Is this a scam? It feels like one...

[fuccisphotos]

<p>I just got the following email from a mistydaniel@rocketmail.com, it feels like a scam, anyone else have any thoughts?</p>

<p>Hello,<br>

My name is Misty Daniel,i live in Alexandria, VA(USA).I am presently in London(UK)but probably will be moving back home soon and i'll be getting married shortly after my arrival in the states to my fiance Gary Gibbons.We will need a wedding/party Photographer to help us in making up our ceremony from the church to the hotel reception.We will like to find out what your plans are for August 28th,2010.This is the date of our wedding so kindly let us know your availability for this day.We'll take responsibility for your expenses regarding our plans.we might not be able to meet you soon as planned,due to our unavailability in the states but,we are willing to retain the date, that's to make deposit for booking prior we to our arrival to be sure we are interested in your service,if we really are.Waiting to get your response.<br>

Misty Daniel and Gary Gibbons </p>

<br />

 

[irusan]

<p>Scam.</p>

<p>At best, they're phishing for valid email addresses. Likely, if you fall for it, they'll send you a check for more than the deposit and ask that you send the extra amount to a third party. When the check is discovered to be fake, you're out all the money.</p>

[theresa_skutt]

<p>Agreed. It's so wordy, that it sounds phony.</p>

[toddphilip]

<p>My wife had a similar experience offering tutoring services. If you responded, you would have found that whatever payment they were going to send you would have been doubled for some silly reason, and you'd have been asked to send the difference to another account, a videographer, florist, or whatever may be.<br /> You'd get a check, deposit it, and it would have seem to have cleared, you would have sent the difference, then the original check would have bounced at the origin bank (not your bank), and the penalties would have all come right back to you.<br /> There's probably a name for the scam, and it can probably be described better, but it is a common one. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>Oops. Someone said it already.</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"We <strong>will like</strong> to find out what your plans are ...</em><br>

<br /> <em>... that's to make deposit for booking <strong>prior we to our arrival </strong>to be sure we are interested in your service"</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Does that really sound like someone named Misty from Virginia? ROTFLMAO! :)</p>

[derek_hofmann]

<p>It may be a 419 scam, but posting all this personal information online probably isn't a good idea.</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"It may be a 419 scam ...</em>"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Misty apparently has a twin sister from Daytona Beach, FL ...<br /> http://digitalweddingchat.com/showthread.php/14967-Weeding-through-the-Garbage-Spam</p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<p>Furthermore, it would appear that Misty plans to walk down the aisle with more than one bloke ... :-)<br>

<a href="http://www.moonsphoto.com/blog/2010/01/29/stop-scammer-time/">link</a></p>

[Palouse]

<p>Heck, I'm free that day. If they'd just pay round trip air fare for 2 from Idaho, and . . . . . . . and I could go on to Florida, (Iowa is on the way to VA) and who knows, maybe even end up in UK, Australia, and perhaps Nigeria!! :)</p>

[chetn]

<p>Its the Nigerian 419 scam. Heres a link to someone who messed around with a similar scamer:<br /> <a href="http://www.mpgh.net/forum/2-general/14472-i-messed-around-nigerian-scammer.html"><br /></a><br /> Please be warned he uses some coarse language.<br>

<a href="http://www.mpgh.net/forum/2-general/14472-i-messed-around-nigerian-scammer.html">http://www.mpgh.net/forum/2-general/14472-i-messed-around-nigerian-scammer.html</a></p>

[chetn]

<p>Sorry I just tried but cant make the link thingy work properly.</p>

[chetn]

<p>Its the Nigerian 419 scam. Heres a link to someone who messed around with a similar scamer:<br>

<a href="http://www.mpgh.net/forum/2-general/14472-i-messed-around-nigerian-scammer.html">http://www.mpgh.net/forum/2-general/14472-i-messed-around-nigerian-scammer.html<br /></a>and another site <br>

<a href="http://www.419eater.com/index.php">http://www.419eater.com/index.php</a><br>

Please be warned they uses some coarse language.</p>

[jc5066]

<p>Duh!</p>

[ashton_boni]

<p>I've seen this scam before but from diffrent other countries.</p>

[mike_godwin1]

<p>Scam. I get one ever couple of months. I don't even do weddings.<br>

Here's the same one. Only the names and locations have changed.</p>

<p>Hello,<br />My name is Sunny Tuale,i live in BUCKEYE LAKE OH,USA.I am presently in<br />Australia but probably will be moving back home soon and i'll be getting<br />married shortly after my arrival in the states to my fiance Lisa Terry.We<br />will need a wedding/party Photographer to help us in making up our ceremony<br />from the church to the hotel reception.We will like to find out what your<br />plans are for July,24th,2010.This is the date of our wedding so kindly let<br />us know your availability for this day.We'll take responsibility for your<br />expenses regarding our plans.we might not be able to meet you soon as<br />planned,due to our unavailability in the states but,we are willing to retain<br />the date, that's to make deposit for booking prior we to our arrival to be<br />sure we are interested in your service,if we really are.Waiting to get your<br />response to my personal email<br />S.Tuale and Lisa.</p>

<p> </p>

[savagesax]

I get 1 or 2 a month of these! Forward them to a photographer you can't stand!!! hehe

[surfidaho]

<p>Howdy!</p>

<p>Actually, it sounds quite plausible. I'd be up for taking their business, if I weren't already busy on that date photographing the Royal Nigerian Family on the occasion of their long overdue reinstatement to power, which I happily financed.</p>

<p>Later,</p>

<p>Paulsky</p>

<p> </p>

[dave_b15]

<p>These usually involve rental properties advertised on Craigs List.<br>

I've never seen them regarding photography, before.</p>

<p>Anyway, if it's really scam - a very slim chance it could be legit - it'll go down something like this:<br>

They communicate by email only.<br>

After several communications, they will offer to send you a check.<br>

You are to deposit the check and for various reasons that they'll come up with, you'll have to Western Union some funds somewhere. The reason is irrelevant. The point is to get you to send money to someone <em>out of your bank account</em>.</p>

<p>You get the check and deposit it. After a few days it <em>looks</em> fine so you Western Union the money.</p>

<p>After about 10 days, it bounces and the bank charges you $25 and any other penalties they can charge on top of it.</p>

<p>You are screwed. You cannot get your money back. It won't happen. The bank will just shrug their shoulders and say it's not their problem. Law enforcement can't do anything because there's no way to find them and most likely they're not in the country. Many of the check scams are from Canada, believe it or not.</p>

<p>It's unfortunate but the big national banks: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP, etc... will just deposit the checks and then stick you with the bounced check fees and any other penalties arising from the transaction. I knew one poor guy who sent money out and when the check bounced, he was negative $3,400 and all his other checks bounced, including his mortgage payment, and so he had another few hundred dollars in penalties on top of it</p>

<p>On the other hand, credit unions and many small local banks will call the issuing bank of the check and the issuing bank can tell them if an account is a fraud or if certain check numbers are fraudulent.</p>

<p>So, if you want to pursue this, proceed with caution and if it sounds too good to be true or funny, then there's something wrong. And since you're asking here, I'd have to say that it's the latter and you need to terminate contact with this person.</p>

 

[mike_hitchen]

<p>To me, this is the first 'revenge' mission I read about and still makes me laugh all this time later.<br /><a href="http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/index.html">http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/index.html</a></p>

<p>The main article is a condensed version but there is a link to a pdf of the original.</p>

[fotografz]

<p>Some people sure have a lot of idle time on their hands ... LOL!</p>

[dmcgphoto]

<p>Yes Vail, it's a scam, I can show you the exact wording, other than the date.<br>

If you eventually respond, they will send a bogus check, which will bounce, gaining access to your bank account number.<br>

Then when you write the check bounced, they apologize and offer to wire the money directly into your account, they just need the routing number. They will even offer to pay you in full.</p>

<p>On the plus side is, they won't ask for a discount!<br>

Good Luck<br>

Daniel</p>

[irusan]

<p>Daniel,</p>

<p>That's not *quite* how the scam works but it is a good reminder to be careful about online information.</p>

<p>First, when the check bounces, it gets sent back to you, not the scammer. So they still don't have your bank account number. And, even if they get that information along with your routing number, that worst thing they can do is add funds to your account (which isn't going to happen).</p>

<p>Ever written a check? Every time you write a check, you give the person not only your bank account information and routing number, but your signature is on it as well. Writing checks in everyday life is far more problematic.</p>

<p>The way the scam actually works is pretty straightforward. The victim replies back and says I am free and my rate is $5000 (for example). They send you a check for $7500 to cover your rate and then they tell you that they only want to write one check and that the excess amount is the deposit that the florist/DJ/videographer/dressmaker... needs and would you mind sending the extra $2500 to them, after the check clears.</p>

<p>First of all, they work under the assumption that most people don't know that it can take weeks for a check to clear. If I deposit a $1000 check in my account today, I have immediate access to those funds. Not because the check actually cleared, but because the bank gives me the benefit of the doubt that it *will* clear. Many people think the check has actually cleared when they get access to the funds.</p>

<p>So you happily send $2500 to the florist and maybe start buying some new gear with your windfall. Four weeks later, the bank writes you and says that the check was fake and they've removed the funds from your account. You are out any of the money that you spent as well as the $2500 that you sent to the florist. If you spent your $5000 on stuff, you now are out $7500.</p>

<p>Oh, and the $2500 that you forwarded to the "florist"? Guess who the florist is...</p>

<p>Now you are out a lot of money and you gave the scammer $2500.</p>

<p>So, to the OP, yeah it is a scam but it has nothing to do with getting your bank account and routing number.</p>

[dmcgphoto]

<p>ah, thanks for the clarification<br>

information for life!</p>

 

[theresa_skutt]

<p>So what happens if you cash the check and don't forward the extra funds?</p>

[irusan]

<p>As far as the bank is concerned, they reverse the deposit and remove the $7500 from your account. If you didn't spend any of it, you're not out any money. However, the bank will likely charge you a penalty fee.</p>

<p>The scammers can start getting mean and threatening.</p>

<p>You should enjoy reading this site: http://www.419eater.com/ Read through "The Trophy Room"</p>