Sunday, April 24, 2011

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.
at

30 comments:

  1. Ebb BerryApril 27, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    I just got one too from Howard Brown. Almost fell for it. Thanks for the info.
    Ebb Berry

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 27, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    I got this today as well.

    From: David Osborne [mailto:davidosborne03@gmail.com]
    Sent: April-27-11 8:51 AM
    Subject: "Mining3" Oil 36 x 48

    Good day,

    My name is David Osborne I'm from California 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.

    David.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 28, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    I am getting very sick of these, thank you for this site to set it straight for us....

    From: David Osborne [mailto:davidosborne03@gmail.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 11:58 PM
    To:
    Subject: Hello


    Hello,

    Thanks for your prompt reply.I really appreciate your detailed breakdown and frankness on this.
    I tried calling your phone# but didnt get through. sure i'll make a try later when im free.

    Unfortunately, Im on my way to India on an official trip(I'm a marketing Executive) and wont be back for another two weeks, I would have come to inspect the piece personally. Im taking your word for true on It though .

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

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 29, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    I just got one today with the exact same wording.
    I was suspicious from the beginning and glad that I Googled him and fond this website.

    ReplyDelete
  5. TinkerApril 30, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Oh Yeah. today he's "very interested in my painting, blah blah blah..

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 1, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    I also received the identical email and suspected a scam based on the 'let's do this in a hurry' flavour of the wording! I replied that my usual vehicle for payment is via Paypal and heard nothing following that. Glad that word is getting out there regarding these scammers. Talk about lowlife!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 2, 2011 at 2:57 AM

    Indeed, I got the David Osborne letter yesterday and corresponded a bit. I was nice for about a half-hour before I ggogled his name and realized that it was a scam... but it was fun for a bit. Whatever, don't get caught. I suppose it could be very demoralizing. cheers

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 19, 2011 at 12:21 AM

    David is a busy boy... the emails from him are a straight copy of the ones above. He toyed with us with some back and forth, I was suspicious of the bad grammar for such a 'high' up and decided to google him. Thanks for this post as it saved us a lot of trouble. ...real learning curve!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 4, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    I enjoyed David's e-mails for about a month before I got fed up. He never seems to get to the actual scam. After two weeks of "Has the cheque arrived yet ? ? ?", I finally told him that I knew who he was and that I would be sure to get back to him as soon as I got the cheque. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

    I knew that things weren't adding up from day one, but googling the e-mail address and finding this site helped to confirm things.

    Good work. Personally, I think that he's a nut bar.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJune 26, 2011 at 6:36 AM

    I also received the same emails and after the second correspondence with Osborne I was suspicious and did a search on his name, finding this website. I posted the emails on my own website along with links to this site and will be networking with the artist local community in my city also. My last reply to David Osborne was the link to this website, I think he will get the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 6:39 AM

    I just received an email from David Osborne today with the same schtick. Thanks for keeping artists up to date on the potential scams out there.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    Just received this email and also replied with this link. I'm so glad for this website! I smelled a rat with the incorrect grammar and strange English usage. I was suspicious from the get-go.

    Good day,

    My name is David Osborne I'm from California 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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousJuly 1, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    I got the same message from him today. I'm so glad I Googled him, and found this site, before responding to him. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousJuly 2, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    I received the same message today and I deleted it right away. Glad you have this scammer posted on this website. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousAugust 7, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    My inquiry came today. The wording was so similar to one received a couple of years ago (a customer moving to South Africa) the hair rose on the back of my neck. Doing a quick google, I found your site. Thank you.

    This one came from Tom Woodruff in Texas. Here is the full email:
    Good day,
    My name is Tom Woodruff, I'm from Texas 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.
    Tom.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    Hi, I actually received the check in the mail today from the David Osborne guy. Glad I googled "david osborne" fake buyer. Also, a guy named M Warner emailed me to tip me off that the David Osborne guy accidentally emailed him and that the whole proposition was a scam and how it would play out.

    I'm holding the check now and will take it to the bank to "get rid of it".

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousNovember 12, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    Received the same David Osborne email yesterday. First off, who shops for art at 6:30 in the morning on Remembrance Day? More importantly, anyone interested in shelling out a couple grand for a painting ought to have impeccable grammar, or at the very least, something less generic to say about the work they're so interested in acquiring. Straight to the spam folder he goes!

    This site is AWESOME! Thanks for providing such a great resource for artists.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousNovember 16, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    he's back at it. just got one too!! thanks for posting this info.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousNovember 21, 2011 at 10:20 PM

    I received the David Osborne email tonight - I sent prices and info then decided to google his name - shoulda googled first. At least now it will go directly to the spam folder and delete!

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2012 at 7:09 AM

    He's changed his name to "David Batmann" and is stepping up his game by actually naming the piece of art in the subject line of the email. But the wording of the note, bad grammar and all, is still exactly the same.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousApril 14, 2012 at 4:59 PM

    Thanks got this today from
    David Batmann

    firmmology001@hotmail.com

    Figured it was a scam, by the wording

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousApril 15, 2012 at 10:39 PM

    I also got an e-mail from "David Batmann" and the last name was so hilarious I knew it had to be a scam. The e-mail he was using when he contacted me was academicss002@gmail.com. Still using the same phony wording that everyone above received. His grammar was so poor and the scheme so transparent it's almost laughable - except that this person is trying to harm people financially, and that's not funny.

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 11:22 AM

    I received the email today from "David Batmann".

    Said he was hoping to have one of my paintings for his new apartment. Said he was from Phoenix. He named the painting title in the title of his email. the email came from the academicss002@gmail.com email address.

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 2:40 PM

    I have received the same email from "David Batmann" and after certain things I say in his wording got suspicious. Unfortunately, I already gave him my physical address for the "cashier's check". I just emailed him telling him, that the piece is not available. He did step it up with me telling the name of the piece and dimensions. First and last!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousJune 5, 2012 at 10:57 AM

    Another name used by someone sending pretty much the same language as David Osborne is "Phillip Phillips from Hawaii".

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousJune 11, 2012 at 12:34 PM

    I just got one from David batmann

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousJuly 1, 2012 at 6:20 AM

    I got a email from a man named as David Batmann. here is the message he sent:
    Aloha,
    Good day to you over there, My name is David batmann I'm from Hawaii and my eyes caught this particular work( “Unseen IV” ), 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.

    I googled and found David Osborne. Same message as Batmann.
    I found this site and realized that I should not respond to the message.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 4:42 AM

    I live in MA, and I, too, have just received a message (July 5, 2012), worded as above message dated July 1, 2012. It is from "David Batmann" who says he's from Phoenix. He said he wants to buy a painting from me. Same thing, e.g. "new apt., later this month, etc. etc. I couldn't find anyone by his name on Whitepages.com, either in Phoenix or anywhere. Pretty dumb guy. I was suspicious form the start, as it was a poorly worded and unsigned (e.g. no closing) message. Glad I fond this website to confirm my cynical viewpoint...!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    The body of an email was in PS section
    David Batmann academicss002@gmail.com
    My name is David,im from phoenix,was browsing through the internet and my eyes caught this particular work, will like to have it for my new apartment probably this month.please let me know if the piece is available and if yes let me have the detailed price and more information about it. i will be waiting to read from you.

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 9:51 AM

    Man I feel like celebrity: a month ago the Agora Gallery, now this David guy

    ReplyDelete