For anyone who posts/looks for jobs via Craigslist

“Hello my fellow photographers

On Sunday the 23rd, I got a responce from my craigslist ad (I live here in Nashville TN, but also posted my ad in different markets. This person had responded to an ad I had placed on the Lexington KY craigslist, in the “Events” category of services offered). The person’s name was “Jane Harry”, a wedding planner from the UK who was organizing a Chicago wedding on Oct 13th.
FIRST RED FLAG- Im sure there are other great photogs in Chicago, why me?)

She asked me how much my services would be for the event, to include my rate, travel expences, etc. I replied, and she immediately responded that she wanted to retain my services and was sending me a check for three times the amount I had requested.
SECOND RED FLAG- I dont care how much money a person has to spend, why would they willing pay more than what they needed to?

I was getting skeptical, and her emails werent very clear. I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking there may be a language barrier. So I simply asked her the name of the bride and groom. In reality, I wanted to contact the venue and confirm the event, but I just told her it was so that I could put them on my calendar and reserve their date. She replied that the brides name was “Jane” and the grooms name was “Harry”.
THIRD RED FLAG- “Jane Harry” was her name. She introduced herself as such in the first email.

I knew something was up now. She wrote back and said “Oh sorry, I meant the bride is Rose Morgan and the groom is David Harry. Again, I gave the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe she wasnt an actual planner, maybe the sister of the groom trying to help out or something. I get inquries from a lot of family members of future brides and grooms. She wrote me yesterday and said the payment was on its way. She gave me a UPS tracking number and it was legit. I checked my photography website stats, and indeed there had been a visitor from the UK browsing my page. I asked for her phone number to confirm some details, and there was no answer, but it WAS a legit phone number, not disconnected or anything. So I was starting to feel a little better about this. But still a bit skeptical. So last night I go on the internet to research scams.

They werent saying I had won a lottery. They werent asking me for any money. They werent trying to stiff me because they were actually paying me up front. I couldnt imagine what kind of scam this would be, where they were paying ME for a legitimate service. Then I found it… the scam….

It is primarily coming from the UK, and craigslist has been targeted, as well as other sites. It is a check scam. They will send you an excess of money for something (like buying an $8000 car listed on here for $15000). They will send the payment quickly, usually via UPS since it is international, and they can just drop it off at any location, without giving out their own location. The check looks very real, so much so that the banks will cash it. Even in some instances, leary people have asked their bank if the check is okay, and the bank assure them that everything is legit and cash it for them. The sender then contacts them and says something along the lines that they have overpaid, please send the excess money back immediately via Western Union, but keep what you are owed. Or in the case of buying cars, they say to send the excess to their shipper (someone in on the scam) to pay for the shipping costs of the vehicle, or other items.
By the time you cash the check, and wire the extra money to whomever it is going to, the bank finds that the check is indeed a fake. The person who signs the check is held accountable. YOU are going to jail for check fraud.

Im so glad I was leary enough to research this! I am supposed to recieve my check today according to the UPS website. I called the venue in Chicago today, to see if there was indeed a wedding taking place on Oct 13th. I didnt even have to give the bride and grooms names or anything. The guy on the phone immediately asked if I was a photographer, and said that this is the 2nd call he has gotten today. The other was a photographer from Ohio. There is NO event planned.

I reported this to craigslist, and called the Federal Trade Commission to make a report. The lady said I was correct, and this was a scam. When my check arrives, I am to make a copy of it, along with all of the email correspondence I have had with this person, and send it in. Then destroy the check.

We work hard for our money. We have families to feed. DONT get scammed! Yeah, I was excited to receive a nice payday for this event. And all we are doing, is our job. It would be terrible if I had went to the bank tomorrow morning, only to turn around and have to go to jail next week for bank fraud.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I hope this has helped someone else before it is too late. And if you have been scammed by this person, email me for my Federal Trade Commission reference number. Maybe if you have cashed that check, you can still contact them after realizing all of this, and law enforcement will know that you arent the criminal.

Misti
emailmisti@yahoo.com
www.ExpressionsByMisti.com

Please pass along to any photographers that you know, lets try to protect eachother!

by Heidi Good at Fri Sep 28 20:47:57 UTC 2007 (ed. Mar 12 2008) New York City / West Virginia, United States | Bookmark this | Digg this |