Variation of a 419 scam targeting dance organisers?

[Reklaw]

I've just had a couple of emails from a "Mr Efty Jordan" from South Africa telling me he's coming to "my area" with his twin brother and they will be needing dance lessons... lots of them! and what's more, his employer is paying!

Now forgive me for being cynical but I strongly suspect this is a targeted "419" scam (the type of scam where you are asked to transfer huge sums of money out of a third world country for a percentage but once you hand over you bank account details you get robbed). It's an interesting variation if it is, being that it targeted me as a dance organiser with a personalised request for dance lessons instead of a general spam email.

I just thought I'd post here, to see if any other organisers had had similiar requests, or if they do receive any to treat them with great caution.

Mike

[David Franklin]

A couple of similar emails have been reported on rec.arts.dance, one very recently:


From rec.arts.dance
I remember seeing a post by Gary Jobst (can't remember how long ago)
about a scam someone was trying to run. Went something like this "Guy
calls on the phone, wants to set up a series of dance lessons for
son/daughter/relative and pay large sum in advance. Sez, I'll over pay
you and you just give me the difference after the lessons are over.
The reality is the check sent is most likely a fake and it's all a way
to launder money or a scam."

This scam is still going on and targeting dance teachers and others in
related fields.

[Donna]

A couple of similar emails have been reported on rec.arts.dance, one very recently:


This is freaky!! Mind you, I couldn't care less if it happened to one person I know..... he's been really mean to me and some others at the moment. He's all of a sudden stopped paying all his demonstrators and those who travell far to help him out. He's so tight! This guy is loaded as well! (was talking of buying a plane the other day!) :angry:

[TheTramp]

This is freaky!! Mind you, I couldn't care less if it happened to one person I know..... he's been really mean to me and some others at the moment. He's all of a sudden stopped paying all his demonstrators and those who travell far to help him out. He's so tight! This guy is loaded as well! (was talking of buying a plane the other day!) :angry:

Good job he doesn't read the forum eh Donna. Just to see what you're writing about him on a public forum for everyone to read.... :na:

[Gadget]

Good job he doesn't read the forum eh Donna. Just to see what you're writing about him on a public forum for everyone to read.... :na:
It's you isn't it... lend me a couple of thou?

[Donna]

Good job he doesn't read the forum eh Donna. Just to see what you're writing about him on a public forum for everyone to read.... :na:


Well then at least that would be some way of giving him a piece of my mind without saying it to his face eh?! :D

[bigdjiver]

Adding to the warning: There was a piece on the TV news where the "overpay" cheque scam was used. Unfortunately there was the usual interference ("what do you mean hush, can't I speak now?"). The gist was that even checking that the cheque had "cleared" did not necessarily mean that the funds were in your account, or ever would be.

[El Salsero Gringo]

Adding to the warning: There was a piece on the TV news where the "overpay" cheque scam was used. Unfortunately there was the usual interference ("what do you mean hush, can't I speak now?"). The gist was that even checking that the cheque had "cleared" did not necessarily mean that the funds were in your account, or ever would be.The way it usually works is like this: someone from abroad asks you to buy something from ebay for them (or pay for dance lessons, or whatever) and send you a foreign cheque, in sterling. But the cheque is for too much. So you pay in the cheque, wait for it to 'clear', buy the item and send it off with a cheque for the difference, because you're honest.

Three weeks later the bank receive notification that the foreign cheque was a forgery and withdraw the funds back from your account.

You've then been swindled into paying for some item, as well as sending the fraudster the 'difference' in cash!

[philsmove]

More details here (http://www.scambuster419.co.uk/index.html)

Beware these people can sound very convincing

It will not appear to be junk mail the message and will very personalised

And yes they maybe reading this forum

[Dreadful Scathe]

the scambusters site is hilarious - the owner managed to get a scamer to send him money :)