I just got this email and am pretty sure it is some sort of scam. Has anyone received this type of email before? Must say they keep trying.
Phil
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Subject: PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKING/GET BACK TO ME
Hello,
I have a group of people coming to your town for a tour and i want you to cover this tour based on your expertise in the feild of photography.
They are 10 in number and the period of work is 3hrs every day on their outings, they will also take you in their vehicle so all i need is for you to confirm the availability of you to cover this event for 10days.
Date of tour : Nov 20-30th, 2008
Number of Persons: 10
Kindly get back to me with the availability and i will send you my credit card for an upfront deposit.
note you will print all the photos and your balance will be paid after checking at the end of the tour.
Taylor Barrett wrote:
I don't get how the scam works, but it obviously is...
Probably they send you a deposit with a forged check/money order/stolen credit card which you would deposit. The Rev will then cancel and request the return of the deposit in the hopes that you would send the money back before the check clears (and is found out to be fraudulent or that the funds came from a stolen CC).
Kind of the same thing when items are bought off ebay. The scammers hope you ship the goods before your bank finds out the check is fake.
I would guess the scam is the shoot is cancelled and the "mark" (that's you) gets to keep the $1000. They will ask for you to return the $7500 in cash. The credit card is probably stolen.
Maybe the translator will come by and collect "his" $7,500 from you.
Or, set up the deal; get a new Google email address and email them that you'd be happy to pass along the funds. Scammers won't cross-reference your new email with the thousands they originally sent. Try to get their phone number too.
Ask them to meet you at "your studio", which has an address in Kansas City, OK. Give them the city's police station's address.
Hopefully they'll fly to that town to collect the $7K. If they think they have a sucker they will. Make it cost them $500 in airfare.
Then give their phone number to one of the Nigerian scam forums, and they'll call the number at 3AM for days (asking how they can get the $7K to the scammer) until it's cancelled.
mgutman wrote:
Tell him that you speek Greek fluently and see how he replies
Yeah, something along the lines of...
"Wonderful! Fortunately enough for us both, I am orginally from Greece and speak the language fluently. Under the circumstances I see no need for the added expense of an interpreter and I am encouraged and excited to hear back from you."
For more info on scams, scammers, and the games people are playing with them go check out 419 Eaters . There was an awesome story on This American Life about a couple of guys who had one of these scammers traveling all over the place in order to try and get the money. I think that they were able to keep him occupied for weeks if not months.
