Author Topic: Sounds Like A Scam (Read 6706 times)

ComfortEagle2095 · « **on:** July 21, 2010, 19:59 »

I was wondering if anyone has ever received something like this:

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"This is a requisition for your photography services. I am Guojun Li. Based in UK. I am contacting you in regard of my wedding. My wedding is coming up on September 11, 2010. I have been browsing the internet for a professional photographer in USA when I found your contact. Pleese I will want to hire your service to be the photographer on my wedding day in UK.

You will cover the whole events from Getting ready, Ceremony, and the Reception. I want you to capture the atmosphere of the event so that we can moment, photo by photo, for a life time. Capture all those little moments that make the wedding day incredible. Also, I will want you to make an album from the event.I will prefer popular flush mount albums that are custom designed.

I am of the opinion that you are capable to provide the incredible services as requested. Please accept my sincerest appreciation on behalf of my fiance, in advance for your willingness to render your services as I look forward to your prompt response to my request.

Pleese let me know if you will be able to make it.

Kind Regard,
Guojun Li"
-------------------------

I can't imagine why someone would try to hire a US-based photographer to shoot weddings in the UK. I don't have any intention of following through on this (couldn't if I wanted to--I have a day job) but I was wondering if anyone's seen something like this before. I'm just curious where the hook is...I figure at some point there would be some kind of request for money.

red · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2010, 20:18 »

Easy to find info on this scam -

This scam that targets professional photographers in the UK, US and maybe other countries is run by criminals in West Africa. It is a variation of a similar scam involving cars and other big ticket items sold in classified ads. The criminal poses as someone arranging a wedding. He contacts a professional photographer to book him for a wedding. Then he/she sends a large cashier's check as payment. The check is larger than the amount of the photography package.

The photographer is asked to cash the check and wire the extra amount to a third party, supposedly a wedding planner, a band or other entity associated with the wedding. The check is fake and the victim wires several thousand dollars of his own money to the criminals if he falls for this scam.

jbarber873 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2010, 20:35 »

Wow, Cuppacoffee, great job! I would have never figured that out! How sleazy...
Wouldn't it be a great thing if the people who spend their time setting up these scams spent that brainpower and energy on helping build their nation into a better place.

stormchaser · « **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2010, 21:20 »

Run, run..

Run like the wind!

qwerty · « **Reply #4 on:** July 22, 2010, 05:32 »

another variation of this scam is buying cars or other big ticket items.

They say they will buy your car and say that they have sent you the money and some extra for some agent. They say you have to forward the extra on to the "agent" via western union.

They then send you an email saying that paypal won't release the funds they have sent to you until you give them the reference number for a western union transfer.

cathyslife · « **Reply #5 on:** July 22, 2010, 05:45 »

Quote from: jbarber873 on July 21, 2010, 20:35

Wow, Cuppacoffee, great job! I would have never figured that out! How sleazy...
Wouldn't it be a great thing if the people who spend their time setting up these scams spent that brainpower and energy on helping build their nation into a better place.

Whenever you come across suspicious things like this, you can google them and typically there are many others who have reported on them.

click_click · « **Reply #6 on:** July 22, 2010, 06:58 »

I mean come on.

First it's obvious that it's a scam. Terrible grammar and spelling and he is from the UK? You're talking about a job that is worth many thousands of dollars and the guy who hires you doesn't even have the language skills? Not that non-english speakers aren't allowed to have money... but as someone from the UK you'd expect more or at least have a friend who is fluent enough to write that email.

I'm so surprised that the scammers who do make quite a bunch of money do not re-invest one cent into proper translations.

Next, why would I actually pay any overage amount to someone I don't know? How could anybody think they can (afford to) pay someone (they don't know) with funds that haven't even cleared yet?

I mean helloooo? Has anyone who gets these emails ever dealt with money before?

Especially a wedding that "requires" a high profile photographer is not set-up within a week. Usually couples take months or years to plan that day. Plenty of time to let the checks clear or find out if any other form of payment is fraudulent.

I've seen these uncover-stories on 60 minutes and it just blows my mind that people just send somebody they don't know at all tens of thousands of dollars still thinking they are doing the right thing.

If any of you feels like that please PM me because I'm planning a trip to the moon and need a photographer to document the whole thing. But make sure to include 2 assistants on this trip because we will need a lot of lighting on the side of the moon that is facing away from the sun. I will send you a check over $2 Million dollars with $1.9 Million in overage. Please send the overage to my uncle in Dubikistan because he needs some more Compaq computers for the control center.

rubyroo · « **Reply #7 on:** July 22, 2010, 07:07 »

I must say that if I was asked to pay others for their services out of the money, I'd be thinking 'Hang on... am I a photographer or your secretary?'

Too strange.

FD · « **Reply #8 on:** July 22, 2010, 15:10 »

The Lads from Lagos

http://scamorama.com/

If you don't know what to do, you can try the scambait game. It's fun. I once chatted a few nights on cam with my future "fiancé" from Ghana. I saw their netcafe-business with tens of similar girls online, and the supervisor walking around. The girl was quite naive since she seemed to developing some affection, forgetting to ask for the business.
The third night the supervisor chimed in, using all his sleazy tricks. Near the end, when it turned out I wouldn't send money for the marriage papers and the passport but would visit my "love" myself, he scorned me like hell and that was it.

I'm still prepared to hand out their money as a service, but I need to have their real cash first in my hands.

vonkara · « **Reply #9 on:** July 23, 2010, 12:41 »

Interesting half in topic video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcdEojQrIpQ[/youtube]

cmcderm1 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2010, 16:11 »

Wow - so many people getting married in the UK and NO WEDDING PHOTAGS there!!! Weird. hahaha

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Author Topic: Sounds Like A Scam (Read 6706 times)

ComfortEagle2095

red

jbarber873

stormchaser

qwerty

cathyslife

click_click

rubyroo

FD

vonkara

cmcderm1

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