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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Scam Email: Robert Crandal

Hi Kathleen,

This person is making his rounds with many of my artists and colleagues as well.

*ROBERT CRANDAL* - robertcrandal.ltd@gmail.com

Below is my correspondence.  (I deleted my name and the requested artist's name from the correspondence) You may add to list and share, please do not share any other identifying info.

Your blog is great. Thank you.

John
On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 1:51 PM, robert crandal [robertcrandal.ltd@gmail.com]
> wrote:

> Hi,
> Thanks for the details,I am on my way to Indonesia for a conference and
> might not be back till after 2 weeks, Would have come to inspect and
> purchase the piece personally,as a matter of fact am relocating to
> Johannesburg and am trying to gather some good arts for my new home. am
> buying yours ( artist's name and price ) quickly! before someone else grabs
> it, I'll arrange to send you payment ASAP.
>
> However, I will have to notify my shipper who is shipping my belongings
> from the States to get set for the pickup of the piece at your place as I
> might be delayed in Indonesia, you don't need to worry about shipping
> though.
> Thanks,
>
> PS: Kindly get back to me with your contact details so I can get a
> certified check prepared and sent out to you ASAP.
>
> On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 1:49 PM, John wrote:
>
>> Hello, Robert:
>>
>> Thank you for your interest.  The price for *(Artist's name and title*is $).  This painting is available.
>>
>> The other panel, (title) is its compliment as the artist created them
>> together.  They are being offered as a pair for ($) if you are
>> interested.
>>
>> Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
>> Thank you.
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 1:56 AM, robert crandal

>>[ robertcrandal.ltd@gmail.com] wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>> My name is Robert. I recently visited your website and found your Work
>>> of arts to be appealing. I am very impressed with it and would be
>>> interested in purchasing it for my apartment I am moving into this month.
>>> Please do provide me with the price and details if it is available.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Robert Crandal
>>>

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Scam Email: Johnny Williams

Hi Kathleen,

Here is another scammer for you, who can't spell his own name or the town he is "in":

"Johnny Williams" [johnnywalkerwilliams@yahoo.com]

Hi there,

I am a chief librarian in a private library here in Spain and we are looking at equipping and beautifying our Library with artworks of diverse artist in order to lecture and broaden our student’s horizon on art and culture when they come to the library to study and read books on art and culture and to show art interests. Such things as stylistic preferences and I hope you will help us tailor our mailings to meet our specific needs
We will be glad if you can assist us with how to purchase the artworks from your website and we shall make payment immediately with charge card (Visa or Master card) either one you prefer for the purchase before you send the artwork to us.

We anticipate your kindness in assisting us with the purchase.

Sincerely
Jonny Williams

SANTA COLOMA DE GRAMANET 56
BARCELONA
SPAIN
ZIPCODE 08921

Thanks for keeping your list,
Rachel

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Scam Email: Jose Santos

Copying this to you and wondering....It seems to be in the scam mode. 

Please advise.
Mary
FROM: jose.santos481@yahoo.es
SUBJECT: YOUR PAINTINGS

Hello,

I have seen some of your paintings online and recently visited your website and I am very impressed by the wonderful pieces you have on display. I will like to buy paintings from you, can you get back to me with the price range of your paintings, the shipping cost to this address Palestine Rd. Corner PR Fahad Street, PO Box 6448 Jeddah, 21442 Saudi Arabia, Falastin, Jeddah 23223, Saudi Arabia, and lastly hope you accept (Credit card) as a method of payment.

Kindly get back to me asap.

Best Regards.
We have sent emails back and forth as I'm a sculptor not a painter. I suggested that he look at my website. He requested prices, with shipping, taxes, etc. for a few pieces. I' m pretty lazy so quoted prices without packing, taxes or shipping and wrote that he should let me know, before I began to check out shippers, whether he was interested. He emailed again and asked for quotes with shipping. See below
Hello Mary,

Thanks for your understanding and detailed emailed about what you do, find below the works i would like to purchase from you [he lists the pieces, then he continues...]

I would say one of the greatest invention is the internet, with the help of the internet the world is a global village.

I am currently on the oil rig in the middle of the sea of Manifa typing this message, I love art works collections alot, that is why i have decided to open a gallery of my own as I would be retiring soon, so it is really good i met you as you have beautiful and wonderful works, since its a gallery I intend open I should have a special sections for sculptures so i would like to do business with you and will want you supplying me sculptures for my Gallery occasionally.

For a start kindly get back to me with the total cost of the works I have chosen including shipping cost and I can make payment hope you accept credit card as a method of payment as that is the most suitable for me.

Await your next email!

Regards,
Jose.
I writing again here. By the way I also talked with the credit card company to find out how to set up extra security. But I was still worried about credit card theft being used for this purchase.

So before this goes further, is this a scammer?  

Thank you for your assistance, in advance.
Mary

Friday, March 1, 2013

Scam Email: Michelle Barry

Nothing too unusual about this one. It's a bit brief but you can tell it is a scam by the poor English and the set up about moving (which will lead into the rest of the scam in subsequent emails, about a mover coming to pick it up and sending a cashier's check, etc).

From: michelle barry [michelle.barryllc@gmail.com]
Date: March 1, 2013 4:47:06 AM EST
Subject: Lemon Oil on Canvas

Hello,
Am Michelle from Florida, I was browsing through  your work of arts on your website and i found this  artwork  interesting , I believe you've devoted so much  time and effort to create it. i will like to acquire it for my new apartment this month.
please let me know if the piece is available, shoot me an email with the details and price. I awaits your response
Regards.
Michelle.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Scam Email: Lisa Wallcott

Last email sent to me

From: Lisa Wallcott [edwedg18@gmail.com]
Hope this message finds you well. I am very sorry for the late response but it has been a very busy time for me with loads of things on my plate. Anyway , i will like to proceed with the purchase of both works. I think they are lovely works and i hope to give them good home.

I am presently on my way to Bermuda 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 can have one of his PA handle the payment asap. 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 artworks from
your studio.

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

Best Regards,
Lisa.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Scam Email: Mathew Rudy

Hi Kathleen,

I´ve found some information for your site about following: He seems to be active again. Thank you for the information. They sent me following email:

eMail : rudydorothy97@yahoo.com

Greetings .

Am Mathew Rudy,

Am interested in buying artworks from your esteemed organization for my new apartment and you still have for sale and i will be glad if you can Send me recent art work you have for sale with the asking prices,also i will like to know if you will accept BANK DRAFT(CHECK) as means of payment Kindly arrange to send me (rudydorothy97@yahoo.com), by e-mail more information on all artworks you have in stock Looking forward to an early response
Regards,
Mathew Rudy
TEL:+447520234467
66 Chiswick High Rd,
London W4 1SY, UK.
rudydorothy97@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Scam Email: Tyler He

Hi Kathleen, just got this yesterday after responding to his initial email with a list of three galleries that have my paintings. So this "guy" is very active as I see his name is already on your list. By the way, great job you are doing to get everyone alerted to these scams. I actually did a commissioned painting for some supposed client last year ( it was my first experience with these type of scams) and when it was done the person ( whose name I can't remember right now) disappeared from email and I could not contact her.
David

Begin forwarded message:

From: tyler He [he.tyler@yahoo.com]
Subject: Hello
Date: February 22, 2013 2:55:08 AM EST
Reply-To: tyler He [he.tyler@yahoo.com]

Hello David,

Thanks for the message, Hope  you are doing  great.Please let me have the asking price, I must tell you I am very much interested in the immediate purchase of the "Evening Light. I'm okay with the price $2,500, I think it worth it anyway.

Unfortunately,  I am on voyage to Philippines 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.

If you'd like to know, I'm relocating to the Philippines soon and I'm trying to gather some good stuff to furnish my new abode. I am buying yours (quickly before someone else grabs it) So, I'll arrange to send you payment ASAP.

However, you don't have to worry about shipment, my shipper will handle it.I'll 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,
Tyler.

PS: In the mean time, you could forward me your full name (you want the check payable to) cell phone no. and contact address so I can fedex a check to you ASAP

Friday, February 8, 2013

Scam Email: Abigail Spencer

Hi Kathleen,

I haven't received an email like this before and was getting red flags from the beginning, but replied anyways. Now am pretty confident from reading the info you have on your site that this is indeed a scam. 

The address isn't coming up legit as written here (although misspelled) and all this asap stuff sounds really hokey to me.  Thanks for getting the word out on spam info.  I really appreciate it!

H.

From: Abigail Spencer [abigailspencer478@ymail.com]
Sent: Friday, February 8, 2013 12:48:59 PM
Subject: Re: Artwork Inquiry

Hi,
I am okay with the cost of these three therefore i want you to get them packed

A View to the North Shore is also available for $2300
House on a Hill  is available for $800
The Stadium is available for $1800

On the shipping one will have to pay additional fee at the delivery point here in Guernsey  because they will never bring to ones house. courier like Fedex, UPS are not worth it here especially USPS all of them are not rendering good service here probably because they already known very well. You can contact this courier Drone Logistic (dronelogistic@live.com) as well with the weight and cost of the artwork for the shipping and insurance to my address because they ship and deliver safely without one paying any other money before collecting the goods unlike some other courier where it will not be delivered to your address rather you will have to go to their office to pick it up and when you get there you will be told to pay other money before collecting it.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you asap.

Thanks
 
Shipping Address
15 The Monic St. Peter Port, GY1 2PX
Channel Islands Guernsey

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Free Book Giveaway Contest Feb 4- March 7, 2013 Signed Copy

Please feel free to enter my book giveaway contest on GoodReads.com

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/43422-social-media-scams-protect-yourself-on-facebook-twitter-ebay-more

I've been helping people for years avoid online scams and I wrote Top 10 Email Scams and Social Media Scams to help spread the word further on how to avoid Internet scams. I want to continue my crusade to reduce the number of victims from these criminals.

This giveaway focuses on my second book, in printed book format, in the series. In Social Media Scams you will learn to recognize and avoid all the top scams currently in use online - it covers scams on Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Craigslist, dating sites and more. It will be a signed copy. It is 220 pages.

The contest runs from February 4 through March 7, 2013 on GoodReads.com

Stay safe out there!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Scam Email: Tamara Walter

Katie,

It is so difficult to get an email to you via your blog?

But I've been scammed before and wanted you to add another email to your blog for other artists to watch out for.

Tamara Walter  -   t333walter@rocketmail.com

Email Content:

Hello,
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork for sale in your
gallery, if you can ship international and also if you are able to process
Electronically 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.
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Sincerely
Tamara


Thanks Katie ... You're doing great things to help others.


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Scam Email: Teresa Palmer

Here is a scammer that has put a really long number in their disposable email account, no doubt setting up hundreds of these to use in their scam.

In this particular scam, the scammer is saying they will pay with paypal - because users think this is the safe way to avoid scammers. But it is not. What the scammer does is they create a fake payment confirmation email that looks exactly like it is coming from paypal, but it is not. There is no money sent to paypal. But the trusting victim thinks money has been sent. The scammer is hoping before the victim ever bothers to manually check their paypal account, they will have already forwarded money to the scammer via wire transfer (supposedly for the nonexistent shipper) and the scam is already over and the money gone. Doesn't work in every case, but unfortunately, it works in far too many cases.

Moral of the story? Always open a brand new browser window, type in paypal.com manually and log into your account and check it before sending any money anywhere.

Bottomline moral of the story? NEVER ever ever wire money to someone. Make this rule for yourself and you will avoid this scam.

NEW scammer Teresa_Palmer19821029123@hotmail.com ?????

Hello i saw you listing on artscad.com and am interested i want to know if you still have this item available for sale?i can only pay through pay pal.please get back to me on my private email address..

Teresa_Palmer19821029123@hotmail.com.

Thanks.
_____________________________________________

Thanks for the lovely respond to my purchase of your Painting i really want to buy the item from you as soon as possible..Currently am not in the state travel to have a program but will soon be back home...I want you to know that i have the pick up agent who are coming for the pick up of the item from you after i make the transfer of money into your PayPal account..

Now i will want you to get back to me with your PayPal email address and your final asking price for the item so that i can make the transfer into your PayPal account soon.

I will be waiting to read from you soon..

Regards.
______________________________________________

1. all of them are on BOAT or TRAVELING AROUND THE GLOBE ?
2. they all have some AGENT to pick up ART ?

HMMM ???
Thanks for your* HELP !*

Monday, January 7, 2013

Scam Email: Lisa James

Thanks for your Blog!

I just received this!

I was about to pull art for this person!!

I posted a thanks on your face book too... You are awesome!

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

From: Lisa James. [mailto:trazzywittss@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2013 4:03 PM
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.

Purple Ocean , Reflection and  Embrace

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,

Lisa James.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Scam Email: Wagner Antonova

Dear Kathleen,

Thank you for your blog and information. I regularly get emails from artist scammers.

This name I couldn't find on your scammers list. Maybe it will help somebody.

Kind regards,

Olga
03 Jan 2013 om 14:59 heeft Wagner Antonova [wagnerantonova@aol.com] het volgende geschreven:

Good Day,

I see this your beautiful work through my searching, do you still have it available? The work am talking about is listed on the Subject of my email, i will be expecting the price if you still have it available.

I wish you Happy new year.
Wagner Antonova
wagnerantonova@aol.com

second email:
Van: Wagner Antonova [wagnerantonova@aol.com]
Datum: 3 januari 2013 22:25:36 GMT+01:00
Onderwerp: Transaction Proceeds.

Dear Olga,

Thank you for your reply and the Information about the Painting, The price is okay by me.

Regarding the Payment I will issue you a cheque for easy auditing, it will be a cashier and as well certified, "advised by my Auditor" I will inform you as soon as the payment is been sent out from my office here Berkshire United Kingdom.

I will be needing your information to process your payment ASAP. We may also speak on Skype if you wouldn't mind in other to discuss about the transaction verbally.

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

Also i want you to know that i will appoint a secured shipping company that will come for the pickup of the Pieces in your destination, and then deliver it to me here in the UK. The shipping fees will be added to your payment. I have had bad experience with FedEx and UPS in the past. So I guess a guaranteed secured shipper will be preferably considered and appoint for the pickup.

Am on Skype as:  wagnerantonova.

Regards,
Wagner Antonova.
wagnerantonova@aol.com

Saturday, December 15, 2012

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

Saturday, December 1, 2012

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