Scam Email: Bernard Merrac

Here is an email I received this morning:

Dear Kathleen,

I am so please to have found your page.

Yes, I am, at the moment a victim of a similar scam.  I was sent a cheque Friday (through through Royal mail 1st class post), I ran to the bank and deposited it before closing. As, soon as I did this I knew things were not right and have been on the phone to the bank manager who know it was dodgy straight away and will investigate tomorrow.  I am being emailed by the frauds asking me when the shipping can be arranged. I sent an email back with a link to an artscam site and yesterday night got another email asking me for shipping again. I sent another email saying the bank  will not clear it as it is a counterfeit. Not heard anything else yet. And have been told by Action fraud team not to email again. I am so concerned as they have my address. I keep thinking they will come to my home.

The email address is:  "Bernard Merrac" bernardmerrac@yahoo.com

Thank you,
 Thea

Good advice from the bank. No one is under ANY obligation to write back to these scammers. You can be sure once they realize their scam is not going to complete, they will quickly ignore you and move on to the next potential victim. The good news is this person didn't lose any money or items. They simply deposited a fraudulent check. They didn't forward the "shipping" money (which is the crux of the scam) or any items. So this person caught that it was a scam in a nick of time.

By the way, it is HIGHLY unlikely they will come to your house. These guys do not want to be traced or caught or come out of the shadows. They like to operate in a way that the authorities can't find them. It's more likely they will just stop asking for the shipping and move on to their next victim.

Scam Email: Janet Ward

Notice how this spammer created a disposable email address that doesn't even make sense - no real person with the name of Ward would have an email address like this. Also, the artist who forwarded this to me kept asking the scammer how they found her website and you'll notice the scammer keeps ignoring the question and just proceeds with the steps of the scam. See how this is probably the same scammer as our Janet Miller report.

This was what was forwarded to me:

Kathleen - Just, on a whim! checked art fraud sites and found yours....so here are the name and correspondence from my latest  "art buyer"....Thanks so much for doing this!   Kate

First email:

From: Janet Ward [jan.ard0010@gmail.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi,

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

"Floundering Souls"  and  "Eat it All..."

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Janet.

Second Email:

Hi Kate ,

Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will like to  proceed with the purchase of both pieces  (  "Floundering Souls"  5' x 5' oil painting  and  "Eat it All..."   as a 19 1/2 " x 24 1/2"  giclee print  ). Can you pls confirm the  price  of the two pieces so i can know how best to proceed.  I will also like to know  what inspire you to make the pieces.


I will look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,
Janet.

Third email:

From: Janet Ward [jan.ard0010@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi Kate ,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of "Floundering Souls" . I think it is a lovely work  and i hope to give it a good home. I first heard about your work fromBullWings: Orcas Issues!.

I am presently away in London 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 Jo'burg, SA on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in Jo'burg.

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. Cheers.


Best Regards,
Janet.

Scam Email: Janet Miller

Notice how the format of the email is similar to another report for Sharon Miller. It's the same scammer just swapping out names.

First Email:

From: Janet Miller [jan.miller010@gmail.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi,

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

Language of October 2007  and  Tybee Island II 2010

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Janet.

Second Email:

From: Janet Miller [jan.miller010@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi,
 
Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will like to proceed with the purchase of  only Tybee II . Can you pls get back with what motivate you to make the artwork.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon .

Best Regards,
Janet.

Third Email:

From: Janet Miller [jan.miller010@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi ,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of Tybee II. I think it is a lovely work  and i hope to give it a good home.
 
I am presently away in London 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 Jo'burg, SA on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in Jo'burg.
 
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. Cheers.

Best Regards,
Janet.

Fortunately, the artist who forwarded this to me looked this person up at this point and found our blog and knew it was a scam, so no money or art lost!

Scam Email: David Osborne

An artist wrote me and shared an important experience that can some times happen to some potential victims, even if they happen to identify that the check is fake before they sent any product. Here is her email:

I want to thank you for posting your list of "Known Scammer Names". You really are helping other artists avoid these folk.

I just received an email that I thought might be a scam. It was one of those "I want to buy a painting for my new apartment and am in a hurry" things that instantly made me suspicious. I googled "buying painting scams" and was directed to your web site. Sure enough, the supposed client "David Osborne" is on your list. The email address he used on the thing I got is "davidosborne03@gmail.com" if you want to add it to your list. If you want a copy of the email, let me know and I will send it to you.

By the way, there is yet another way you can lose money on these things. About a year ago I received one of these scam emails. I figured out it was a scam but got so far in as to receive the cheque. I took the cheque to the bank, almost sure that it would bounce, and sure enough it did. The problem was that I live in Canada and the cheque was mailed in the United States and was in US funds. When the bank got the cheque they put the money in my account, exchanging the amount to Canadian funds. When the cheque bounced, they took the money out again. The problem was that inbetween those two dates the exchange rate had changed and the bank uses the exchange rate for the day they do the transaction. I ended up losing about $100.00.  The bank got the money rather than the scammer, but that is small consolation to me. You might warn artists that if the scam is coming from another country they can lose money on the exchange rate so they are running a risk if they even deposit the cheque.

Thanks again for posting the list.

 Also people within the U.S. have been hit with bounced check fees. I've heard some people who have asked the bank to see if the check is fraudulent before they deposit it in order to avoid the bounced check fee and have been successful at this (banks are getting better at recognizing these fake checks fast) but I guess it depends upon your bank.

Just another thing to be aware of.

Scam Email: Sharon Miller

Here is a scammer that is going to strong the potential victim along and not even mention the key components (use of their own third-party shipper and overpaying the amount and asking the potential victim to "forward" the difference to the shipper via Western Union. Remember - the payment will be faked and there is no shipper) of the scam until the victim is fully engaged and feeling like they will do anything to help the "sale" go through.

Fortunately, the artist who forwarded this to me, caught on before the scammer even got to the meat of their scam. Notice the characteristic period after their name at the end of emails. they seems very characteristic of the software they must use to send out hundreds of thousands of these and template parts to be "personal".

First email:

From: Sharon Miller [sha.miller030@gmail.com]
Subject: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi,

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

Boxer  and   Chrysalis

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Sharon.

After the artist replied and told the scammer that one painting was sold and the other is available:

From: Sharon Miller [sha.miller030@gmail.com]
Subject: Re: Artworks Inquiry...

Hi Robert ,

Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative works. I will like to proceed with the purchase of  'Chrysalis'. Can you pls  get back with what motivate you to make the artwork.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon .


Best Regards,
Sharon.

Scam Email: Thomas McCoy

Here's a great example that was sent to me of how the scammers come up with these stupid stories to explain WHY they have to use their shipper. It's the crux of the scam. It's not funny that they explain yes their shipper IS expensive and then go on to explain how the victim will have to forward the shipping payment to the shipper.

There is no shipper. It doesn't say it below, but next they will explain why the victim has to send it via Western Union and of course it is just scammer at the other end of Western Union waiting to pick up your good money when they've sent a fake check or used a stolen credit card number (often one that will initially clear because it has not yet been reported as stolen but *will* result in a chargeback when the actual card owner figures out their card number has been compromised).

Don't fall for this.

From: Thomas McCoy [tmccoystorex@gmail.com]

Thanks for your update. My shipper's freight charge is extremely exorbitant but the fact is that I have used PARKSENDFREIGHTS Cargo for over 3 times for shipment from the US, Canada and oversea. They are effective and get my orders to my door step (3-4 Days delivery) which seems to be very convenient for me. They required shipping charge is handled by the merchant of the subject since it is a commercial based (which means you have to charge my card for the overall cost of the order then make payment to the shipper for pickup). I was made to understand that Custom Duties/ handling charge are inclusive.Therefore, I need you to get back to me with the overall cost of my order(cost of merchandise plus shipping charge) and lets have my order completed.

Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,
Thomas McCoy

Scam Email: Pastor Donavan

Here is an email where you can see that it is becoming such that how the scammers pay is less the issue than how they can trick you into forwarding your good money back to them via Western Union.

I was curious about this scammer's approach, however, because even if they use stolen credit card numbers (their tactic is to use numbers stolen but not yet reported as stolen and so will result in a chargeback) to pay via paypal, they would have to be able to enter an address and the seccurity code on the back of the card. And to my knowledge, their access to stolen credit card numbers doesn't include all this.

My guess is they start out offering to pay this way, so that they sound more legitimate, and then switch it up with some story back to what they know works - sending a fake check.

Someone asked me the other night at a party, "So how can I know then if it is a scam?" I told them, at least in this scam, there are always two thing present: (1) the arrangement always involves the use of their third-party something - a shipping company or courier service, and (2) they will always pay for more that what they owe and ask you to forward the difference to their third-party service via Western Union. The shipping company or courier service doesn't exist. The check they pay with is fake. Or the credit card number stolen. The only real money in the equation is yours - the amount you end up forwarding back to them via Western Union which is untraceable once the money is collected.

Anyway, here is the email an artist forwarded to me this morning:

"Hello
I saw your posted Ad on _Etsy  and I'll like to
purchase it for a friend
I am  presently out of USA due to the nature of my job and i only make
confidential  calls for now.I am okay with the condition and the price,I will be
very glad to  make the payment asap through my PayPal account as I am
currently offshore.As to  the shipment My agent will come over to your location
for pick up.
Do get  back to me with your PAY PAL ID so that i can remit the
payment into your  account,and your full contact address so that I can
forward it to the  agent's
company.I will be very glad to conclude this as soon as  possible.
Get back to me via my personal email address  [pastordonavan@yahoo.com]
Thanks."

Scam Email: Smith Andy

This is one of those stupid scam emails where the scammer is so not versed in english - or doesn't care, and he puts the fake first name and last name in reverse order.

From: smith andy [smithnd134@gmail.com]

I go through your art work and i really like your creative, due to this i really have the interest in buying this your work, so kindly email me the price of it and the info about the work because i really like it and also my wife also have an interest in it as well because we saw it together from your web and we want to buy it.
    
Hope to read from you,
Best Regards,
Smith

Now there is some language we all use regularly: "Hope to read from you, Best Regards"

They just don't get that this alone raises the flag that something is not right here...

Scam Email: Maria Roy

Ah, so here is an example of the same ole scam process but with different "characters" and "plot". In this case, it is not a third party shipper (who is non-existent), it is a "publisher" (who is also non-existent). That way they can set up the scam the way they need to. Their story will be that the check will be for more than what they owe because it will include the fee to the "publisher" and could you - the victim of this scam - send the "difference" to the publisher. There is no publisher. The check is fake. The only real money in the equation will be from the victim. And when you send the couple of thousands to the non-existent publisher via Western Union, it will really be going directly to the scammer, who once they've picked it up, is completely untraceable.

In reading this email, you can tell they were just using some template and didn't bother to plug in the "personalization" very well. Parts of this email make NO sense!

FROM: Maria Roy [namel1@julian.lunariffic.com]

Hi,
My name is Miss. Maria Roy .I am planning to have my wedding ceremony on june 9, 2011 at Boston Marriott Quincy 1000 Marriott Dr, Quincy, MA 02169 So i will like you to come and do the snap shots on the THE -day.
I want to know your charges for the following required services if you are to work 6
...
We will have the photographs snapped at the wedding forwarded to the Publisher of a Basement  Magazine Company in MA so they could feature it in their celebrity journal so due to this, I want the pictures neat and nice.
However,I will be sending cashier check for the booking payment ,the Hotel accomodation will be provided by me. Waiting to read from you soon as possible
Thanks and have nice day.
Regards.
Maria

Scam Email: John Mark

This scam email arrived in my box tonight. The IP number is sourcing it out of India. 

Reply-To: johniemark@rediffmail.com
To: "johniemark890 " [johniemark890@gmail.com]
Subject: email order
From: "john mark" [johniemark@rediffmail.com]

 Dear Sales,
How are you today, my name is John Mark the owner of Kota Kinabalu

Shopping Store,i will like to order for some items in your store,but
before i proceed i will like to know if you can supply and ship to
MALAYSIA and if you accept CREDIT CARDS as payment.

Kindly advise me ASAP, so i can proceed with the list of needed items.

John Mark.

Kota Kinabalu Shopping Store
Address:Unit No S-202a, 2nd Flr,17 Borneo Hypermall
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,Malaysia.
+60 (0)3 7726 6540

johniemark890@gmail.com

Scam Email: Thomas Bill

We have reports on this under the comments section of Robin Map scam report as well. Time to give this one it's own page!

From: Thomas Bill [mailto:thomasbill11@ymail.com]
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 7:22 AM
Subject: leave the shame behind

Hello,

I go through your art work and i really like your creative, due to this i really have the interest in buying this your work, so kindly email me the price of it and the info about the work because i really like it and also my wife also have an interest in it as well because we saw it together from your web and we want to buy it.

Hope to read from you,

Best Regards.

Thomas.

Scam Email: Garett H Inc

Here's the usual: 

ReplyTo: [garetthinc@ymail.com]
Cc: [recipientlistnotshown]
Subject: EMAIL ORDER

Hello,

This mail is to make inquiry on the below question.

1- Do you carry oversea? (though i already know of a freight forwarder that will pick my packages from you,since they ship lesser than any other courier and they are so effective in shipping my goods to me here in Victoria , Australia is estimated to be 3-4days) I have used there service in the past and it was splendid.

2- Do you accept credit card for payment (my U.S.A Master and Visa card to be precise)?

Kindly let me know your comments on these, before  i send the items i am interested in purchasing from you.

Best Regards.
President
Garett H Inc
297 Diagonal Road Oaklands Park
5046 Adelaide Australia
+61390169230
Reply to: garetthinc@ymail.com

Scam Email: Shirley Truman

Here's a scammer that filled out a website contact form to begin the scam process. I love the last sentence. Rude of them to imply my website needs updating! [smile]

From: Shirley Truman (shirleytruman@rocketmail.com)

Comment:
Hi,
will like to know if you sell your art internationally as your artwork caught my interest and i am willing to purchase some piece therefore do you have the capacity to ship abroad Estonia and accept Credit Card as a form of payment?
I anticipate your swift response with your updated webpage.
Best
Shirley Truman

When told only paypal payments would be accepted, here was the scammer response:

From: Shirley Truman [shirleytruman@rocketmail.com]
Subject: Re: Comment from [website url inserted here]

Hi,
Thank you for the swift response,
I can only pay with giving you my credit card number and expiry because my URL would not allow me to complete any transaction of such online.
I want you to get back to me asap so that we can know how to proceed .
Best
Shirley Truman

Playing dumb.... also cleverly inserted the website url in the subject line so they could keep track of their "presonalization" of the exchange and not tip the potential victim off too soon that something was not right. Tssk tssk, fake Shirley Truman....

Scam Email: Robin Map II

We already have a previous report and lots of replies on the scammer using the name of "Robin Map". This is the guy that seems to be also using Skype with his victims. One artist thinks she actually found a photo of him on flicker. He seems to be from Dubai. And oddly, he actually looks like a scammer, pretty slimey-looking.

Anyway, here is another email exchange with a potential victim, to show you what they look like.

First Email (just signs it "Map." funny...):

From: Robin Map [robinmap1@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 11:17 AM
Subject: [name of item inserted here]
Hello,

I go through your art work and i really like your creative, due to
this i really have the interest in buying this your work, so kindly
email me the price of it and the info about the work because i
really like it and also my wife also have an interest in it as well
because we saw it together from your web and we want to buy it.

Hope to read from you,

Map.

Second Email:

From: Robin Map [robinmap1@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 11:25 PM
Subject: Re: [name of item inserted here]

Hi Joe,

No problem you can build and make another one for me just exactly like the former one, email me the price it will cost and how long will it take you to finish it.

Robin.

Third Email (where he miraculously becomes "Thomas" by the end of the email):

From: Robin Map [robinmap1@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 4:45 PM
Subject: Transaction begin.......

Hi Joe,

I really appreciate your response regarding the info about the piece and the price Thank you a lot for that.
 Regarding to where i live, am from Netherlands which is the place  that am staying and living including me and my family, Due to this the payment will be through Cheque or Money Oder base on the one that you want.
 Once again i will arrange the acqurate shipping company that will come for the pickup of the piece where ever is locate due to damagies and lost of goods that normally happen now adays, that is the reason why i decide to arrange the pick up by my self so that the piece will not lost or damage before it arrive to my destination here.
 For the sake of me arranging the shipping company that will come for the pick up i will definately provide the shipment fees for the pick up on the same cheque or Money oder that i will mail to you.
 Email me the info below in other for the cheque or the money oder to be send out to you once i receve the below info.
 Name that will be written on cheque;
 Your Address where the cheque or money order will be mail too;
 Including your Phone Number along;
 Immediately i receive the above info i will email you and notify you on when you should be expecting the payment and immediately the payment has been send put i will notify you as well in other for you to be expecting it and watching out for is arriver.
 I hope you understand my mail if there is any question that you may have regarding my arrangement you are welcome to ask any questions, also if you don't mind here is my skype user id thomasbill11 we can use skype to communicate with each other by calling our self and by chatting and discussing without self, in a case you don't have a skype user id yet kindly go to www.skype.com and download it and after downloading register with skype and email me your user id so i can add you to my skype id.

 I will be waiting for your response,
 Thomas.

Call-Forwarding Scam Reappears

Don't Be Tricked Into Dialing *72

Officials are warning people to be careful of an old con that's popped up again -- the call forwarding scam.

Victims often think they're doing a kindness to a stranger or for a friend. The phone rings, usually late at night, and callers tell the victim someone has been injured, and to contact an officer at the scene.

How to get the officer? By dialing *72, then a phone number.

But that *72 only activates the call forwarding function -- letting the con artists make collect phone calls and pay-per call services on your dime. Many people don't find out they've been conned until they receive a whopping phone bill.

It's recently been an issue in Michigan, where the Isabella County Sheriff's office issued a warning.

A similar scam involved someone claiming to be an inmate, saying he dialed the wrong number, explaining he has been arrested -- and please dial *72 and the "right number" so he can reach his mother or family.

That's how the scam started in 2004, when Cook County Jail inmates in Chicago used *72 to make hundreds of long-distance calls, all paid for by someone else.

Better Business Bureau officials say consumers who fall for the scam should dial *73 to deactivate the feature and report unauthorized charges to their phone companies.