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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

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.

12 comments:

  1. When I told him to kindly look for another person to cheat, he immediately quit and changed his Skype profile. But Skype keeps the contact you once added in the contact list. Now the status changed to “contact request pending“, but I still see his profile.
    The only thing that remains the same is the Skype name "hannhp900". He changed all the rest... So his present name is Paul T and he is a female from Las Vegas, United States, born on Dec. 19th, 1963. Language: English. (Interesting combination Miss Paul.)

    Rudolf

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for this Rudolf - it has been very entertaining and I'm sure will be of use to others to help them avoid this character.

    And what a rare treat to actually see a photo and that he... well, looks just like you'd think a scammer would look like.

    Thanks again Rudolf!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This time it is just a small update. Mr. or Mrs. Paul added a photo to the profile. As he already did he chose a pic from the website http://www.focushawaii.com.

    For all the users who are not familiar with this function I will explain how the reverse picture search in Google works: It is possible to save the image from the profile or from the website (usually these guys don’t care about renaming the pic, which makes it even easier to find the original). Then go to the Google image search and pull your jpg file into the search bar. The pic is uploaded and in between seconds you should have the result. Then you see where the pic originally comes from.

    Mrs. Anna Johnson Femin Tosin Paul T. prefers the same model agency - so the result was not a big surprise. He stole his profile pic in saatchionline.com as Mrs. Anna Johnson from the same website. This new image is of a man with a boy, taken from a website that profiles images of a male model at http://www.focushawaii.com/model-talent/kevinr/kevinr.htm

    One thing I still do not get: why for god’s sake is he still pretending to be a female? Any ideas anyone?

    Rudolf

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here is an email when they get to the part of the scam where they've paid with fake money and try to get you to send your REAL money to some non-existent shipper:

    Hello

    the payment has been made,.,,,am waiting for the western union information today so that the shipper's agent can come for the pick up of the item so i will be waiting for the western union detail today,,

    Here is the shipper's agent information below :

    Company name: craters and freighters

    Name: Richard Fennewald
    369 Central Avenue, Hot Springs
    Arkansas USA, 71901

    i wait for the western union information today.

    Email the money transfer information to the below email.
    craters.freighters@post.com

    Mrs Anna Johnson
    anna2021anna@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. and note the fake shipper's email address is slightly different on this one:

    here is the company information

    Company name: craters and freighters
    Name: Richard Fennewald
    369 Central Avenue, Hot Springs
    Arkansas USA, 71901

    Email the money transfer information to the below email.
    cratersandfreighters@post.com

    Mrs Anna Johnson
    anna2021anna@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. thanks for sharing this information with others, i've got same of these letter exactly and shippment address,but unfortunatly i read these details after i paid for shipment money. the reason was i trust Saatchi websit when i recieved two email under anna johnson address.

    sam

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello!

    I was lucky that I did not let himself be deceived. Helped my friends understand this. Is it possible to punish this bastard? I can provide all correspondence with "Anna."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sure that y o u have that.
      if you are not a victim and you did not pay the correspondence is not needed. the victims are already informing each other and provide all the evidence to the court. charges for theft, fraud and credit card fraud are filed against him now in france, usa, germany and nigeria.

      Delete
  8. Hello,
    I received the same emails. Now presented as James King

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Kathleen,
    My daughter found your blog and warned me that my potential client was a scam. “Linda Johnson” contacted me through my Artspan site. You can see the exchange below. Please feel free to add this to your scam list, but please don’t include my email address and information. Thank you for this service!
    Denise



    Linda Johnson
    7:20 PM (1 hour ago)
    to me
    302 W San Marino
    Miami Beach, FL 33139
    (562) 726-2431



    On 6/29/14, Denise wrote:
    > Where are you located and what is your telephone number?
    >
    > Sent from my iPad
    >
    >> On Jun 28, 2014, at 6:08 AM, Linda Johnson [lindajohnss15@gmail.com]
    >> wrote:
    >>
    >> Hi Denise,
    >> Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creative
    >> works. Can you pls send link or photos of some of your recent works
    >> that are available for purchase right now. I will look forward to
    >> hearing from you soon.
    >>
    >> Thanks.
    >> Linda.
    >>
    >>> On 6/25/14, Denise wrote:
    >>> Thank you for your inquiry. I am sorry to inform you that [name of art piece] is
    >>> no
    >>> longer available for purchase. [Name of another art piece] is at a gallery. Where are you located?
    >>> Kind regards,
    >>> Denise
    >>>
    >>>
    >>>> On Wed, Jun 25, 2014 at 7:18 AM, Linda Johnson [noreply@artpan.com]
    >>>> wrote:
    >>>>
    >>>> Hi Denise,
    >>>>
    >>>> Below is a message from Linda Johnson. It was sent from your website
    >>>> contact form.
    >>>> Warning: Please be aware of possible scams, especially involving wired
    >>>> funds, cashier checks, money orders, escrow or unusual shipping
    >>>> arrangements.
    >>>> For a list of example scams that have targeted artists, please login to
    >>>> your control panel and click on "Is it a Scam?"
    >>>>
    >>>> Visitor Message:
    >>>> =======================================================>>>> Hi, Hope this message finds you well. I saw these lovely pieces on your
    >>>> website and I will like you to get back with more details if they are
    >>>> still
    >>>> available for purchase. [Name of Art Piece] and [Name of Art Piece] I will appreciate an
    >>>> urgent reply. Best Regards, Linda Johnson.
    >>>> =======================================================>>>>

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have received the same message from the Linda Johnson email. I was wary of the transaction from the beginning, since she refused to pay me through pay pal, then sent a check for too much money and wanted me to reimburse the funds. If there is anything I can do to help stop this scam please let me know.

    Name: Linda Johnson
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Email Address: lindajohnss15@gmail.com
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Subject: Artworks Inquiry
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Message: Hi,
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hope this message finds you well. I saw these lovely pieces
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> on
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> your
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> website and I will like you to get back with more details if
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> they
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> are
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> still available for purchase.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> gallbladder and new mexico
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I will appreciate an urgent reply.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Best Regards,
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Linda Johnson.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Scammers are good at hiding their identity, living in foreign countries, using other people's accounts and hijacking other people's computers to do all their dirty work. And each individual scam is just low enough not to be of much interest to the authorities. But a lot to the victim. Scammers know this.

    Best I have figured to do is try and make their lives harder by keeping this blog and Facebook page and hoping we all pitch in to help warn off others from these scams - as long as they think to Google it before wiring anyone money for any reason.

    Glad to hear you figured this one out in time.

    ReplyDelete