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12/21/2004 11:07:37 PM · #26 |
Here is what I found:
Wednesday 17 November 2004 - 11:14 gmt
Request 2199. WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER SCAM WARNING
This is not a request but a warning about a new email scam which is targetted at photographers.
You get an email which asks you to photograph someone's wedding and offering you lots of money. They also mention something about the images being published in a magazine.
If you agree then they will want to send you a cheque for say 5000 pounds and ask you to write a cheque for 4000 pounds which is to be sent on to the magazine.
If you do this then 2 weeks later your bank will tell you the original cheque was forged, and you have lost 4000 pounds!
If you get any emails which seem even vaguely like this, then ignore them. It is a scam.
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12/21/2004 11:12:04 PM · #27 |
Originally posted by grigrigirl:
Heida...the scam is something about they send you more money than what you are charging and then they ask for a return of the extra funds. Im not sure exactly. There are also the nigerian based scams where they are wanting to buy prints for their shops and then pull off the same overpayment thing...im guessing. Im a bit clueless really and have luckily not fallen to prey to any of this. I'll reply to this one and let you know how fishy it gets. ;) |
More info on this method of scamming here.
:)atwl
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12/21/2004 11:14:44 PM · #28 |
I deal with this stuff LITERALLY alllllllllll day. If it's a scam, I can smell it. Not to mention having gotten the exact same email 2 days ago.
M
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12/21/2004 11:29:31 PM · #29 |
Here are a couple links that could be related:
//www.photographers.co.uk/html/photographers-forum-1.cfm?ForumNumber=1514
//www.photokb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/photo-medium-format/1057/wedding-photography-scam
Since this looks like an international scam I wonder if some foreign banks could be involved. I was an investigator with a credit card company at one time. Scam artists would make overpayments on accounts and then demand refunds for those amounts. The problem was that the funds were fictitious. They even had some attorney's working with them to collect funds. |
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12/22/2004 01:35:33 AM · #30 |
Well, this certainly could be a scam, or it could be legitimate. Such scams as the overpayment scam listed above rely on the increased float time inherent in international transactions, making the idea of this being a similar scam less likely. That said, forged checks take some time to detect, so a bit of caution is prudent.
If you wish to look into this opportunity there are a few things you can do to protect yourself:
1. Call the cathedral at (513) 421-5354 and verify the wedding in question is actually taking place.
2. Demand payment by cashiers check or postal money order (NOT a certified check) for the exact amount of the transaction in question. If you are sent a check for larger than the amount payable and a refund of the excess is requested, return the check and ask for a new one in the amount payable. Include in your terms that the booking/shooting fee constitutes a deposit that is nonrefundable should they decide to cancel. If the person balks at this, tell them you have been burned in the past and that these are your requirements for weddings involving travel.
If the wedding exists and you are indeed promptly sent payment by the methods posted above, most likely the wedding is legitimate. These hurdles should be sufficient that a scammer would seek his or her fortunes elsewhere.
-Terry
EDIT: I just read one of the links above and this does read somewhat similar to an email in one of the links posted above. If you decide to pursue this, be cautious.
Message edited by author 2004-12-22 01:39:33.
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12/22/2004 01:43:39 AM · #31 |
| If they insist on paying more, the scam, call the FBI and see if they want to use this as bait to let them catch the bastard(s) picking up the fake return check. |
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12/22/2004 04:49:00 AM · #32 |
Originally posted by ClubJuggle:
2. Demand payment by cashiers check or postal money order (NOT a certified check) for the exact amount of the transaction in question. If you are sent a check for larger than the amount payable and a refund of the excess is requested, return the check and ask for a new one in the amount payable. Include in your terms that the booking/shooting fee constitutes a deposit that is nonrefundable should they decide to cancel. If the person balks at this, tell them you have been burned in the past and that these are your requirements for weddings involving travel. |
Sorry but cashier's cheque is one of the biggest hints that it's a scam, see here. I'd just stick to cold, hard cash or wire transfer.
:)atwl
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12/22/2004 07:23:01 AM · #33 |
Originally posted by Adrian Tung:
Originally posted by ClubJuggle:
2. Demand payment by cashiers check or postal money order (NOT a certified check) for the exact amount of the transaction in question. If you are sent a check for larger than the amount payable and a refund of the excess is requested, return the check and ask for a new one in the amount payable. Include in your terms that the booking/shooting fee constitutes a deposit that is nonrefundable should they decide to cancel. If the person balks at this, tell them you have been burned in the past and that these are your requirements for weddings involving travel. |
Sorry but cashier's cheque is one of the biggest hints that it's a scam, see here. I'd just stick to cold, hard cash or wire transfer.
:)atwl |
Again, that link echoes the recurring theme of a check made out for more than the amount of the transaction and a refund requested. Insistence on a check for the exact amount of the transaction and stipulation that the deposit is nonrefundable mitigates that risk.
-Terry
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12/22/2004 11:29:25 AM · #34 |
From a thread on Photographers.co.uk.....
"Scam on wedding photographers
Added by A Special Day, Portland Oregon USA on 18/Dec/04 at 22:16:14
i got caught up in a scam. I lost some money but not a ton of it. guy contacted me by internet to photograph his wedding in england. send me a check for $6500 and $1500 for shooting and $1000 for airline ticket and i was to send the rest to some guy in the Chec Republic. Only problem, the check was a counterfeit "official check" and by the time I found out, I would have already sent HIM $4000 or so of my money. I bought airline tickets and now have cancelled them to my loss of $200 plus. My bank took the check and "deposited it". I then made the plane purchase based on the bank taking it (but did not send $4000 to his buddy in Chec Republic). He was counting on my sending the "cash back" to his buddy and that is how I would get screwed. by the time I found out that the check was no good, my money would be gone. You should pass this along to other photographers as I am sure he has tried this before and will try it again. Any photographer website we can post this to? I told the FBI and they said this is similar to what these eastern europeans are doing on ebay...they "buy" something and send a guy ten times more than the purchase price and say they made a mistake so please send the merchandise and the excess overpayment to some address thousands of miles away By the way you get word that the 'cashier's check" is a counterfeit, your money is long gone! Daniel A. Bernath A Special Day Photography www.aspecialday.com so beware!"
Bob |
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01/14/2005 03:44:03 AM · #35 |
Whoa!Thank goodness I found you guys!
I put a search into the net for info an the email I was sent (pretty much the same as a lot of the others above with different date) and it brought me to this very forum thread.
The one that was sent to me said...
My wedding Has been schedule for 15th of March 2005 at Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains,325 West Eighth St.Cincinnati Ohio 45202,i will want you to come and cover the ceremony,i am expecting 300 to 350 peoples,can you give me the total cost of 6hours shoots in my weddimg,and let me know if you aare going to make it my day.I have seen a little of your work on the net and i\'m impressed.Mind you i am going to take care of the flight ticket and accomodation,so it should not be included in the expenses.Waiting for your Response.............
Monica............
The alarm bells were..
+ Why would someone want me as a wedding photographer? (Not really my style)
+ Why would someone want to pay to fly a photographer from the UK
Anyway - I'm going to reply, jsut to see where it goes but I'm not going anywhere unless I get folding cash, in my hand first!
right - I'm off to have a look round the rest of this site I've just registered on... see you later!
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01/14/2005 03:55:55 AM · #36 |
This my friend is a serious scam, Many uk photographers have been taken in, and the serious fraud office there is looking into it. BEWARE OF THIS ONE. the British assn of Wedding and Portrait photographers has sent a warning to all ther members on this scam.
Message edited by author 2005-01-14 04:03:25. |
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03/02/2005 03:09:02 AM · #37 |
Here is another similar email i just recieved
"Goodday,
My name is thomus.My wife jennifer and i are planning to have our
wedding on April 2nd,2005 at St Francis Anglican church,Dallas,Texas.I
am looking for the best photographer who will come and snapshoot on the
D-day and when i came across your advert i was impressed.At this
time,we are on our way to Holland for our pre wedding honeymoon.Let me know
your charges for your required services if you are to work for at most 5
Hours on that day.We want about 150 copies of different photos in both
black and white and in colour both in the church and reception and of
both the bride and the bridegroom,their parents,the officiating
ministers and our guests.We will want you to work for at least 5 Hours at the
occasion and if you are out of Texas,we will pay the transportation
charges to and from the party venue so indicate in your email if you are
out of Texas and state what it will costs either via Plane or through Car
transport to Texas and what amount you will receive working for 5 hours
at the occasion.Also,we will have the photographs snapped at the
wedding forwarded to the Publisher of a Magazine Company in U.K so they
could feature the memoirs of the wedding in their celebrity journal.
However,I will be making the payment by means of a Cashiers
Cheque.Let me have your full names,Address,Phone Number,Cellular Number where a
Cashiers Cheque will be mailed to for the payment.Moreso,should you be
out of state,the Hotel accomodation will be provided for by me.Waiting
to read from you soon as regards this.
Best regards,
thomus."
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03/02/2005 04:14:05 AM · #38 |
The cool thing about all this is if you do realize it's a scam you can have some fun with them. Just follow this link about the nigerian 419 scam. These guys have had too much fun with these people....
Nigerian 419 scam fun (warning not work-safe)
Oops, sorry about the NSFW waringin missing for the link.
Message edited by author 2005-03-02 08:06:45. |
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03/02/2005 06:42:00 AM · #39 |
| Every wedding is a scam... ;) |
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03/02/2005 05:13:02 PM · #40 |
My 'friend' is thinking of switching from straight 419 scambaiting to doing a little wedding scambaiting. If any recipients of these emails wants to pm me with said email along with the full headers I'll pass them on to him/her.
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04/15/2005 03:34:46 AM · #41 |
So glad I did a search of "St. Peter in Chains"
and found this site... Thanks for all the postings and advice on such scams... I had no idea!! Well it looks like the scammer has moved on to other areas of the wedding industry!! I do hair and make-up in Las Vegas for weddings and thought I would share with you the following e-mail I just received, wish I had done the search before I responded :(
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 15:51:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: "jones jay" Add to Address Book
Subject: Makeup services...........
My wedding is taken place in Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains,325 West Eighth St.Cincinnati Ohio 45202,I came accross you on the Internet,and am Impressed in your Work,I will prefer You for my Wedding Make-up's Design,You know what cost to do a Wedding,I will still take Care of your Flight Tickets and accomodation,My wedding has been shedule on 25th may 2005,kindly let me know your Price for 10 Girls.........
Jones. |
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04/15/2005 10:06:09 AM · #42 |
Correct me if I am wrong...but what's the scam?
If they send you the tickets and fly you out and you do the photo shoot. They don't pay...then well...no photos. I wouldn't give them photos until after payment.
Then you can look at it as a free trip to whereever for the weekend. And if they don't buy the flights. Well you never show up and boy did they just lose out.
*shrug* |
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04/15/2005 10:15:43 AM · #43 |
From above: "Only problem, the check was a counterfeit "official check" and by the time I found out, I would have already sent HIM $4000 or so of my money"
They don't fly you anywhere...
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04/15/2005 10:22:35 AM · #44 |
Originally posted by theSaj:
Correct me if I am wrong...but what's the scam?
If they send you the tickets and fly you out and you do the photo shoot. They don't pay...then well...no photos. I wouldn't give them photos until after payment.
Then you can look at it as a free trip to whereever for the weekend. And if they don't buy the flights. Well you never show up and boy did they just lose out.
*shrug* |
Are you for real??
Have you read the posting fully? I don't believe anyone would be naive enough to even consider that these mails are serious! If you do believe them, then you shouldn't be let loose on the Net! |
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04/27/2005 07:41:53 AM · #45 |
it happens to me,
luckily there are many thread in Internet about this kind of scam
//www.findaweddingphotographer.co.uk/links/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=76 |
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04/27/2005 09:46:33 AM · #46 |
Originally posted by theSaj:
Correct me if I am wrong...but what's the scam? |
What's the scam?
Save yourself and don't buy ANYTHING online. Please. And never open email that's not from your friends. Please.
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