Scamming the Scammer
The other day, after getting onto Pinterest and connecting all the sites together and making sure that my site is easily seen…blah, blah blah… Oy. Well, when I finished I was happy to see a bunch of new subscribers and some followers on Pintrest…and..an e-mail from a guy who, apparently wanted to buy some of my art!
To be honest, it sounded fishy from the get-go. But, an artist’s ego is a fragile thang and I wanted to believe, I really did. Here’s the initial e-mail sent by “Frank”:
Hello,
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork/illustration 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 22 Great Marlborough Street, Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Frank
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork/illustration 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 22 Great Marlborough Street, Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Frank
Okay, so I figured that even though it sounded fishy, I didn’t want to screw a possible sale so I wrote back a polite reply as follows:
Dear Frank,
I’d be happy to offer you what I can. I believe I can easily put the item on my shop (etsy) and from there, you can use whatever payment option you’d like.
Let me know what you’re interested in, and we can go from there.
Thanks-
Rich
Here’s his reply and my replies as we sorted things out initially:
FRANK:
Hi,
Thank you for the swift response,
I can only pay with giving you my credit card number,cvv and expiry to run manually because my URL would not allow me to complete any transaction of such online.
I want you to get back to me asap on how to proceed.
Thanks
Thank you for the swift response,
I can only pay with giving you my credit card number,cvv and expiry to run manually because my URL would not allow me to complete any transaction of such online.
I want you to get back to me asap on how to proceed.
Thanks
Frank
ME:
Hmmmm. I’ll have to figure that out. Is there a specific piece of art you’d like? I’ll need to let you know if it’s available and I’d also have to figure out shipping.
Rich
FRANK:
Hello,
Thank you for the swift response,i have tried over and over to make choice of the artwork needed on your website but i could not.
i will appreciate if you can send me a few list and cost price of your artwork so i can make choice from it probably between $200 and $4000.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you asap.
Thanks
Thank you for the swift response,i have tried over and over to make choice of the artwork needed on your website but i could not.
i will appreciate if you can send me a few list and cost price of your artwork so i can make choice from it probably between $200 and $4000.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you asap.
Thanks
Frank
ME (sure it’s a scam now):
Just tell me what you like and I’ll tell you if it’s available and the price.
-Rich
FRANK:
Hello,
Good to hear from you,
Below are the artworks that interest me so i want you to get back to me with the cost price of each so i can give you the credit card number to run for the payment
Good to hear from you,
Below are the artworks that interest me so i want you to get back to me with the cost price of each so i can give you the credit card number to run for the payment
Cowardfish
After hours party
Party crasher
Arctic Bogey
After hours party
Party crasher
Arctic Bogey
I want you to get back to me with the cost of the above so that you can have the credit card to run for the payment.
I will be looking forward to hear from you asap.
Thanks
Shipping Address
Frank Henderson
22 Great Marlborough
Street, Roseau
Commonwealth
of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to hear from you asap.
Thanks
Shipping Address
Frank Henderson
22 Great Marlborough
Street, Roseau
Commonwealth
of Dominica 17675
At this point I’m absolutely sure this is a scam. The selection of work he chose is so random, it didn’t make any sense. But, just to be sure, I sent this back:
800 each? They’re rather expensive due to the gold leafing I use in the paint
-Rich
This is where it starts to get good. Here’s what happened:
FRANK:
Hi Rich,
I thought as much that they are a bit expensive i want you to get them packed, on the shipping one will have to pay additional fee at the delivery point here in Dominica 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 Racexpress Delivery (racexpress@aracer.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
You can contact this courier Racexpress Delivery (racexpress@aracer.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
ME:
Hello Frank,
Should I use the usual shipping donut or a folded donkey wrap on these? The gold leafing can crack at altitudes over 1000 feet.
Rich
FRANK:
You can use the folded donkey wrap
Frank
You can use the folded donkey wrap
Frank
ME:
Okay, I’ll shave the donkey and proceed with the skinning., It may take a couple of days to cure. Is that okay?
Rich
FRANK (greedy bastard!):
What if you use the usual shipping donut how long will that take?
Frank
ME :
That depends. It’s hard to get the donut past the security without losing a bite or two. Often, by the time the client receives the art, the donut is virtually gone and the artwork is exposed to the ravages and whim of Mother Nature herself. A cruel mistress is she!
I think I’ll go with a mayonnaise-based art spread. When the thin layers congeal, it’s virtually impervious to any voodoo that may come it’s way. A
Folded Donkey Wrap
week, tops.
Rich
And….that ended it, unfortunately. It would have been fun to waste more of the guy’s time but I was too eager to get weird (as usual).
Keep your eye’s peeled out there! http://www.artscams.com/ (thanks Scott!)
That’s a great story. Thank you for sharing how you dealt with this bozo. I found this blog entry a couple days ago after I got the exact same message in my inbox. I was fairly certain it was yet another scam attempt, so I Googled the address he gave and I got this page as the result, which confirmed my suspicions.
You have some great fun illustration work!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
I just got that email today and searched the address and your article came up:) Thanks!
RICH! You life saving gOD! I got the same email and went through the same thought processes that you did. AND i am the kinda guy that loves to mess with the messy every chance I get. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to post this.
I can put my ego back into it’s vanity case and call it a day. Now I have to go back and eat crow regarding an “interest in my artwork” Oh well.
Your work is very good and your wisdom skills abound. All the best!
Thanks Nick. Glad it helped!
Love reading this ….it made my day !
I just received the same email from the same address , as usual I googled to see the location of this address and of course it doesn’t exist.
I have been in the business of selling my artwork over the net for over 20 years now. Most of the scammers do come from over seas…. and most from Asia. I knew right off it was a scam…. I just wanted to see where it was coming from and found your post …. it’s priceless.
Thanks for posting it to keep others informed.
Theresa
ps…. I also got via Pinterest.
Thanks Theresa!
Thanks I just got an email from “Edmark Saxton” with the same exact copy. Looked fishy. Thanks for saving me the wasted time. Much appreciated!
-Stan
Yep, it’s a scam. I just got the email today, I replied “Not in a million years!” Thanks!
Dear Frank,
My courier met with your courier, and he will only ship if you are willing to wear cement shoes, cover in blarbble wrap, and drop in ocean. Can you do this asap so we can expedite your order?
I’m so glad I did a search on the address. This made that stupid email well worth receiving. Thanks. Now question… DID THE DONKEY ARRIVED UNDAMAGED?
I did receive the same email with same address but no name:
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 22 Great Marlborough Street, Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Thank you for your info. I did read your correspondence and decided not to loose time and effort to respond, but to worn the others.
-Boryana
My Pleasure!
i just go the same email, when i searched the address this came up, haha thanks for the heads up!
-hello@ashleymsmith.com
Guys THANKS FOR WARNING ME IT”S SCAM> I Received The Same Email But This Time From Sussan !!! LOOL
skuttler4487@ymail.com “SCAM”
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 22 Great Marlborough Street, Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Sussan Kuttler
Yep I got one today and when I googled the name it didn’t come up but the address took me to all the scam sights.
Just got an email from our lovely art collector in Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica.
From: Sussan Kuttler
Subject: Art Purchase Inquiry
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012, 7:52 AM
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 22 Great Marlborough Street,
Roseau Commonwealth of Dominica 17675
I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Best
Sussan Kuttler
My response to “Sussan” was-
the negativity you spew into the world will always be with you and whatever money you get from your deceit will be a curse to you. i wouldn’t want to be you.