The other day I received an email asking about one of my pieces of art. This is the body of that email:
Hi,
Hope this message finds you well. I saw this lovely piece on your website and I will like you to get back with more details if it is still available for purchase.
Red Violin II
I will appreciate an urgent reply.
Best Regards,
Jane Podolski.
It actually mentioned one of my artworks by name. The English was a little off, but not too badly. So, not wanting to miss out on a potential sale, I replied. There were a couple more emails back and forth, and then this one:
Hi Loretta,
It is nice to hear back from you. I will like to proceed with the purchase of only the guitar piece at the moment. I think it is a lovely work and I hope to give it a good home.
I am presently traveling for my Sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when I am preparing for a big move to Miami Beach, FL but it means so much to her and I should be back in few days.
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Meanwhile, can you pls get back with your mailing address and phone number so I can inform my husband on where to forward the payment. He can have one of his PA handle the payment asap. About shipping , you
can handle it from your side to my new address above or I can forward your contact info to the local cartage company handling the shipment of all our house decors. They can arrange FedEx or UPS pick up of the artwork from your studio.
I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed. Cheers.
Jane.
By this time it was clear that this was a scam, but just to make sure, I sent a reply asking where to send a PayPal invoice. Here’s the reply:
Hi Loretta,
Good to hear back from you. My Full address is below...
1826 W 23 St
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(805) 232-4341
I also spoke with my husband about paypal and he doesn't feel comfortable with their service due to past experience. Therefore, I will like you to get back with your mailing address and phone number so he can forward a Certified check for the payment as soon as possible. Thanks.
Jane.
Good to hear back from you. My Full address is below...
1826 W 23 St
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(805) 232-4341
I also spoke with my husband about paypal and he doesn't feel comfortable with their service due to past experience. Therefore, I will like you to get back with your mailing address and phone number so he can forward a Certified check for the payment as soon as possible. Thanks.
Jane.
SCAM!!!!!
Okay, I was feeling a bit ornery, so I asked her to send the check to the local address for the state Attorney General’s office. Oddly enough, I haven’t heard back yet.
So, after I googled the name, address, and phone number, I found a few other postings about this particular scammer. There were also a few postings from artists who actually shipped the artwork. This got me thinking… What happens to the art? Let’s say an artist doesn’t realize that this is a scam and they ship the art. I’m guessing the scammers are not interested in art. But then, what are they doing with all this stuff? Garage sales?
Bottom line, be careful. Here are a couple of resources to help you. The first one has lots of tips and information of what to look out for. The second one has some tips and a long list of names and email addresses used by scammers so if you get a suspect email you can check the name against this list.
http://www.artscams.com/
http://www.kathleenmcmahon.com/info/scammer-names.html
Anyone have any idea what happens to the art?
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