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.

Scam Email: Steven Patrick

Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for putting the scam list together.  I got the email below &  his address is already on your list.

Chris

Return-Path:[steve.patrickgroups@gmail.com]
From: Steven Patrick [steve.patrickgroups@gmail.com]
Subject: [name of art piece here]

Good day,

My name is Steven Patrick, I'm from Quebec 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,
Steven.

Scam Email: Nimota Brown

Here is a scammer targeting artists that use Artfire. Not sure where they got that fake name of 'Nimota'.

think this is a new one...I received this message this morning via my Artfire store front.

Subject: [name of two art pieces here]

Hello seller,
Am Nimota Brown by name i locate in west valley city Utah.i saw your item for sale and am so much interested in buying the item for you.Do you still have the item available for sale,Do you accept PayPal for mode of payment?I will like to ask you the following questions.

1)Are you the real owner?

2)What is the present condition?

3)How much is the final asking price?

4)Do you have PayPal ID which payment can be make?

5)Where is the exact location for the pick up?

kindly email me direct to my personal email.nimotabrown123@yahoo.com

 and then after the artist replied and said they can buy those pieces through their artfire store, the scammer wrote this reply, so all the usual crap they give:

Thank for your swift mail.........am very happy to see your mail i just want to inform you that i have little problem with my artfire mail that is the reason why i told you in my first mail that you should mail me direct to my personal email so kindly get back to me with your final price of the item and your paypal invoice and also u you don't need to bother your self about the shipping i have my shipper that i will come for the pick up in your location since i have some item to pick up in the state you item was the last item i brought so i will be waiting to read for you asap

Scam Email: Rudd Vandel

Hi Kathleen,

I received this email last week and responded briefly to determine if he had any clue I am in Australia.  I too have that whole "too good to be true" vibe and this isn't the first time I've received one of these emails - both were people at sea, both wanted to make PayPal payments and both had an agent who would pick up "the item".  Thank you for your blog, I wasn't sure how they were making the scam work with PayPal but you have cleared it up for me.  I hope you can add this scumbag to your list!!

Thanks again

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Rudd Vandel [ruddan009@yahoo.com]
Date: 7 April 2012 04:37
Subject: Re: Artwork Enquiry: [name of art piece]

 Hello,Thanks for getting back to me..I locate in Ohio .what's is your final asking price of the Item?and i am aware that the Item is located in AU but I am currently on sea for a business trip... I am paying you through PayPal and i will like you to get back to me with your PayPal Invoice because i will need to have it confirmed before making the payment.. After the payment has been made and confirmed,i have a shipping company that will be coming for the item pick up from you at your given location..Thanks

Rudd Vandel.