jenni k. - vancouver, b.c. Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Greetings everyone... I have received a 2nd e-mail from this 'couple' as pasted below. Of course I think it is likely to be a scam... but it's from a yahoo.com e-mail address... I'm wary as I am in Vancouver and this wedding is in Calgary... why not hire a Calgary photog? Also... the last line mentions an advance deposit... loud warning bells. But, what if it is legitimate? I'm wondering if any other Canadians here have received this e-mail? "Good day , Thanks so much for the response , there are few things we want you to know as regards our wedding , sebastine and i live in london , and we are coming back home for the great day , his actually from the Uk while am from the states . we have so much people looking forward to this great day , so we are expecting the best from you . The Holy matrimony will starts by 10:00 to 12:00 pm ,and the receptions starts immediately till about 4pm , we are expecting about 80- 100 guests on that day. the event will be taken place in our parents house in calgary. We went through the package prices and i think the $xxxx for six hours of photography is within our budget , let us know if there are extra charges as regards transportation , feeding and accommodation if necessary , we want you to try and be understanding as regards the prices cos its not really easy to organise occasions like this especially when you are making all the arrangements from abroad , we would also want to know if its necessary to make an advance deposit payment in order to secure the date , we will be arriving in canada few days ,before the wedding . dont hesitate to ask if you have any further question ,thanks LaDonna " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conraderb Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 "we have so much people looking forward to this great day , so we are expecting the best from you" this is classic scam language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Anyone living in london generally means it is a scam. If the 'folks' in London decide to send cash via a currier, then you probably have a good chance at securing the wedding. [it might be wise to be sure the currency was not counterfeit first, just in case.....] Yes, the e-mail you were sent is SPAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenni k. - vancouver, b.c. Posted September 4, 2007 Author Share Posted September 4, 2007 yah, I figured. And the more I read... it seems if the UK is mentioned it's definitely a scam. I had warning bells from the start... this is the 2nd scam e-mail I have received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captjack Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 easy enough- you talk to them on the phone- square away details- email them a contract- have the signed original returned by FedEx with a cashier's check for the deposit. When the cashier's check is verified and cleared by your bank then you contact them and tell them they have a booking. Obviously it will never get this far in the normal business transaction. It is fun to mess with them if you feel like wasting the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael R Freeman Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Don't waste any more of your time (or a phone call). It's a well known scam. Couple out of country, wedding not in your home town, very broken English (it's doubtful these scammers are actually in the UK, and if they are, they certainly aren't native Brits), advance deposit suggested, etc. This one has enough red flags that you should run screaming from the room! Just add this email addy to your spam filter and don't bother replying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captjack Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Freeman- you just ain't no fun.... ;-) "The Greatest Prank Call Ever" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z4Vs26-TI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.philwinterphotography. Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 While it might be fun to "mess with them," depositing a bank check (which will be fake) from a foreign country is still dangerous. Once deposited, your bank may make the funds available to you in 3 or 4 days. But it takes the check several weeks to actually clear - or should I say, bounce. Do you think your bank will take the hit? Not on your life! The scammers know about this "float" and this is the basis for all these Nigerian scams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene_b Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 This is actually funny: "we are coming back home for the great day , his actually from the Uk while am from the states". So you got a Brit and a Yank going "home to Calgary"... LOL!!! This cracks me up: "we want you to try and be understanding as regards the prices cos its not really easy to organise occasions like this especially when you are making all the arrangements from abroad"... Can you hear the nigerian accent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Taylor Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Just delete it and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawn_kelly Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 It is easy to determine it is a scam. Anyone living in London and the states should be able to at least put together an English sentence at a 5th grade level. I would give that email a 2nd or 3rd grade at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_parker2 Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Actually - The best way to know it's a scam is if they somehow want to give you more money than is required. They always want you to forward a balance to some third party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_blake_adams Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 This IS a SCAM, PPA has posted so many warnings, what they do is send you a "check" for about $2-3k over the amount agreed, they call or email and say it was a mistake, can you deposit it and just issue them a check for the difference, so being the great biz person you are, you help the customer out, then your bank sends you the notice that their check bounced, and by then they have your $2-3k which cleared. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tholte Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 It scares me that people would even question if this is a scam or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshranwest Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Agreed Tim. I can tell in the first 5 words if its a scam. I get so many of these damn things. I love to play along at times, other times I track the IP address and see where the scammer is from. Of course delete and move on after all of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_s19 Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Scam. A very similar thing to what Jeffrey describes happened to me when I tried to sell something on craigslist. The guy sent me a "mistake" check for a lot of money. Of course I didn't deposit it, and just to verify that it was a bogus check, I called the bank and gave them the routing number and account number that was listed on the check and asked if it was real. They said no. But it was nice to see a check of $50,000 in my name! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrodgers Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yeah, it's a scam, 99 percent. I say 99 percent because I had overseas clients come home for a wedding and make arrangements from abroad. The first contact email from them was also broken English. I was highly skeptical. Even the names sounded obviously fake. Eventually the time came and they met with me the week of the wedding, cash in hand. It was a great wedding. Just be suspicious and you will be good. Common sense says not to pay cash out in a wedding transaction. Watch for that, and move forward. It will all come out in the end. If the date is open, I would cautiously move forward until I am 100% certain it is a scam. For a million laughs, check out thescambaiter.com Reading those will help you understand these scams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfidaho Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Excuse please for what I am to post, but why is so obvious that letters like this is scam? Why not OK to write big check and ask for lots of money back to pay DJ and rescue Nigerian royal family? I am made sickness by all you suspicious persons. It is most difficult to plan big wedding in Alcohol Falls, Idaho from Dublin. I am having so time hard. I must go and write letters now to make lavish preparations for wedding in middle of nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_c.5 Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Nice, Paul! Almost sounds like Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd as the wild and crazy brothers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clermontphoto Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I have received numerous e-mails like this over the past couple years. Beware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_myers2 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I recently got a similar email. I actually found this thread by googling "Sebastine wedding scam". I found it odd that the bride couldn't spell her fiance Sebastian's name correctly. Anyway, I've had a couple similar emails in the past, and actually recieved a money order from one person. I would never had cashed it, but it's fun to have a $10,000 money order to show friends when I tell them my story. Being very confident that this one's a scam, I plan on emailing them back and having some fun with them. Here's the message if you are interested in reading it. Who knew Sebastine was stationed in Iraq! Goodday, This is Caroline and sebastine , we are in the U.S. Army we met in iraq sometimes ago and we will be getting married on sunday , 4th of november ,2007 , in indianapolis and we want you to be our photographer of the day Let us know if you are avalaible on that day and we would also love to know your package prices . we hope to get the best from you , thanks your sincerely Caroline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamapalmer Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 They have been trying to get me to book a wedding with them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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