult time with a lot of things on the plate. Anyway , i  will like to inform you that the payment was sent by my husband's assistant on Friday via Royalmail and he was advise that you will receive it early this week so try and be on the look out for it.
I will also like you to have our address ,you can add it to your mailing list. I will like to hear about your future works and art shows. Our address in Newark is...
215 Walnut Street,
Newark NJ 07105
While our new address in UK is....
68b, Bryantwood Road,
Holloway, London, N7 7BE
UK
Meanwhile, i sent your contact info to the Moving agency that will be handling the shipment of all our house decors yesterday and he promise to get in touch with you.  Try and make shipping arrangement with them and keep me updated with details.
I will look forward to hearing from you soon as you receive this email so i can be sure we are on the same page. Thanks for your patient.
Best Regards, Doris.

* The fact that Doris gave me her two addresses from NJ and the UK to be included in my mailing list for shows seemed to show some authenticity. Still, bad grammar. But, I was now expecting a check for my painting. So, I waited. I told her that I wasn't about to make shipping arrangements with David Jones until I received her check, and until it cleared. She said 'Sounds good'. A period of time elapsed that concerned me, but finally I received a Fedex in the mail coming from a Medical Facility in Florida (not a letter from RoyalMail). And there was no note from her husband or his assistant addressing me, just a check from: East Coast Graphics INC', signed by 'Ronneloan' for over 3x the cost of the painting. I was puzzled and confused. I thought that there was a mix up that could be rational. I did remember that she was interested initially in another painting of mine as well. I checked my prices, and yes – the check was for the exact price of the other more expensive painting. I brought this to Doris' attention. She apologized and blamed her husband's PA who took things over while she was 'sick'. In the meantime, she told me:
'Anyway, i will like you to go ahead and deposit the payment, you can then remove the asking price for the painting and forward the difference back to him.'

* I made the deposit with my bank which I was told would clear in a couple days. I wasn't going to pay any difference until I saw that it cleared into my account. Doris then told me: 'Anyway , i  spoke with my husband and he will like you to forward the funds less charges via ( western union money transfer ) back to his PA at the address below.
Name - Mary Kiefer.
Address- 16246 California Street,
         Omaha, NE 68118
You don't need to have an account,swift codes or any bank codes but you  will have to pay western union fees which you can deduct from the difference. It is usually a meagre amount. After the transfer, you will need to get back  with the following information.
1.  Name and address of sender.
2.  Total Amount sent after deducting transfer charges.
3.  Money Transfer Control Number ( MTCN number ).
---

*At this point, I was irritated. I didn't like the idea of wiring her the difference. She was telling me what to do, when this 'overpay' was her mistake, not mine. I told her that I preferred to mail her a check, 'USPS certified mail comes with a tracking number that I can give you with the estimated time of delivery.' In the midst of this, she was insisting that I make arrangements with her movers to pick up the art, which I ignored.
She wanted to do it her way though, through her husband's PA: 'Regarding sending  Mary the funds through Western Union. I spoke with my husband to see how we can resolve this because he insist that you send it via WU. He is not comfortable with USPS because he had to rescheduled a meeting last week since a package needed for the meeting was delayed.

*I thought, why should he 'insist' I use Western Union when the Post Office is legit. And it was putting me through a lot of extra work to fix their problem. Also, how 'urgent' is a painting, even if it might be delayed? The last thing I told Doris was though, that I would send her the difference via Western Union the next day. But this is when red lights started going off in my head. I decided to do some investigating and I googled 'Doris Howard', trying to figure out if she was legit or not. And thankfully, I came upon this blog.... Now, does any of Doris' story sound familiar? H#ll yea! I was so glad I caught this!!

Doris asked me several times since my last message, if I made the transfer yet. I've been silent. I stopped returning Doris' emails and text. I went to my bank and explained this whole sequence. The check Doris sent me came from 'East Coast Graphics' and was signed digitally with the name 'Ronneloan' (is that a name or a loan?). The bank teller told me that this is how a scam like this works. 'Doris' stole the routing info etc from E.C.Graphics and created a 'legit' check that would deposit into my account. Only later would this real company discover that their funds were taken, and then take it back out of my account (if I had spent it or not). If I wired Doris the 'difference' that would have been my money taken. My loss.

Some thoughts to artists: 1) Always wait for a check to clear before you mail your art. 2) Know that when you wire through Western Union, the receiver remains anonymous, and its likely you won't be able to trace or recover funds sent. 3) Do some background checking online if you find a 'client' suspicious. Is their grammar off? Is it 'urgent'?

Scam Email: Patricia Smith White

Nothing new about this email, it uses the same ole scam template we typically see, but there have been a lot of reports on this scam email address, so I thought I'd make a separate report on it. They seem to be using a couple of fake names associated with the email address (and the number on the email address may change slightly as scammers set up several disposable accounts when they send out a spam mailing).

From: "Patricia Smith White." [smithwhite07@gmail.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...
--
Hi,

Hope this message finds you well. I saw these creative works on your
website and i will like you to get back with more details if they are
still available for purchase.

Dancing figures   and   Red Riding Hood,

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Patricia Smith White.

Scam Email: Monika Hasler

Here is an scammer who is writing private messages to sellers on Etsy, pretending to be a buyer. The email is no different then the emails they send outside of Etsy, not realizing that Etsy takes care of the payment. I guess they are hoping to pull a desperate seller off the Etsy system to do a transaction via wire transfer (the mode they need to steal your money and disappear). I hope they got reported.

Monika Hasler (monika.hasler@yahoo.com)

         Etsy ID: monikahasler626

Monika Hasler July 3 2012 11:26pm EDT
Hello Seller,
Am Monika Hasler,I came accross your item on Etsy, i will like to buy the item,is it ready for the immediate purchase, before i proceed with the payment i will Like to ask about the item..

1) Is the item still available for sale?

2) What is the present condition of the item?

3) Do you accept PAYPAL as your mode of payment?

4) what is the final asking price in USD?

kindly get back to me with your reply to my private email :

monika.hasler@yahoo.com

Best Regards.

Scam Email: Mac Nuel

Received this post this morning and wanted to share it:

Hi everybody. This is an Art Gallery from Geneva (Switzerland).

If you own an art gallery you better get away from Mr Mac Nuel (nuelmac@yahoo.com) because he's a professional art scammer.

He contacted us by email a month and a half ago asking for an artwork price and details that he had seen at our website. He described himself as a british oil engineer working on the Gulf of Mexico and interested in buying an artwork from our art gallery as a wedding present for his daughter.

He sent us a paycheck for an amount three times higher than expected and he asked us to be totally credited because his wife was about to come to Geneva to chose another pieces for their collection. So we did it.

We sent the artwork to a location in London and Mr Mac Nuel suddenly ask us about wiring half of the paycheck amount to an account in Hungary 'because his wife was there shopping for the wedding and needed the money urgently'. As paycheck appeared as credited in our account, we accepted.

A few days after, our bank told us that there were no funds on that paycheck and it was too late to get our money back. We also realized that nobody picked up the artwork in a fake address in London.

He is using a proxy to show a new IP address any time.

Mr Mac Nuel even tried to get more money from us inventing an incredible story about a crush accident where his future son-in-law died and her daughter was seriously injured. Obviously, we didn't proceed this time.

So, if you hear about Mr Mac Nuel or someone else trying to invent those kind of art scams, be aware. Some very fine art galleries had been concerned.

CF

 Always the tip-off on this scam is they pay for more than is owed (by a lot) and ask that a portion of it be forwarded somewhere via wire transfer (typically Western Union or MoneyGram). The story changes up but not these two critical steps of the scam. Their money always turns out to be fake while you have forwarded your good money. Once you receive a check for significantly more than the amount - stop right there! and cease all communication with the scammer and turn the check into your bank's fraud department.

I hate when the scammers win one...

Scam Email: Xena Modrich

At first I thought this scammer was going to take the Xena Warrior Princess route. Their fake name generator really has some weird combinations. Everything else about this is pretty standard. Of course, a REAL art buyer would know exactly which pieces they are interested in and wouldn't be outlining the payment methods on the first email contact. A scammer with a stolen credit card will also never have the card's billing address - which is why they will have some story about "moving".

If you ever get one of these stolen numbers, do the card owner a favor and report it to the credit card company and at least take that one number out of circulation.

From: Xena Modrich [xen327modrich@rocketmail.com]
Date: June 10, 2012 1:55:06 AM PDT
Subject: Inquiry
Reply-To: Xena Modrich [xen327modrich@rocketmail.com]

Hello,
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork for sale in 
your inventory and if you are able to process Visa and Master Card 
Number/Expiry date/Cvv as payment. Let me know so that i can 
communicate with you on the artworks that interest me,you can also 
indicate to me which of the arts are sold and which are available on 
your website. my address is 37, Tigne Street, Sliema. SLM 3141  Malta
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Xena

Scam Email: Karen Rose

Kathleen,

Hi I stumbled on your site while trying to search for list of now-a-day scams and I have had an encounter with a scammer that I wanted to report to beware of, she goes by the name of "Karen", but her email is *rosekaren@operamail.com*. I had an ad on craigslist.org for a item I was selling and she replied saying that she was claiming to be buying it for her nephew and asked if she could purchase the item via paypal (by saying the exact same thing you have described in your post). I asked her to go to my ebay link to purchase through paypal if she wanted to do it that way and
she can either pick it up, ill either drop it off, or ship it from there; instead of agreeing she persisted on keeping ebay out of it. I told her ok but I won't ship the item, I'd rather deal locally she made up a story about how she wouldn't be able to pick up and that she will pay for shipping and handling expenses but never mention the item by name or how much she would offer for it, so i stopped emailing her and now I'm trying to warn others. I also wanted to thank you for the post because it was very informative and saved me a lot of hassle.

Scam Email: Scholz Daniel

Really? Scholz Daniel? "...am Scholz?"

Hard to believe these scammers are this stupid still with their fake names and grammar. Good for us, though.

From: Scholz Daniel [schdan965@live.com]
Subject: Bastet og pyramidene, 70x80

Good day to you over there, am Scholz I'm from Brisbane and my eyes caught this particular work, i will like to have it for my new apartment.please let me know if the piece is available, if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. i will be waiting to read from you.

Greetings.

Verify USPS Money Orders

Email scams involving counterfeit money orders looking like they come from the USPS postal service IS mail fraud if you receive one in the mail.

You can check the authenticity of a USPS Money Order by calling the Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455 (option 4 is mail fraud).

If you feel you've been the victim of mail fraud, you can file a complaint at:

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx

Scam Email: Henry Walter

Hi Kathleen,

Thanks so much! I was suspicious, but now I know it's a scam. I didn't text him, but I did reply from my yahoo account, one that I rarely use.  After reading this, I googled for help and found your blog. Wow! Was your info helpful!

All the best,
Beth

Here's the name: Henry Walter  hen.walter1969@gmail.com

Scam Email: Fred Thomas

This is not art related but someone forwarded this to me. It was an interesting example of just how flooded craigslist is with scammers. And typically scammers do not spend money of their own in order to get other people's money, but this scammer spent the cost of placing a fake job ad on craigslist. I don't know if this is true but it is possible they paid for it with a stolen credit card not yet reported that will result in a chargeback for craigslist but in any case, this scammer posted a fake job in order to lure his potential victims in.

The person who forwarded this to me had replied to the job and attached a resume, as any unsuspecting person would. She got this reply back. From the looks of it, it almost looks like they are going after identity theft rather than hard cash but one never knows if a later email will not have the classic step of sending money (with some story as to why) and asking for a large portion to be forwarded to someone else via Western Union... which is just them at the other end. But this scammer would appear to be going after identity theft.

------ Original Message ------

From : Fred Thomas
Sent : 5/14/2012 9:49 AM
Subject : RE: Part time Admin. Assistant Position

Hello Applicant,

Hope you're having a pleasant day today? You contacted me applying for the position which I advertised on Craigslist. Do take time to go through this introductory mail and feel free to pass any questions on.

Fred Thomas is My name.I have been a Fashion Designer for over 30 years and i have been teaching too and i also has been running a fabrics company for 20 years. I bring a unique teaching style to students which will guarantee creative and fun learning by all student fashion designers while elevating them to new, exciting designers heights that they have only dreamed of.I often conduct LIVE slide/talk lectures on Understanding Exposure, the Art of Seeing, throughout the USA, Great Britain and Asia.At the moment, I am in a work-ship in the England.I will be here for a month after which I will fly down to Philippines for a Live-slide/talk show lectures with some students.

YOUR DUTIES AS MY PERSONAL ASSISTANT.

While I am out of the United State,I need some one who can stand in the gap for me.His/her duties will be the following

1.To receive letters and mails on my behalf.

2.Receive cheques and money orders from clients who want to attend the forth coming workshops or Live shows.

3.Schedule appointments for me.

4.Book my flight tickets.

5.Send letters and mails from my clients.

This position is home-based and flexible part time job,you can be in any location to carry out any of the activities.All you need do is to check your emails twice daily and keep your phone on most times in case i might need to call you from anywhere i may be.I do have a number of things you could help me with this week if you will be available to start.This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship.Let me know if you have any of the office equipment (If not,I will make arrangements to send them to your address

Printer:

Personal Laptop/Desktop:

Internet Access:

Scanner:

Fax machine:

Laminator:

Paper Cutter:

For proper review(since i am not available now to set up a face-to-face interview) supply out correctly the information below .

FIRST NAME ......................LAST NAME...................

ADDRESS.................

CITY ............STATE............................

ZIP CODE............COUNTRY..................

PHONE NUMBER (S) ........................

PRESENT OCCUPATION..............................

GENDER.............MARITAL STATUS........

AGE..............NATIONALITY.................

Email....................

Scanned copy of your ID:(You can provide that later when you are employed)

Note: It will be of added advantage if you can provide 2 references from your past employments.

Qualification:

1.Educational background is not a criteria.

2.You must be Organized and able to take instructions well Dependable, Reliable, Trustworthy a must

3.Must have excellent English language skills (both spoken and written)

4.Have great work ethic and attitude, as well as people skills, pay-attention to detail, capable of multi-tasking, and works well under stress at times.

Benefits:

- Yearly performance bonus
- Paid vacation/sick/personal days
- Medical benefits

Salary:

500 USD weekly(2,000USD monthly)

Also,there will be compensation for efficiency and hard working.

Thanks

Fred Thomas.

Scam Email: Michael Silverberg

Nothing new about the approach of this scammer. Same ole same ole. But we can see this particular scammer is making use of the same email account, creating slightly different sub accounts and then just changing up his fake name. The last report we did on this guy was from the fake name of Dennis Matt using the email address of academicss00@gmail.com. Notice in the below email how he couldn't even get the spelling of his own fake name correct in the body of the email.

From: Michael Silverberg [academicss003@gmail.com]
Date: May 22, 2012 4:21:33 AM EDT
Subject: Artwork

--
Good day to you over there, My name is Micheal Silverberg I'm from California and my eyes caught this particular work( he inserted here a long url from the artist's website of an image ), i will like to have it for my new apartment this month.please let me know if the piece is available, if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. i will be waiting to read from you.Regards.

Of course we know what comes next. Some long convoluted story about them moving or being at sea and using a shipper to come get the item and that they will pay via a certified check (or they offer to pay via credit card). The certified check will turn out to be a fake. The credit card will turn out to be stolen and often not reported yet. There is no shipper. And the amount of the payment will be a LOT over the amount owed, asking you the victim to deposit it and "forward" the difference to the shipper via Western Union. Which, of course, is just the scammer at the other end collecting up your good cash and then they can not be traced.

Do not fall for these scam buyers.

Scam Email: Jacob Cross

Here is another email for your list...

jamozy@blumail.org
fountainenergygroups@yahoo.com

 Thanks for your support found on web Kathleen.

S

Jacob Cross [jamozy@blumail.org]

Hello,

Am Jacob Cross, I'm from Ontario and i hope this message finds you

well. I was going through your works and my eyes caught this

particular work, i will like to have it for my new apartment this

month. Please let me know if the piece is available, if yes let me

have the detailed price and more information about it. I will be

waiting to read from you.

Regards,Jacob

------------

Hi Jacob,

Could you please give me the title?

------------

 Jacob Cross [jamozy@blumail.org]

Thanks for your response.  Kindly get back to me with your website so i can

let you know the exact painting I'm interested in.

------------

Did you check my website [inserted website here]?

Speak you soon, S.

------------

From: Jacob Cross [jamozy@blumail.org]

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Unfortunately, Im on my way to France on an official trip(I'm amarketing Executive) and wont be back for another two weeks.

Im okay with the price, I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like toknow, Im relocating to the South Africa soon and I'm trying to gathersome good stuff for my new abode. Im buying yours amongstothers,quickly! before someone else grabs it.So, I'll arrange to sendyou payment ASAP.

However, I'll have to notify my shipper who's helping me move my stuffto get set for the pickup of the piece from your place as I MIGHT bedelayed depending on how things goes.Thanks,

PS: In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your contact addressand also your phone# so I can get a cheque prepared and have it sentout to you ASAP.

Scam Email: Jerry Goldstein

I received this email from an artist this morning. The content of the email is the classic "opening" email we see from scammers. They are just trying to get people to respond before they give more details of the scam.

email was "from" Jerry Goldstein01@gmail.com
names of 4 of my paintings were the subject line
There are lots of well-known  actual Jerry Goldsteins, including the Jerry's Artarama guy, although I'm sure they all have better English skills than this!

Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 20:00:10 +0100
Subject: Meadow/It's Not The Heat/Orwell Outlook/Rocky Point Afternoon.
From: Jerry Goldstein [jerrygoldstein01@gmail.com]

Hi,

I go through your website and i find this above work of your art interesting, i hope they are still available for purchase?

Email me their details and price,

Jerry.

Scam Email: Anna Johnson

hi kathleen,

As an art scammer tried to cheat me i did some research and stumbled across your page. in case you like to add the mail address of this guy...

Regards from austria,
Rudolf

Hello,

i will like to purchase your item listed on auction and i will like you to answer some questions before we move further on this transaction....

What is the condition of the item???
What is the final asking price of the item???
Can u send me some pics of the item if you don’t mind???
Will you accept a PayPal as a mode of payment???
Will you allow my shipping company company to come and move the item from your place down to where the item is needed cos the shipping company fee will be added to the payment that will be sent to you???
Will you be able to send the shipping company fees to them after you might have got the payment and deduct your own money of the item???

If this is clear Kindly get back to me with your PayPal email address where you want the payment to be addressed to and your phone number asap...

Mrs Anna Johnson
My Email Address : anna2021anna@aim.com

Next email from scammer:

Hello,
Thanks for your respond...i want you to know that i am new at this so i will like to buy this item i am at sea right now so l wont be able to check the item but l need for details about the item and also l will be more happy if you can send me some pictures of it because am buying this for my son as a surprise gift so am willing to offer you the amount you required. I can only pay through PayPal at the moment as i don’t have access to my bank account online(i don’t have internet banking with it), but i have it attached to my PayPal account, and this is why i insisted on using PayPal to pay,all i will need is your PayPal email address to make the payments, and if you don’t have a PayPal account yet, you can set one up at www.paypal.com it cant take you less than 3mins to do that, i will be expecting your PayPal email so l can pay. I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payments has been sorted. l will be waiting for your reply asap..

Mrs Anna Johnson
anna2021anna@aol.com 

Skype exchange with Femi Tosin:

[24.04.12 13:23:24] hannhp900: Hi
[25.04.12 14:17:30] Femi Tosin: Hi
[25.04.12 14:17:39] rudolf: hi
[25.04.12 14:21:59] Femi Tosin: OK..get back to me with your PayPal email address where you want the payment to be addressed to and your phone number asap...
[25.04.12 14:23:48] Femi Tosin:
[25.04.12 14:23:58] rudolf:
[25.04.12 14:24:16] Femi Tosin: HI
[25.04.12 14:24:24] rudolf: hello there
[25.04.12 14:25:30] Femi Tosin: yes..i am here
[25.04.12 14:25:41] Femi Tosin: have you sold your art.......
[25.04.12 14:25:50] rudolf: well. i can see that from your online status.
[25.04.12 14:26:33] rudolf: why did you put a photo of a blonde woman and a female name in your profile at saatchis, when you are a man with a different name? does that make any sense?
[25.04.12 14:27:04] Femi Tosin: am using my huband email address
[25.04.12 14:27:33] Femi Tosin: this skype is my husband account
[25.04.12 14:28:10] rudolf: oh, i see.
[25.04.12 14:28:41] rudolf: so, where are you living then? in nigeria?
[25.04.12 14:30:05] Femi Tosin: from las vegas but my husband is from Nigeria
[25.04.12 14:35:42] rudolf: and are you in las vegas right now? then you are for sure an early riser
[25.04.12 14:36:11] Anna Johnson: yes
[25.04.12 14:37:35] rudolf: well. at 5 in the morning i usually finish my work, but i dont’t start that early
[25.04.12 14:39:06] Anna Johnson: what is your total cost for this art and do you still want to sell thiis art to me
[25.04.12 14:39:50] rudolf: dear anna or femin or whoever
[25.04.12 14:40:17] rudolf: i wrote all to you in the mails. up to now you did not tell me that you want one or both paintings
[25.04.12 14:41:43] Anna Johnson: Yes i am interestinh buying the both paint
[25.04.12 14:42:56] rudolf: and how you want the shipping to be done? you order a transport company to come and pick up the paintings, pack them and ship them to you.
[25.04.12 14:44:22] Anna Johnson: yes ...i have my own private shipping company that will come down to your state and pickup the item also i will let you to know that i will be adding the shipper’s fee and the paint together
[25.04.12 14:46:19] rudolf: well. when you order the shipping then you just pay for the transport directly. it does not make any sense that i get involved in this. isn’t it?
[25.04.12 14:46:59] Anna Johnson: but i am not in the state now...i am on a sea now
[25.04.12 14:47:04] Anna Johnson: for searching
[25.04.12 14:47:34] rudolf: well, my friend. let me tell you something
[25.04.12 14:47:44] rudolf: wherever you are - have a good time
[25.04.12 14:47:59] rudolf: but you are not from the us. your english tells it clearly
[25.04.12 14:48:24] rudolf: i guess we let it be and you try to find another person to cheat. ok?
[25.04.12 14:48:29] Anna Johnson: bye......bye.......bye......

Well. So much about the skype conversation. As the guy firstly just used his regular username I just searched for it and ... Bingo! He left at least some traces in the world wide web.
Seems that he likes mobile games ;-) Here is his member page at http://www.heyzap.com
In case he deletes this account as fast as he did it with his saatchionline profile after our conversation I put his photo here.