E-mail scammers targeting photographers
Photographers are more and more becoming the target for scammers and con artists. They come in all kinds of ways. Really, it’s the Wild West out there! The most prevalent scam is the over-payment scam where the photographer is asked if they are available for a date … and they just want to throw money at you and book you, without even finding out details.
One of the things that reveal them, is the phrasing. For example, if they say “your city”, then it is 100% guaranteed to be a scam. Other vague descriptions like that should also start the alarm bells.
How these scams work
The scamming method here is that they want to book you for a certain date, and then pay via bank guaranteed check or via credit card.
The scam comes into play in that they over-pay, and then ask for a refund of that portion of the money. The bank guaranteed check of course is fake, or the credit card they used is stolen. Another clue is that you often have to pay the scammer via Western Union Money Transfer. That’s often a consistent part to this type of scam.
The end result is that the photographer who is naive enough to fall for this, is out of pocket by whatever amount they “refunded” to the scammers.
You’ll encounter variations of this, but there are always specific patterns to it that will reveal you’re dealing with a con artist / criminal / scammer.
Here are some other examples of scams against photographers
An example (in Comic Sans font):
Greetings,
Do you have indoor or outdoor session availability for any of this date 16,17 and 18 of october.Let me know your charges for Family Portraits per session for immediate booking.
Do you have a website?<
Await your reply.
Andrew Miller
(redacted: UK phone nr)
Um … they don’t know my website? So how did they hear about me? Of course, I’m still waiting for a reply to that question.
And is often the case, the poor use of language is a tell-tale sign.
With this next scammer, I played along for a while, to see what twists and turns they would take.
From: mike steel
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 12:06 PM
Subject: PHOTOGRAPHER NEEDEDHello
i will like to Make an enquiry Concerning my Wedding Which would be Coming up on the 5th of september 2008 ,i need a Good Photographer/videographer who will be Covering all the event(5 hours).Please let me know if you are Available and if you have facilities to accept Credit Card Payments.
Hope to hear from you in other to know your Prices
Warmest Regards
Mark
Again, the poor spelling and grammar are usually good clues.
Then the next clue is that they aren’t specific about what they want … they just want to give you money. No matter whether you are a photographer or videographer.
Then there’s another clue in the inconsistent info, or the lack of info. And when you ask for more details, they will supply some details but will usually remain vague. Or the details won’t match up. Note how the email is from ‘Mike’ but the email is signed by ‘Mark’.
I played along with them for a while, trading emails, but they finally lost interest when I asked whether he is Mike (the “groom”), or Mark (who signed the first email), since I wasn’t sure who I am actually responding to. Here’s their reply.
lol. i see its my twin brother!
sorry!
Riiiiiiiight!!
It seems like the scammers have come up against photographers who are wise to this, and insist on speaking to them over the phone, because the emails have changed slightly now. Now the emails are from the bride’s mother, who happens to be deaf now. However, the rest of the wording remains the same.
Hello
My name is Rose Winans, I Live in Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075, but presenlt in North Corolina for the sake of the Wedding, I will be back soon I am deaf if not i would love to call about this enquiry, I will like to Make an enquiry Concerning my Son’s Wedding which would be Coming up on the 29th of August 2008 , I need a Good photographer/videographer who will be Covering all the event (5 hours) In NJ. Please let me know if you are Available and if you have facilities to accept Credit Card Payments (No Paypal, i dont have a paypal acc).
Hope to hear from you in other to know your Prices.
Regards
ROS
And again, note the bad spelling and grammar, and lack of details.
She even misspells her own name.
You know, we might actually be in trouble the day these scammers become more articulate.
This is funny that you brought it up because I think every photographer has gotten these emails. I noticed they were scams when they were sending these emails to my personal email (not sure how they got that) instead of my wedding email.
I received a bunch of these mails from Nigerian royalty (Honest!). When I looked into it further I came across this site https://www.419eater.com
These guys have turned getting spam into a hobby :)
woot! second time getting these and have been having little business. It must mean things are about to pick up :P
I played along until he said he was in the hospital when I said I only do in person consultations to sign documents and receive a deposit. and I was like “then we can set up to meet the day before the even, Apr. 10th… I sure hope you will be out for your own event” and “he” replies “I’m not sure I will… can you just send the information” HAHAHAHA. umm.. no. :P I mean… really?!
Hi Neil:
I had one of these a few months ago, from a bloke claiming to be a doctor from England and getting married in California, he offered to pay all expenses, I never even met the bloke!
Like you, I played along, he got nasty because I wouldn’t give him my PayPal account, I replied that all correspondence is being forwarded to the lawyers at the PPA, I never heard a thing from the “quack’ again, the PPA thanked me for forwarding the emails, I carried on with my life. The PPA have sent me number of warnings about these scams :-))
Yes, it looks like the Nigerians are trying different markets. I can’t believe that anyone would fall for this, especially with the bad grammar. I always meet my clients in person, as do most photographers I would imagine.
I have sold a few things on ebay and also a different hi-fi site in the UK and got similar e-mails there too.
The concerning thing is, even after a cheque HAS been cashed, it can still be re-voked up to 6 months after the event.
luckily i’ve not been stung this way (touch wood)
Last year I received a poorly constructed e-mail from a fellow who indicated that he wanted a wedding shot in Bakersfield, CA. I gave him a quote for the shoot and he sent me a CC for $1000 over.
I’ve recieved a few others from the Nigerians as well . . LOL
My hometown of Bakersfield! How random. I just got one from a Google phone number in Alabama. The reason they couldn’t talk on the phone was that he just had ear surgery. Riiiight. Had no idea what kind of event he wanted covered. Was it a wedding? Oh, a family reunion with 5 families? Wait, no, a total of 5 family members. It was quite dizzying, really. When finally approaching payment arrangements, which is what he wanted all along, he said he was “very impressed” with my estimate, and before paying, he wanted to know that credit card processor I would be using, and that he would like me to “do [him] a little favor.” Um, no.
Just got the Rose one.
God bless google. I was just getting ready to clear my calendar and I decided to google her name. The email was from [email protected]. It started off with this “gem:”
Hello, My name is Rose Winans, I Live in Austin Texas, but presenlt in Tennesse for the sake of the my Son’s Wedding, I will be back soon I am deaf if not i would love to call about this enquiry.
Stay diligent. It’s hard enough finding those who actually want your services.
Hi, I was reading this and it seems that they are going through so many means to get money of us honest working people. There was this time when my work mate asked me to take some pics of his motorbike for the autotrader webite for sale. We then got numerous emails form this guy saying he wants to buy the bike and eventually ent us a cheque for £6,000 (keeping in mind my mate only wanted 3k for it) stating that after 3 days when the cheque clears send him £3000 back to him through Western Union money transfer, at our local travel agents. He even got his cusins (note the spelling) to email me details of him. After about 3 weeks of playing funny games with him we turned a bit nasty with our emails (funny but very nasty). Then we got an email saying he was sending some heavies down and called us nincompoops. We was shaking in our boots lol.
The bank told us the cheque was for an imaginary bank in Ireland and would have shown up only 4 days after deposit, which is why they are so eager for you to send them the money back after 3 days because it shows up in your bank after 3 days as cleared but will only bounce after 4.
Stay alert for the low lifes as they are getting around everywhere.
Keep well
lol, my dad was selling second hand car parts over the internet (in Belgium) several years ago. And he also got a cheque from Afrika with a much greater amount on. And they also asked him to pay a part back. But he’s clever so he didn’t. This is not a new phenomenon so.. don’t be eager to give money or codes to anyone out there!
I know of a photographer who fell for this scam a few years ago. This person was very new to the industry and the email she got-which I got to read- was not like the ones you usually get. It was clean, gave location and times, names of people, what they were looking for- everything.
She was offered a ton of money for a start-up. Something like $4000. Then via the big deposit/ refund trick she lost over half of that money. It was so sad.
Another friend almost got scammed trying to buy a expensive car- only to realize it was a scam just before the deal happened.
Point is- the emails are not always filled with bad grammar and spelling mistakes. Watch out!
the strangest thing is, why can’t these scammers spend 5 more minutes to correct their spelling, grammar, punctuations and have it proof-read. With that they might just get more people fooled.
Here is the most recent scam email:
And another I received this morning:
Sure, Mr Lewis Raymon. I will get right on that.
Almost like the one I got
Lewis
6:21 PM (7 hours ago)
to me
The price is okay with me and i am ready to make full payment of the service now with my credit card so i can be rest assured the date is secured for the event, I need you to render me a favor regarding the event planner that is handling the event for me. The favor is that the event planner is currently not authorized to accept credit card so i want you to help coordinate his fee on my card along with your payment. I will give you my card to charge for your service and the event planner fee (You will charge your fee then charge an additional $2000 for the event planner) As soon as you charge it through and it approves you will forward it to him so everything can be set for the event, Reason i am asking you for the favor is cus i just got out of Intensive care and My Psychiatrist strongly advice me to minimize the stress i go through else i might develop severe weakness and tiredness. I am willing to offer you an extra $50 as tip for your assistance, Bear with me I will be authorizing and responsible for all the charges on my credit card.
Below is the breakdown of the charges you will be running on my credit card:
Photo-shoot : $1000
Event Planner : $2000
Tip: $50
CC Charges: 2%
Kindly get back to me with the grand total you will be running on my credit card along with the details needed to process my card.
Thank you.
That’s the exact one I got!! I started getting super suspicious because of the bad grammar and inconsistency – then when I contacted the “event planner” she was hearing impaired and couldn’t talk on the phone. Ha!
Here is the latest Nigerian scam. Quite unique in its phrasing.
But, it’s got all the markings of a scam.
Note the return email address. Very official.
Another scam email doing the rounds.
Note the awkward language. Also note “my town” and the vagueness of it all.
…and they are ALWAYS out of state/country. Returning just in time for the event !
Take the check and when they want a refund, state “sorry we give no refunds”, and offer to give credit for future work.
Just dont take credit cards or paypal deposits or payments.
Jon .. the part that you are missing out on, is that the bank WILL take the money out of your bank account again, since there never was any money. It was fraudulent. So even if you’re wise to it, there’s nothing to be gained.
Haha, omg. The Mike/Mark/twin brother thing is pretty awesome!
Pen, I have to take you to task. I just spent the last fours hours [although enjoyable, but no work getting done by me] read the 419Eater scammers pages…
What a laugh! Thanks for the link. Sadly back to work now.
I’ve had lots of these, and most of them are obvious scams. Very occasionally, though, I’ll get one that’s borderline. One such was from a Chinese couple, married in Hong Kong but wanting some post-wedding photos in Scotland. I decided to be polite but firm about payment – it had to be an international bank transfer and it had to clear in our account at least 14 days before the shoot. I explained that was our policy for all overseas clients.
That couple turned out to be genuine:
In other words, most – but not all – of these poorly articulated emails are scams. So the best response, I think, is to write a generic email that includes, up-front and politely, your payment terms. Then simply copy that same email to every suspect enquiry.
For those who ask “why these people don’t try to send a better worded e-mail”, here is the answer-read this:
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/06/far-fetched_sca.html
here is an abstract:
Finally, this approach suggests an answer to the question in the title. Far-fetched tales of West African riches strike most as comical. Our analysis suggests that is an advantage to the attacker, not a disadvantage. Since his attack has a low density of victims the Nigerian scammer has an over-riding need to reduce false positives. By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor.
Costas … that’s a very interesting take on this. (And one that is unusually generous about the opinion about the intelligence of the scammers.)
Yep, tried it on me as well. Saying that they will pay £4000 for 3 days of fashion shooting. Turned out they were some Nigerians that tried scamming my a few other people on model mayhem as well.
I’ve gotten emails from a Charlotte, Melissa and Rose with the exact email wordings but only the dates and names have changed. The location is always the same… Central Park Boathouse…situation’s the same too “hearing impaired and currently out of the country”.
Neil,
Your article was very timely. I just got one of these two days before you posted this and I was totally sold on it. I did some research and found that it most certainly is a scam. Do you have any suggestions for how to report these things? If/when I do receive a bad check, can I forward it on to authorities? How can we use these similarly worded emails to trace it to the root of the issue? Instead of batting away a pesky bee that might sting you, why not get rid of the hive?
Adam, I wouldn’t even bother with that. These scammers are usually not based in the USA. So they are out of reach of the law.
Also, the way that the law works, is usually not in the favor of the innocent. You’d have to be scammed first, to prove that a crime was committed. The law rarely works in a way where intent to commit a crime is the crime .. unless it can be proven. And that is a frustrating dead-end for anyone. So it is simpler just to mark these as spam, and get on with the day’s work on hand.
How frustrating! Thanks for the information though. I guess information is the best weapon at this point.
Gee…….this email looks very similar to the one you posted! Go figure! I was suspicious right off the bat especially since they didn’t know my website. I am very careful to make sure not is my contact info readily available but my website as well. I just cut and pasted the email into Google and found your page. Thank you for confirming what I thought already!
Do you have indoor or outdoor session availability for any of this date 16,17 and 18 of october.Let me know your charges for Family Portraits per session for immediate booking.
Do you have a website?
Await your reply.
Andrew Miller
+447031855658
Lately I received a few of those emails written in Polish… I wonder when they will realize Bogdan is a name common throughout all Eastern Europe… (nothing in Romanian thus far :-) )
Not just photographers…I’m a pet sitter, and here is what I just received from Mr. Millerr with two “r”s. Don’t know how he found my e-mail, and had he found my website, it wouldn’t be on there, either:
From:Andrew Millerr
To:undisclosed-recipients:;
Received-On:Today 1:32 PM
Subject:PET SERVICE !!!
More…
—
Greetings,
I will like to know if you offer Daily check up/walk,cleaning of the dog environs and feeding service.I’ve 12 weeks german shepard,all vaccines are up to date and they are registered with the kennel club papers.
I need 5days of your service,Therefore do you have availability for any of this date 21,22,23,24,25,26 and 27 of October.let me know your charges per hr and details about your service.
Do you have a website?
Best Regard
Andrew
+447031855658
“in your city”
Then there is this time-waster:
And another:
Neil, thanks so much for this post! I am also tired of these email scams with their poor grammar and spelling and gibberish. I received that latest one last night and actually considered replying to it for, like, a minute, before I realized it may just be another one of those.
I’m glad you confirmed this for me! Keep up the good work helping out other fellow photographers, Neil!
Warm regards,
Jesse
All in different font types and sizes, with no punctuation.
That looks like a ‘McGyver’ attempt at the written intercourse. :)
The original email from “Steve”:
No details or anything. Just asking if I am available. No date.
So, either a very clueless groom … or a scammer.
So I asked for a date, and here’s the reply:
It had all the trademarks of a scam email already, so I asked where the wedding was being held. It’s another give-away that they didn’t mention a specific place.
Scammers need to cast a wide net, so they rarely give a city or venue upfront.
Here is their follow-up reply – a canned email response.
My reply was … “You do realize I know you’re a scammer?”
Let’s see what canned response that will get!
Funny thing this … I emailed this guy back to ask him if he realized I knew he was a scammer, and he shot back with:
“Never and ever in your life call me that again..bitch”
And then I decided to Google their names, and sure enough, they do come up with other photographers also immediately pegging them as scammers. And *I* am the bitch?
Neil, how do they get to scam?
I have had a couple of what seemed to be bogus inquiries, but I don’t understand how they can gain from it requesting information, mine seemed to be competitors wanting to know my pricing structure.
Seems to be a large waste of time on their part and I may be naive but don’t comprehend the end game they are after.
Trev
A few of the recent ones I could trace directly back to two specific listing sites.
These are easy places to get loads of names from all over a vast region.
The usual scam is that they over-pay you via a money order. You’re then supposed to pay the difference to the DJ or some other vendor (who would be the scammer in actuality), and then when the fraudulent money order is discovered by the bank, you’re out by the “over-paid” amount you paid to the other people.
The give-away is usually that they are very willing to send you money. You just need to send them a quote. No request to see your portfolio or such. They are in a hurry to start the transaction.
ahhh, I see. Thanks for the info.
Hi Neil,
I found your blog after typing “Steven McCurry & Jennifer Ronald” into google. I also recieved that email and was checking into it. With all my previous transactions I’ve used Paypal without meeting the couple and it has worked out. Is this something they can do with Paypal? Pay you too much and then ask for a refund?
Thanks,
Christine
Christine … you could try using Paypal, but absolutely do NOT refund any over-payment. It’s a guarantee that you will be scammed off that portion of the money.
Paypal has no qualms in refunding money and pulling money out of your account.
That said .. try asking for a Paypal payment. I doubt the scammers would go for that, simply because it doesn’t fall under their regular way of operating.
A new one just rolled in. Notice that you have to give them your zip code.
Got another scam e-mail this week:
Hello there, This is Diana Frost.I just want to confirm if you can come for my Daughter wedding shoot which is going to hold on 05 October 2013.Let me know if you are available for the shoot.
Best Regard,
Diana
My first thought was scam, but realizing there was an outside chance it was a real local prospect, I answered the e-mail to find out the location. When I found out the wedding was in Des Moines (I’m in Alabama) I knew it was a scam and simply responded that it was to far to travel. Then I got her offer to pay all my travel expenses.
Nope, if its to good to be true its to good to be true.
Here is another name for the list. Martin John
I got the email and replied to see what it would be, yep, the old Credit Card payment offer upfront, and even as I am typing this another 2 emails come in stating the same thing. Must be keen to give me money.
Original email below this reply he just sent.
I had asked him when/where, did not respond of course to that.
I am glad to have come across this forum/website. This sort of shit happens all over the world. I was sent an email if I was interested in teaming up with another videographer as he had too much event coverage work to do on his own.
I said sure and went to his home. (A rented apartment in a exculsive suburb). To my surprise there was 5 other photographers/videographers there for the same thing. As I shoot mostly company web videos, training and safety films and other mundane subjects. I was hoping to shoot more evening event stuff, Stage Shows,festivals, catwalks, etc.
Just before this I had to shoot a film for a Abattoir I didn’t know what I got myself into. I had to shoot from the farms with the livestock to the supermarket and to your plate. Well recording the electricution and seeing the animal hang upside on a hook and still swaying and kicking was too much. Then the butchering etc. 2 weeks after I still have the smell of faeces and blood and everything else in mind and taste.
So the thought of events like fashion and all appealed. He didn’t want to see anyones portfolio. I bought my laptop with event stuff and also corporate films, music videos and indie films I shot. He quickly went into how he had all these clients (named all the biggest department stores, celebrities, corporations etc) But he needed $7000 from each of us to set up a studio. As his clients were so rich and successful that really they would only look at us, if we had a real flashy studio fitted with all the great furniture and equipment.
One of the photographers said he was in Australia only 2 months. He said he was working long hours and saving hard to buy a good camera like a Canon 5D mk3. He was a photographer in India and wanted so badly to do that here. This shyster said how much are they. What ever price the Indian fellow quoted for whatever camera Nikon or Canon he said he was so well connected he could get 40% off that.
I smelled a rat.
But the others wanted to join as they were desperate to get connected in this super competitive industry. So I insisted on a couple of these event jobs as a test to see if we can all work together and help each other. (No good if we end up parting ways or something else). He panicked and gave the usual bullshit of he has so many people wanting to jump in on this once in a lifetime bullshit story. So I said oh good then I’m happy, as I was so worried he would be let down if I pulled out.
He then called us all to meet him at a after party celebrity do. We all came. He then said it wasn’t a paid gig, as he wanted to see our work and something he would know we actually did. Instead of uploading someone else’s and claiming ownership to that work.
During the shoot he kept bugging me about the investment money and that the others are all in except me. I said lets do some jobs together and then we can get the money as we all would feel more secure. He then grabbed my arm and angrly said. My partner needs the money now his waiting for me as we don’t want to lose this opportunity because of you (meaning me).
After the gig. I had all the lighting, rigs and set ups (I bought my own for a reason) I asked the others (future victims) If they would mind helping me take all my gear to my van. They all carried something and I loaded up. I was going to hold all them there, and tell them about my suspicion. To my surprise we all the same time came out how we all felt and each then told their story when this prick was alone with them. At one part of the night he asked a photographer to follow a particular well to do actor. He told that photographer to try and shoot some scandel. Like him kissing another woman, falling down drunk etc. The photographer another poor migrant said that he didn’t want trouble with the law and or be sued. The prick shyster then said (exact words sorry for bad language) “Fuck him, I have so much money.” I can fight him in court and I don’t give a fuck if I lose or win”.
Afterwards he told me (By the way I have been in the business 30 years, That me not this prick) that the others looked up to me and I could convince them to invest. Because they would trust me. (remember before he said the others were all in but me already, then he had so much money)
Oh well I hope no one else gets taken. I have already spread the story around my city and i do know a lot of people.
Look out beware, asks questions, do research. get it in a legal contract. Think and think again.
The latest is from “Mr Leon”.
This was sent to various email addresses that I have, and not just the email address on my wedding photography website. That’s an immediate red flag – he’s working off an email list, not via my website.
Here’s a new one:
Here are the signs that this is a scam:
1. The odd grammar. For example: “will like to know”
2. No venue or location mentioned.
3. The don’t ask about the costs and fees – they just want to make sure they can give you money.
4. The FROM and REPLY-TO email addresses don’t correspond.
I did reply to Larry Wolf, and again there is every sign this is a scam.
He avoids telling me where the photo shoot is. Still no interest in the fees – he just wants to give me money.
Also notice how he has an excuse why he can’t talk on the phone. That’s also a sure give-away.
I received an email inquiry from someone who wanted to rent my studio … for music. Not photography, but music. I have no idea how someone who saw my page on studio rental, would think it is a music studio.
In any case, the email bears all the marks of being a scam, even down to the excuse for why they can’t do this via phone. It’s a trend – the phone line is out, or the other person is deaf.
Clearly it’s not just photographers who are approached with these kinds of scams.
Hi all
I received an enquiry and after a few mails back and forth he still won’t give me the venue details…What do you think?
——-
“Good day to you,
Im looking for a general quote for photography. 1 photographer. its a little complicated so bare with me.
May 1st- 3rd in Durban
I would need a photographer to fly down to Durban on the 1st May evening- the wedding will be on Saturday and you can fly out on Sunday. Flights and accommodation will be supplied by us
obviously we need the bridal make-up, family gathering and events on Saturday and reception to be shot plus any other things you think will make for good photos.
May 9
full day shoot in cape town- includes a few locations in cape town, and reception from boys side near the waterfront.
Basically im looking for a general total figure for photography with images on disc only. Photobooks etc will be discussed after wedding, and will be over and above the general total figure.
I hope this makes sense?
Im currently away and only receive emails- i need to finalize this in the next 3 days
thanks”
—————
Other gems include:
——————
“Thats fine then give me a quote based on not knowing how much you going to shoot, more a maximum figure cos its up in
the air, if you feel at the end of it you charged to much, you can give me a discount .”
——————-
What do you think?
And here we are now – they are texting us. Same pattern though.
The same tell-tale signs, for example: i will like to
I texted him back to see if he would chat on the phone, bating him to fall into the routine of being deaf and unable to talk on the phone – but I did get to briefly chat to “camron brice” on the phone. He insisted he is in Atlanta, and originally from Texas. The phone number has a Texas area code, but his accent was not American – not that mine is – and he had difficulty understanding me on the phone.
He wasn’t concerned about me charging extra to fly down to Atlanta to shoot this. Warning flag!
And then … the venue doesn’t accept credit cards. Could he pay me more and I pay the venue in turn?
And there we have it. It’s a scam. As was obvious from the start.
This is from his phone number: (432) 242-5320
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 12:01 PM, Toni Biberstine wrote:
What day in May? I do accept cc payments.
Toni
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 2:03 PM, Toni Biberstine wrote:
Hi Tim,
I don’t actually print the pictures. I take pictures, edit, and place them all on a CD. I’ve found printing prices are cheaper for my clients You can use services such as, vista print, shutterfly, etc. Will I be traveling? I accept all types of credit. I ask that the payment is paid in full, two weeks prior to the event. Depending on travel, and the location, I will want to know this before I send you a quote. I have either day open at this time.
Thank you,
Toni
On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 11:58 PM, Toni Biberstine wrote:
For an event such as a family reunion, I could take up to any arrangement of families. For four hours, for this, my charge would be $400.00. Let me know what your thoughts are.
Again, Thank you!
Toni
On Sat, Apr 18, 2015 at 10:42 PM, Toni Biberstine wrote:
Also a 7% sales tax on the total amount charged.
Toni
I got the trans-continental version:
Hello,did you receive the emails i have sent to you?i am seeking for a professional photographer for my upcoming birth day party on 17th of next month (October) in Sydney city. kindly get back to me to know if you will be available for this date….Waiting for your urgent responds right away…
My response: Apologies for not getting back to you earlier but I did not receive any email. Yes, I will be available on that day. Kindly email all the details and I will be there.
Then: Thanks for your reply and sorry for my late responds…..
Please i will be relocating from Washington DC to Sydney city on 14th of next month (October) to work on a contract basis with the Australian Environmental Protection Agency on a private research work for two years and i have decide to celebrate my birth day in Australia on 17th of next month as i informed you in the first message i sent you….
Below are the details you need to know and will help you in providing a quality and a professional service for this great day….But be inform that the party location should be Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe located at 201 Clarence Street,Sydney NSW….but do not fill bothered about the venue as i will keep you posted if there will be any changes on the venue,but be rest assured that the party will take place within the city of Sydney..
1) Event Date: 17th of October
2) Event time: 6:30pm-10:30pm (4 hours)
3) Number of Guest: 40-50 approximately
Just send me your quote for your 4 hours service and remember that final job must be on USB/DVD
Waiting for your quote right away to enable me send you a deposit to hold on your booking before my arrival because as you can see that the event date is coming close more than what you might think of…..
Regards
I’ll keep him busy until I get bored but I have to thank you Neil, once again, for the wonderful heads up!
Yep… I just received a request from a “client” that dinged too many bells to be legit. I played along to find out what their endgame and then forwarded this on to the FBI Cybercrime division.
Brian, Thank you for posting the FBI website. I, too, took them down the road in order to get all the details needed to turn over to the FBI.
Curious, your post was a few months ago, did the FBI contact you at all?
Thx for the insight! I’ve gotten my second one of these in two years and it seemed super strange.
What about PAY PAL????!!!! can we (photographers) be safe if we ask them to pay through PAY PAL services??!!Thank you guys
I doubt that the scammers wouldn’t do it through Paypal. They work according to a system where they are able to fraudulently give you money (that doesn’t exist), for which you “refund” them part of it. And that is the money that you lose.
Ultimately though, it would be pointless to try and get them to pay through Paypal – there is nothing legit going on here. No actual money, and no actual money to be made. It’s a dead-end.
Beware! They just google an “event venue” within your zip code (the venue they chose for this one had been closed for 2 years..) You can tell by their email that they are foreigners. He was getting a little hostile with me because I was asking a bunch of questions.. only because I wanted to see what kind of fraudulent information they could come up with and didn’t want it to be an easy shut down. Let them think they are getting their scam through someone naive, and then pull the plug on them, exposing them for who they are.
On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 10:15 AM, Tim Hill wrote:
I want you to know that i am in the ICU just recuperating from an ear surgery i undergo. The event planner handling the event does not have the facility to receives credit card payment, i want you to do me a little favor. I want you to add their charges to yours so you can have everything run on my credit card. The favor is that after you ran everything on my credit card and the total amount has cleared to your account, you will send their fees to them cos they accept cash only. Here is the final breakdown below :
Your service: $
Event planner: $2550
Tips & Gratuity :$200
In view of this i want you to get back to me with the grand total and i will provide you with my credit card details to run through ASAP.
Thanks
Tim
On Jul 8, 2016 12:57 AM, “Tim Hill” wrote:
Hello Mr Steffi
Thank you for the swift response. I want you to check if you have available weekends between August 5th-20th. If you have a date open i want you to work on the estimate cost for the 5 hours photo coverage from 11am-4pm, and 6-16×20 prints family photo portraits because we have 6 families coming together for the reunion event. The event will be held locally here in the state about an hour or two drive from your location, i will cover the travel expenses. I got your information on the internet and i hope you can handle this event. I’ll be making 60% down payment in advance with my credit card to book the date also i will forward you the event venue once the event planner book the hall. I will be looking forward to read from you with the estimate Asap.
Regards
Tim
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2016 at 12:51 AM
On Jul 8, 2016 12:36 AM, “Tim Hill” wrote:
Good Day
I’m Tim, How are you ? I’ll like to confirm your free available date in August for my family reunion (5 hours photo coverage).and It do come up once in a year. Also I want family portraits done for all the families coming together for the reunion. Do you accept credit card payment ? I got you contact information from the internet.?
Thanks
Tim
Similar here today from a “Harris Hall.”
This scam is actually circulating again. I recently received a request for a family reunion but asking for a favor to accept venue payment on top of mine with a bonus $200 tip, because the venue (a convention center lol) didn’t have a credit card machine. Thank you for sharing articles and information like this Neil, it confirmed suspicions that were set off before the final request of a favor.
I wanted to add, they used a referral name of a client to make it even more convincing.
On Nov 28, 2016, at 7:11 AM, Robin Scott wrote:
Hello my name is Robin Scott. I will like to know your availability day in January, 2017 just for 4 hours service, also i will need portrait work after the photography work is done after the event. I will like you to get back to me with your availability day in January, its a family reunion party. And also do you accept credit card payment?
Regards,
Robin
After I reply and ask for a phone number and good time to contact to discuss via phone. I get this reply:
On Nov 28, 2016, at 2:09 PM, Robin Scott wrote:
Good to hear from you, I’m an hearing-impaired and i am looking for 6th or 7th of January,but i don’t know maybe the date is open, if the date is open with you that would be okay, also what is your accurate cost for 4 hours service? I will be giving you the name and the address of the event, it’s one of my worker’s that refer you to me that you can help handle my family reunion party photography service. Also, what type of card do you accept?
Photo size i want, get back to me with the accurate cost
4×6
5×7
8×10
11×14
16×20 and 7 portrait of my family
This is the name and address of the event center below,
Fountains Conference Ctr, 319 Fountains Pkwy, Fairview Heights, IL 62208
Regards,
Robin,
On Nov 29, 2016, at 7:13 AM, Robin Scott wrote:
Thank you so much for your full package of services and i really appreciate you for taking your time to elaborate them to me. The referrer name is Whitney Wilson, she will be at the event and you can show her your sincere appreciation. 2-6 pm is the time for the Event. I am okay with the cost of your service. Does that include processing fee + tax because i would need you to do me little favor, i have a little issue with the payment of the venue, the event planner of the venue told me he doesn’t have a credit card machine so i will need you to do me the favor to add his fee together with your fee he has to receive $2000 for the booking of the venue so i will like you to get back to me with the total cost so that i can make the payment today. I’m also giving you a tip of $200 if you can do this for me. Get back to me ASAP so that i can authorize the payment from my end.
Respectfully,
Robin.
This is still circulating, I recieved a text message last night at 9:49pm from “Robin Scott” and because it was so late and the message seemed off I waited until today to investigate. Lo and behold I found this thread with “Robin” as a previous ping for people with the exact message as Brenda got in 2016. Be careful everyone!
Now they are using Whatsapp, I got one smiliar from this number:
+91 94801 94435
Thank-you for this post and thread. It was very helpful, as today I received similar emails from “Scott Robin” at [email protected]. Sharing below in case others have also recently received the same email:
Hello my name is Robin. I will like to know your availability day in October, 2019 your service would be needed for 4 hours. I will like you to get back to me with your availability day in October.its a family reunion party. And also do you accept credit card payment?
Regards
Robin
Thanks for the quick respond. I’m an hearing-impaired that is why i am contacting you through this medium and i am looking for 11th or 12th of October, if the date is open with you that would be okay, also what is your accurate cost for 4 hours service? I will be giving you the name and the address of the event, it’s one of my worker’s that refer you to me that you can help handle my family reunion party photography service. Also, what type of card do you accept i want one of each Photo size , get back to me with
the accurate cost
4×6
5×7
8×10
11×14
16×20
Regards
Robin
I am okay with the cost of your service. Does that include processing fee + tax because i would need you to do me little favor, i have a little issue with the payment of the venue, the event planner of the venue told me he doesn’t have a credit card machine so i will need you to do me the favor to add his fee together with your fee he has to receive $2000 for the booking of the venue so i will like you to get back to me with the total cost so that i can make the payment today. I’m also giving you a tip of $200 if you can do this for me. Get back to me asap so that i can authorize the payment from my end.i want you to understand that my credit card don’t work with paypal or square so would like you to set up with another merchant like elavon merchant or flint or clover merchant so you can be able to charge my credit card with no problem and can i have your cell phone so that we can discuss more further.
Respectfully,
Robin
I just got one from Garret Shaw with much more specific nfo than i got some previous years . I called the hotel and they said they don’t have such reservation for party. I called his phone and found out it was a google number , so I left a message. few hours later he texted me saying that he is hearing impaired. I emailed him asking for venue contact and his mother’s age and name he replayed that it’s still in booking process and he want sme to send him my quote asap. I haven’t replied to any . When someone just emails with credit card ready or pay check without asking how much will be that’s very suspicious for sure. His signature address is Garret Shaw
3496 Millard Rd, Memphis, TN 38109
Email: [email protected]
Ph: +1(901) 4020-557
Here it is the initial request:
“Hello, Good day. How are you today and how’s everything with you, work and family too? I’m Garret Shaw, and I came across your profile/website via Google search as a Photographer. I am writing to you to make a reservation for your Photography services for our mother’s birthday/retirement party coming up on December 20th 2022, at Hilton Sacramento Arden West 2200 Harvard St, Sacramento, CA 95815. We will be needing your services from 5pm till 10pm (5 hours) on that day. We concluded that you would be suitable to take care of our photography needs on the said date, so kindly revert to confirm your availability for the said date and then we can reach a conclusion. Best Regards. ”
This is the email after I initially replayed to him :
“Hello Stanislava,
Many thanks for your response, and also for confirming your availability on the proposed date.
To provide you with further details, as stated in my first email, the event will take place at Hilton Sacramento Arden West
2200 Harvard St, Sacramento, CA 95815, from 5pm to 10pm.
Also, there will be a total number of 50 guests in attendance, and we’ll be counting on you to help us create beautiful and great memories for the day with your pictures.
We will need you to come with your lighting kits too, as we have space with a customized backdrop where pictures will also be taken. We will not be needing video services, just photography.
Also, we will be needing a photo album after the service, but I believe that can be discussed after the event.
Kindly let me know if you can get this done, and get back to me with your estimate/quote for your services inclusive of transport to the venue if that applies and any other costs, so that we can reach a conclusion as soon as possible.
Hope to read from you soon.”
I never been asked about lighting equipment or video service … so here is where i got very suspicious and called him and called the hotel .
So beware and happy holidays
I got this same email from [email protected]. Definitely suspicious.
I got the exact same message but from a ‘matt henry” in Nashville TN and with a hotel near me of course. The biggest mistake he made apart from the weird formality of his writing was that he sent it at 3am, I.e. 9am Nigerian time.
I just got one from Mr Shaw too! Virtually identical text.
Poor Garret Shaw! he should know better, lol I got another one today with the same exact wording and from the same email [email protected]
Pay close attention to these kind of emails, take a sec before wasting energy engaging with them. And thanks Neil for writing this article, this is exactly how I confirmed this was a total scam.
Regards,
Thanks for the post. Here we are 14 years later – still happening. I got ‘the’ email a few days ago. Very similar text.
Was a bit odd but I went along. Was apparently from an older woman wanting someone for their 65th birthday party. Wanted to send me a cheque without meeting. As soon as I asked to meet…silence. That was the thing that weirded me out mostly: not wanting to meet someone that would be wandering around your house for 6 hours.
Again,
thanks!
I’m dealing with a potential one right now. They reached out via my website for a video of a wedding. The “can’t talk due to surgery” was odd, but I’m not judgy. They mentioned the street and town, a stones throw from where I grew up. They had me on a string until they didn’t haggle my price. Then they wanted to immediately send me $200 up front. I do legit invoicing, no PayPal or Venmo kind of things. I searched and found this thread, and my suspicions were confirmed. I just texted them that I need to meet with them to see the space in the next day or two. So far, silence, especially with as quick as they were texting before.