New variation on the overpayment scam targets US artists
Andrew Werby
Nigerian letter. I thought I'd post it in full, to let people know how
sophisticated these guys are becoming. The subject is "Job Opportunity" the
sender is 0704-018-6888 <dtar...@wanadoo.es> and it comes from Spain,
although it purports to be from the UK. It also has some attachments (which
I didn't open) called LatinMailAttach.htm. An interesting feature of this
one is the fact that they've set up a whole website for this "fellow artist"
featuring images they've evidently downloaded off the net (including
Gainsborough's "Blue Boy") to convince the rather dim that this is a real
deal (not). The letter says that the "artist" (there's even a picture of him
on the site, looking old and kindly) has problems cashing checks, wire
transfers, and money orders from the US (for some reason) and will pay 10%
to have me receive them and forward the balance. Needless to say, this is
the same old scam, but with better (still not great) spelling and grammar,
and more attention paid to details. The letter follows - the contact info at
the end of it is theirs, not mine.
Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com
Good Day,
My name is Gordon Jones. An art worker. I acquired your email address as a
person who is actively involved in or is looking for an online business
opportunity or looking for a part time job to compliment current earnings. I
Reside in United Kingdom. I have been doing Art Work since i was young and
my mother encourage me to go for it. That gives me about 23 years of
experience. I majored in art in high school and took a few college art
courses. Most of my work is done in either pencil or airbrush mixed with
color pencils. I have recently added designing and creating artwork on the
computer.I have been selling my art works for the last few years and have
had my work featured on trading cards, prints and in magazines.I have sold
in galleries and to private collectors from all around the world. I face lot
of difficulties when it comes to selling my art works to Americans, because
they are always offering to pay with a US MONEY ORDER/WIRE TRANSFER AND
CERTIFIED CHEQUES, which is difficult for me to cash here in United Kingdom.
I am looking for a representative in the states who will be working for me
as a part-time worker and i will be willing to pay 10% for every
transaction,which wouldnt affect your present state of work, someone who
would help me recieve payments from my customers in the States. I mean
someone that is responsible and reliable, cause the cost of coming to the
States and getting payments is very expensive,i am working on setting up a
branch in the states, so for now i need a representative, who will be
handling the payment aspect. The Payment will be addressed to you (Your Name
And Address), so all you need do is cash the money order deduct your
percentage and wire the BALANCE back. But the problem i have is trust.It
wouldnt cost you any amount, you are to receive payments which will be sent
to you via registered Mail from my business partner.Then you are to cash it
and send the cash to me via western union money transfer or moneygram money
transfer,all transfer fees should be deducted from the money.
Gordon Jones
DOUBLE TEE ARTS
309 MARTINS AVE
LONDON, UK
07040186888
Reply to my email address : dtar...@gmail.com
Ahora con Amena el CD del futuro es el presente en tu móvil. Descarga las
canciones que van a hacer historia
joh...@verizon.net
Andrew Werby wrote:
> I got one today that was much more convincing-looking than the average
> Nigerian letter. I thought I'd post it in full, to let people know how
> sophisticated these guys are becoming. The subject is "Job Opportunity" the
> sender is 0704-018-6888 <dtar...@wanadoo.es> and it comes from Spain,
Andrew--thanks for the warning. I was plagued early this year by a
variant on the scam--an offer by man who claimed to live in the UK to
buy several pieces of sculpture. He offered full retail price plus
$3500 for shipping, ignoring my offer to use UPS or FedEx and tracking.
The scam is in the forged check. I didn't fall for the scheme, but some
of the group's subsribers might need to be advised about it.
-John
Junie Daise
says...
> Like most scams, it plays on the greed of the
>mark. It is amazing how many people apparently don't wait for the check to
>clear.
>
>Thanks, Andrew -- good one!
>
>Dan
There was a great article on these Nigerian scammers in one
of the leading USA magazines recently. It tracked the case
of one man/wife who spent literally thousands of dollars of
their own funds "following the orders" of Nigerian scammers.
And of course, as you say, GREED was the motivating factor,
along with sheer idiocy. The victim was a preacher, which
might say a lot about why he was so easily victimized. I've
learned in my lifetime that some preachers are some of the most
cunning scammers themselves.
Junie Daise
juni...@dontemailme.com says...
I might add that the Nigerians have the capability
of forging money orders, actual currency, etc. that
can fool even the brightest bank clerks. So the victim
of the scams believes that since the bank accepted the
deposit, there is no problem. The problem arises later,
when the bank discovers the funds don't exist and the
victim who made the deposit is then held liable for
repayment. I'm not sure why the banks are not culpable
in accepting the deposit, but apparently the law
protects them in these instances.