Scam Email: Luiza Kwiatkowska

Scammers are not above grabbing the names of real people online and using them for their own criminal purposes. Also notice how, in the below scam, the scammer begins by asking about PayPal (thus trying to establish some credibility with their victim) but then switches, using some trumped up story, to what they actually need for their scam to succeed: a wire transfer via some service like Western Union or MoneyGram.


Hello Kathleen,

Well, it's the first time it's happening to me. I'm glad I found your site, thank you for doing this. The name was not on your list, it's luiza kwiatkowska, e-mail luiza.kwiatkowska@o2.pl. When I look for the name on the internet it seems to be a renowned graphic designer and illustrator in Poland but I'm pretty sure it's not her...

She contacted me via a website where I sell some artwork. In her profile at that site, she mentions she
is from Miami.

Here's the conversation (and LOTS of warning signs). I replied to her first e-mail only, to see if she was serious. And then her second e-mail just raised some major suspicions and was just plainly ridiculous. I  didn't reply to her and I'm going to delete the e-mail :

*luizakwiatkows*

offers 600 CAD on your artwork Modèle au corbeau

Hello,
I have read very about your item.
Am okay with the condition of the item. But before i proceed with the payment i will to ask about the item..
I have a private shipping company that will come for the pick up of the item in your location

Do you accept PAYPAL as you mode of payment?
What is the final price of the item without shipping cost?
Get back to me in my private mail at : luiza.kwiatkowska@o2.pl
Best Regards


My reply :

Hello,

> I have a private shipping company that will come for the pick up the item in your location

We are in Montreal, Canada. I can have the painting available at my usual gallery here at a time of your choice.

> Do you accept PAYPAL as you mode of payment?

Yes, you may address the payment to [paypal e-mail]

> What is the final price of the item without shipping cost?

600$ is fine.

Thank you for your interest.


Hello
I'm about to make the payments when i had this little problem with the picking up agent of the Item,I think you remember what i said in my previous mail that I'm working presently on the sea,so i tried to secure  booking with my pick up agent,but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking, and they only accept Western Union Money Transfer for payments and they don't accept PayPal or bank transfer, So i tried to send the money online but it's not going through and i am  on the sea, there is no way i can find a western union agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so i wanted to ask if it will be OK for me to include my pick up agent's fees together with your payments through PayPal,So you will help me wire the pick up fee to them via western Union Money Transfer immediately i pay you,i don't mean to bother you I'm sure you understand that I'm presently on the sea and there is nothing i can do to that,The bottom line is after I have made the payments via PayPal,you will help me wire my pick up agent fee to them through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments,I will be very happy if my offer is given a favorable consideration,Respond as soon as possible so that i can send out your Payment.
Regards.

Scam Email: Andrew Hembree

Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for doing this.  I received a similar email back in August which is what made me suspicious of this one.  It was a different name, Steve Levitt, but the phrasing was almost word for word the same.  The first one I received is on your list, but this one is not.  In August I did not respond, but this time I wrote back and said I was in contact with the Federal Trade Commission.  It will probably not do any good, but it made me feel better.

Thanks again,
Elizabeth


On Dec 2, 2013, at 5:46 AM, andrew hembree (andrewhembree01@gmail.com) wrote:

Hello,
I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website (piece in subject field above) on my laptop and i guess she likes that piece, I must also say you are doing a great job. I would like to know what inspired that work.
I am very much interested in the purchase to surprise my wife.  Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sale.
Peace and blessings
Andrew

Scam Email: Max Gardner

Dear Kathleen,

This is the first email from a series from this person.
It is definitely a scam.
Please post his name on your site.
Any further advice for how I can report this, etc… would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Max Gardner [maxgardner402@yahoo.com]
> Subject: artwork
> Date: September 3, 2013 4:13:18 AM EDT
> Reply-To: Max Gardner [maxgardner402@yahoo.com]>
> Hello,
>
> My name is Max Gardner.  I found your profile on the internet. I am interested in purchasing an artwork from you for the decoration of my guest room at my new residence in Munich, Germany. Would appreciate if you can send me few pictures of the works you have available for sale so that I can make an easy choice of mine. Better still, send me a web link where I can have a view of your recent works.
>
> I look forward to read back from you.
> Thanks.
> Max.

Scam Email: Simeon Ducroux

Thanks for your Art Scam blog. My partner, Liz, received one of these emails yesterday. Your blog helped us confirm our suspicions that it was a scam.

Thank you so much for combatting this scourge!

Kind regards

Brian

Email attached below.

From: Simeon Ducroux [simeonducroux690@yahoo.com.au[mailto:simeonducroux690@yahoo.com.au]]
Date: 26 augusti 2013 13:02:09 GMT+01:00
Subject: Re: Craft Purchase
Reply-To: Simeon Ducroux [simeonducroux690@yahoo.com.au[mailto:simeonducroux690@yahoo.com.au]]

Hello ,

            You must have devoted so much time and effort to create this pieces that i am about to purchase because i can vividly see the uniqueness of the pieces. Your work also have  a pleasant and a suiting feeling, I am so sure it will bring comfort and happiness into my life. The piece listed below are the one's i will be purchasing.

[ name of six pieces and prices were inserted here]

Payment for those pieces will be made by cheque from bank in Europe and the  money can be withdraw from my account, i will be issuing €7,920 to cover the cost of the piece and shipping of your work.

I have some Furniture to be picked up from a store in Bremen,so you will deduct your fee from the payment issued to you and have the rest disburse to the shipper that will come over to your location to pick up your work and have it delivered safely to me at my residential address in Sydney,I would inform the shippers about it after have heard from you.They will just come over to your area to pick-up the piece and then have them delivered to me.Before i can proceed to issue to you the cheque  i  will be needing your contact details and phone number to write and send the cheque to you.The address written below is my address for shipping.
Thanks
Simeon

My address
29 O'Connell St,
Sydney NSW 2000,
Australia
Email:simeonducroux690@yahoo.com.au[http://yahoo.com.au]

Scam Email: Cindy Dickson

It's when scammers make lame mistakes that most people get suspicious that the purchase is not actually for real. This scammer using this fake name made several mistakes, but the obvious one that tipped the scales for the artist was saying they do not use PayPal. Then the artist got suspicious. But some scammer say they use PayPal and then send a faked payment confirmation email  hoping the artist will not manually check their account before wiring money to a non-existent shipper. So be careful. And google things that don't make sense.

On Aug 1, 2013, at 5:58 PM, Cindy Dickson [cindy.dicksonshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Good Day,

I am Cindy Dickson from Norway, I want to informed you that your items are most creative & desirable, so much talent! I am interested in purchasing some of your unique items to my shop in Norway,but before i do i want to inform if i can make the payment with my credit card because presently my best form of payment is via credit card,that is where i put all my money for any international transaction.So kindly reconfirm your website/contact details and get back to me with it so as to know if I'm right with the site.

Concerning the shipment,my shipping company will be coming to pickup the items because i already have some merchandise with them in which they will be shipping together to me here in Norway.So you don't need to be worried about the shipment nor handling fee.

Cindy-Za-Dicksonshop
Niels Juels gate 43
0257 Oslo,
Norway.
phone: + 47 20 13 31 00
fax:   + 47 23 28 49 51
Email: cindy.dicksonshop@gmail.com

Best Regard,
Cindy Dickson.

second email:

On Aug 2, 2013, at 12:14 PM, Cindy Dickson [cindy.dicksonshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Hello Carmen,

Thanks for getting back to me with a feedback,So below here is what i need.

[Name of Painting]
 Qty….1  $3000

[Name of Painting]
Qty….1 $3800

[Name of Painting]
Qty….1 $1800

[Name of Painting]
Qty….1 $3200

[Name of Painting]
Qty….$700

Please kindly calculate the total cost of the items,so that you can get the order processed for me.i will email you my Credit Card account information for the payment of the order.

Concerning the shipment, i will be having my shipping agent coming to pickup the order directly from you because i already have some large merchandise with them in which after picking up the items they will then deliver it to me here in Norway.So i want you to get back to me with the size and weight items.

Regards,
Cindy Dickson.

third email:

On Aug 7, 2013, at 2:03 AM, Cindy Dickson [cindy.dicksonshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Hello Carmen,

Thanks for getting back to me with the total, i will like to know cost of each one of the listed work i've selected.

Regards,
Cindy Dickson. 

fourth email:

On Aug 8, 2013, at 8:49 AM, Cindy Dickson [cindy.dicksonshop@gmail.com] wrote:

Carmen,

Concerning the payment,i will like to inform you that i DON'T use Pay pal for payment,so it will be best if you can look for a  colleague that has manual terminal charging machine so as to  assist you in charging my credit card details.If it's okay by  you kindly get back  to me so as to know if i will be proceeding with the order or not.

Thanks,
Cindy.

Scam Email: Frank Bernard

Here is the text of yet another scammer with another fake name and disposable email account:

Hi Cheryl,

Good to hear back from you.I will like to proceed with the purchase of the piece. I think it is a lovely work  and i hope to give it a good home.

I will be leaving soon to Bermuda for a Reform Project Work even though it comes at a time when i am preparing for a big move to Toronto but it means so much to her (My Wife) and i should be back in few days.

Meanwhile, i will like you to forward me your Full Name,Full Mailing Address And Phone Number so i can inform my Financier Assistance on where to forward the payment Via a Certified Check.

He will have Payment Handled Immediately i have instructions given to him since his in Canada Handling Official Duties and can handle the shipping as well just to ease your stress and make things faster for the delivery and us.

The shipping address is Below...

Mary Simmons
1008 Washington street,
Beaufort,29902 South Carolina USA.

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

Best Regards,
Frank Bernard
inc.inwent@outlook.com

Scam Email: Don Fisher

On Jul 19, 2013, at 5:30 PM, Don Fisher wrote:
--
Hello,

These  particular artwork of yours that you have for sale, is it still available and detailed price.
Don.

 
From: Don Fisher [bestofdonfisher@gmail.com]
Date: July 20, 2013 2:45:51 AM PDT
Subject: Re: Payment...................

Hello,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Unfortunately, Im on my way to Mexico 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.

I'm okay with the price $2,000, I think it worth it anyway. If you'd like to know, Im relocating to the South Africa 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 to get set for the pickup of the piece from your place as I MIGHT be delayed depending on how things goes.
Thanks,

PS: In the mean time, kindly get back to me with your Full Name,Contact Address and also your phone# so I can get a check prepared and have it sent out to you ASAP.

Don.

Scam Email: Brandon Domergue

This is one of those scammers who were too lazy to even pretend to be sending the request to one person - they just dumped their scam list into the TO field under "undisclosed-recipients". Lazy.

They ask for the website link, which doesn't make sense to us artists, but they do this because when they send out hundreds of thousands of these, they have no idea who is who when potential victims reply. And they want to personalize the email more for those who actually reply. But for us, asking to buy art and also asking for our website is a total red flag that tips us off it is a scam.

From: Brandon Domergue [brandondomergue@yahoo.ca]
Date: 4 July 2013 23:20:41 BST
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: *Purchase Request*

Good Evening,
   I am interested in purchasing some of your art work for my self and my budget is between 1000£-2000£ i will like to know if you have works in this category or above.If you do kindly send the images of those ones in this category or website link to the ones in the category.I await to read from you soon.
Regards
Brandon

Scam Email: Steven Leavitt

Hi Kathleen,

Thanks for the great information on art scammers on your website. Here is another name to add to your list. He contacted me a few days ago.

All Best,
Jen

On Jun 25, 2013, at 2:02 PM, Steven Leavitt [stevleavitt@yahoo.com] wrote:
 
Good day, hope you are good. Was going through your website and saw some of your artwork I really like. You are doing a great job. I would like to make the purchase of the artwork in subject field above if it is still available..i would also like to know what inspired the artwork. kindly get back to me asap.

Thanks and God bless,
Steve Leavitt.

second email:

From: Steven Leavitt [stevleavitt@yahoo.com]
Date: June 27, 2013, 7:10:37 PM GMT+02:00
Subject: Hello
Reply-To: Steven Leavitt [stevleavitt@yahoo.com]

Dear Jennifer,

Thanks for the message, Hope  you are doing  great. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website (artwork) on my laptop and i guess she likes your artwork, Also I must tell you I am very much interested in the immediate purchase of that artwork to surprise my wife. Unfortunately, at the moment I am on training voyage with new hires, fresh from graduate school, I would have come to purchase the piece personally but won't be back for another couple of weeks, as I am a civil marine engineer and due to the nature of my work, visiting of website, phone calls are restricted during this period, but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it:-). . Kindly email me the asking price asap.

If you'd like to know, I'm relocating to the Philippines soon and I'm also 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, I be appointing a secured shipping agent in Philippines whom are also moving my 1932 Ford ROADSTER and some personal effect to come over for the pickup of the painting at your place,and then deliver it to my new abode (Philippines); Courier service like FedEx, UPS are not worth it in the Philippines especially USPS all of them are not rendering good service there in the Philippines, they will never bring to ones house. I have had several bad experience with FedEx and UPS in the past and am not willing to pay additional fee at the delivery point in Philippines  because the appointed shipper will deliver safely without 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.

Thanks and God bless,
Steve Leavitt.

PS:In the meantime, 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. as I MIGHT be delayed depending on how things goes.

Scam Email: Martin Cheng

I got two of these scam emails one after the other. You can see from the headers that they are just using other people's compromised servers to send out their emails and that is why it is so hard to catch these criminals. They do reference credit cards as their payment form, so I would have to believe these scammers have a ready set of thousands of stolen credit card numbers.

From: Martin Cheng (greatwallcontractors1@hotmail.com)
Reply to: greatwallcontractors1@hotmail.com
Return Path: (psikolo1@host.instantdeliver.net)
Subject: Great Wall Contractors Inc

Second Spam email (sent 2 minutes after the first)

From: Martin Cheng (greatwallcontractors1@hotmail.com)
Reply to: greatwallcontractors1@hotmail.com
Return Path: (www.wildfire1.co.uk@mx3.genesisgroupuk.com)
Subject: Great Wall Contractors Inc

Body of Email (same in both emails):

Hello,

  My name is Martin Cheng .I am in the Manager of Great Wall Contractors Inc which is located in China.We will like to make order for some products in your company to our company at:

Martin Cheng

Great Wall Contractors Inc
RM307-330, Office Building, No.2 Tiantaiyi Road, Science Town, 510663 Guangzhou - PRC
tel +86 20 3831657 -

greatwallcontractors1@hotmail.com

  We will want you to send us your company website or send us your products price list so we can send you the full details on the products we are interested in.

  I will also want to confirm if your company do accept Credit card as means of payment.I will await to hear from you asap.

Regards,

Martin
Cheng

Great Wall Contractors Inc

Scam Email: Michael Gray Designs

Kathleen:

Here is my correspondence with someone not on your list.  But clearly a scam as I got further into it.  He wanted to send me more than three times the price of the work.  He even has a website.  Yuck.

Thanks for helping us stay on top of this.

Best,
Fran
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Gray [michaelgraydesigns@aol.com]
Date: Fri, May 17, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Subject: Artwork Purchase
To: michaelgraydesigns@aol.com

Hi, I saw a few of your art pieces and I'm interested in purchasing one or two of your pieces . Could you please let me know your available pieces,a price list and payment options .  I'm an art lover/collector and I'm collecting for my personal collections.****
Regards.

 *Michael Gray
michaelgraydesigns@aol.com
*www.michaelgraydesigns.webs.com*

Scam Email: Maurice Pierrez

Hi Kathleen ,

I'm certain I have a scammer knocking on my door. I googled 'artist scammers' and your site came up. I looked through and it was outrageously accurate in its content of what they do and thats why I'm now certain this guy is up to no good. He has all the box's ticked. I'd just like to give you his details for inclusion on the scammer list. Here is his name ( which he constantly changes and mis-spells ) and email address...

Maurice Pierrez or sometimes Maurice Pierre

And the email is...     mauricepierrez@yahoo.ca

I hope you can include it in your list soon as I'd like to send him a reply with a link to your page. Can you please confirm if you are ok with this ?

Thanks and keep up the good work.
Alan

Scam Email: Helen Carzola

Hi, Kathleen,

Thanks to your Art Scam site, we dodged an odd bullet with a big cheque from one of your merry crew of scammers, Helen Carzola.  Classic case (we now realise) of an order for a piece, followed by a cheque for twice the amount written on the account of a very big corporation in Toronto, but with no address or signing officer's name printed on it.  I'm sure you know the Stück.

Anyway, good of you to ferret out these bottom feeders.  I'm staggered at the huge number of them.

Regards,

Chris

Scam Email: Ronald Walker

Kathleen,

This is the first part of a conversation from an art scam. I didn't want to forward the later email that says they will send more than the amount so I can pay their shipper because it includes my home address and phone number (I hope nothing bad comes from that information).

From: ronald walker [ronaldwalker.llc@gmail.com>]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 6:42 AM
Subject: Arizona Pronghorn 2011 (18" x 36") latex paint and marker on canvas

Hi,

My name is Ron, 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 new apartment I am moving into this month. Please do provide me with the price and details if it is available.

Ron.

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: ronald walker [ronaldwalker.llc@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 6:43 PM
Subject: Re: Arizona Pronghorn 2011 (18" x 36") latex paint and marker on canvas

Thanks for your response and details,As it is am on my way to Indonesia now for a conference and might not be back till after 2 weeks, Would have come to inspect and purchase the piece personally as am relocating to Johannesburg and am trying to gather some good arts for my new home. am buying yours 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.

Ron.

Scam Email: Lisa Giroud

Kathleen,

Must be a scam. Thank you for your work:

Lisa Giroud [wilzcharlespp@gmail.com]

8:37 PM (12 hours ago)

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.

"Magnified #2   and    Sophie on the Grill

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
Lisa Giroud.