Scam alert
Geoffrey Darwent
Tue., May. 11, 2010 (7:56pm)PayPal is not an inconvenience for the honest.
Marc Seltzer
Mon., Mar. 29, 2010 (6:46am)A very common scam is to pretend to want to do a transaction and then later after the back and forth communication is established is to substitute something else, like a check that needs to be cashed first or an account number that is needed (from you) in order to deposit or wire transfer the money. Just keep it simple always. Only do what you initially plan and just let go of people that ask you for things that are not as simple as sending the check, giving the credit card info or depositing to your paypal. There is a lot of fraud out there so it should be no surprise when you get "bad" customers. It happens.
Joni James
Sat., Feb. 27, 2010 (9:59pm)beware of spelling errors and giving away "extra" money.
I only sell within the US.
Gloria Ricker
Sun., Dec. 20, 2009 (9:27am)It looks like our Sandy has changed over to being Alfred now. I never heard another word from Sandy after receiving his second set of checks (and they sure aren't cashed!) I would say his name is not Sandy or Alfred and who knows where he is really from!
one set of my checks did come from Canada though.
Christian Mauricio Constante
Thu., Dec. 17, 2009 (11:29am)I was not sure if this AFred was genuine or not.
He stated he was writing me from Tokyo, Japan,
also intersted in three of my paintings. After reading the "sam alert" postings, I now believe this guy is nothing but a scam! Peace and love all!
Barry Page
Tue., Dec. 15, 2009 (2:55pm)Hello all,
Alfred is definitely a scam. I go the same email even though I have not posted any of my photography yet!
I suspect it is some sort of web-bot that crawls the site and emails everyone the same email without even bothering to check whether the artist has posted any work or not.
I am also always highly suspicious of people who use the public email forums such as gmail, yahoo etc. and have trailing random numbers to their email address.
Barry
Leigh-Anne Eagerton
Tue., Dec. 15, 2009 (1:03pm)Same email like Lara and anna. Up to 113.
anna guaiani
Tue., Dec. 15, 2009 (11:26am)I received the same message from Afred and I believe he is up to 113 or so now. I agree this is a scam.
Lara Chauvin
Mon., Dec. 14, 2009 (7:54pm)Dear Administration team at Gallerish,
The below user is definitely a SCAM. If you keep refreshing his Sender ID the number of emails keeps increasing. It went from 31emaisl to 44 within 5 minutes. This is in 1 day.
This individual also lives in Montreal from further background check yet insists on using US payment methods.Suspicious.
...Please reply to the customer, Afred, at afredshallow22@gmail.com
...but to avoid scams, please find out the number of emails that are sent out by this customer at http://www.gallerish.com/email-stats.php?SenderID=1642566707 . If this number is high, please be advised that this can be a scam, as most people would send only an email or two to inquire about artworks or events.
=====
Dear Lara,
I am interested in your artworks.
Please tell me about payment i will prefer to pay with American based credit card(MASTER OR VISA CREDIT
CARD) and shipping methods.
Thanks!
Afred
Gloria Ricker
Mon., Nov. 30, 2009 (9:50am)Well gang, Sandy stuck again. Since I never responded to the 2 money orders, he sent me another check! Oh how generous! This time it was for $50 more than the last time and about $700 to much. This was an "offical" check from travlers check...and was sent by a different person, and from Canada this time. Wonder just how many checks he will send me! (none of course will be cashed)Interesting also, he never mentioned the first checks when he emailed me about the 2nd one, as if he only sent one check.(perhaps I never got the first so why mention it..)
Jeff Linsenbard
Thu., Nov. 19, 2009 (6:49pm)I just got my check from Sandy! He was nice enough to send an extra $1,700.00. I'm so glad you folks gave me a heads up on this scammer,what a joke. The letter I received today has the same MO as the one Gloria got, no return adress, Sandy's name was no where on it, and nothing else in the envelope besides the check. What was really suspicious, was that the date and my name were hand written, by a 5 year old it looked like. Thanks again for the warning, Paypal from now on !
Gloria Ricker
Wed., Nov. 18, 2009 (8:31pm)When I received the first email I felt the red flags flying. When I found out how there were scams with European banks I also told him he would have to go through paypal, even telling him how I would send him an invoice through paypal.I had given him my address before I found out about the banks. I received 2 US Postal money orders. They came with no explanation, nor were they from "Sandy", there wasn't a return address. The checks did have an address and name. The address is to a company that has nothing to do with shipping in Noblesville, IN. These are not getting cashed and they will be checked out at the post office for mail fraud. I understand the 3rd party scam will come by saying to much money was sent and for me to pay back money. (the checks were more than they should have been also) From what I was told the "fake" checks haven't had any money put to them, so that when you send them the $$, your money was good and they just made $$.
Donna Jean Goldstein
Tue., Nov. 17, 2009 (4:13pm)Well, after doing a search about art scams, I guess Sandy's is the classic one and I fell for it. Hopefully, it's not going to cause me a lot of problems and I will use Paypal from now on.
Eric Hui (founder of Gallerish)
Tue., Nov. 17, 2009 (2:46am)Recently, artists have been emailed by a person inquiring about their artworks and believe this is a scam. Below is an extract from some of the email exchanges with this potential scammer. If there are other potential scams, please share with our fellow artists in this Art Forum here. Also, don't forget to check out the Help (FAQ) page for tips on avoiding scams.
Email content from the potential scammer:
"... Due to my business policy i have a private shipping agent that handles my goods and he has been working with me for a very long time and i will appreciate if you could bear with me.Importantly i will advice you get back to me with your details so i can issue out the Cashiers check ,for the works i listed,kindly get back with the details needed such as ..."
Eric Hui (founder of Gallerish)
Tue., Nov. 17, 2009 (2:27am)According to Craigslist (http://seattle.craigslist.org/about/scams), banks will cash fake cashier checks or money orders and then hold you responsible, so watch out for that too. Most artists so far are recommending Paypal instead.
Donna Jean Goldstein
Mon., Nov. 16, 2009 (1:15pm)I, too, thought I made a sell to Sandy. It sounded legitimate as he was only interested in available pieces. I did get one interesting phone call that verified I was at that number and wondered if it was him...only gave general info..I don't think he could steel my identity or anything. I am still waiting for a cashiers check!
Hovagim Margosian
Mon., Nov. 16, 2009 (8:39am)I've received the same exact emails showing interest in four of my paintings. I did send my address and phone number but, I fail to see what good that kind of general info would do a scammer. Perhaps I'm missing something. Please fill me in. Thanks,
Jessica Seta
Mon., Nov. 16, 2009 (7:33am)Yes, this person claims to be from Austria and is looking to "buy art for his new house," but he sidesteps Paypal over and over, and will pick any piece of art, even if it's not for sale. If you tell him that, he'll pick something else that's not for sale, and will really push you to provide him with your address, phone number, etc.
I had a feeling when I got this email that it was a scam, because he asked for that specific information. I simply told him I only use Paypal, and there's no need to provide any information at all, yet he kept asking. That's when I said alright, we're done here.
Anyone who uses the term "business transaction" when inquiring about artwork is probably trying to get something else out of you!
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