Commenting on this article is currently closed. Previously-posted comments are full of helpful details.
Please read to the end for the latest updates.
Designers and photographers are being targeted in bogus project scams and domain registration scams!
Beware of email and text messages from a prospective client requesting web site design or other creative services, and asking if you are the owner and if you accept credit cards. If you’ve received this kind of message, it’s a scam. These inquiries are usually sent as an email or text message, but may be a voice mail.
This was my first experience with the project scam:
I received an inquiry via email regarding web site design services. The sender claimed to be located in London and was opening a small business. He (gender is assumed) asked the cost of designing a simple 2-page web site and included a link to an existing web site as an example of what he was looking for.
It was odd to me that the sender was not inquiring with local designers in London. Even so, I responded with a price range, discovery questions and recommendation that he work with a designer in the UK. The sender then informed me that my rates were agreeable and requested my mailing address so he could have his business partner in New York City send a down payment of a particular amount. He stipulated that the balance — again a particular amount — would be paid upon completion.
At this point, I was still testing the waters. The stated “budget” was generous, so I prepared my usual contract outlining deliverables, schedule and terms, and emailed it to him.
My contract was ignored. None of my discovery questions were responded to.
A few days later two international money orders totaling more than the specified down payment arrived in an envelope with no return address. There was no signed contract in the envelope. I took the money orders over to my bank where they were confirmed as being bogus.
Over the next couple of months I continued to receive email inquiries from different email addresses using the same verbiage with minor variations. I figured that if I was being targeted, others must be, also.
How to recognize the email scam
Here are the red flags you should watch for:
- You receive an inquiry — this can be a text message, email or voice mail — from someone posing as a startup business. They may claim to be located outside the USA. They will mention an associate or business partner located in the USA
- The email message contains just enough information to make it sound like a legitimate project inquiry
- They ask if you accept credit card payments
- The sender asks if you’re the owner
- The sender proposes a budget range
- The sender uses poor grammar (English) and punctuation
- You receive several identical emails or messages but with different information (this means the scammers are using a template or form letter).
- You receive no response to direct questions about the project, and the inquirer is vague about details
- The inquirer dictates the payment terms to you
- The inquirer is eager to pay you and pays significantly more than the agreed-upon amount
- You are requested to refund the overpayment to the sender or their agent (in my account above the scammer wanted me to send the overage through Western Union.
This type of scam is usually targeted toward uninformed seniors. The fact that this came through my business and was centered around a web design project shows that scammers are creative. They’re culling information from websites, portfolio sites, and social media.
Please share this post on your social media and networking channels
to warn others about the scam.
As with any lie, there’s just enough truth involved to make the scam sound legit, but the further you go with it, the more it falls apart.
Be watchful. I’m not out any creative effort or money. There’s sure to be an unaware freelancer out there somewhere thinking it would be great to have an “international” client eager to pay large sums of money, and take the bait.
If you are targeted, do this:
Ignore and delete the message. You can block the IP address or phone number, but keep in mind that scammers use different IPs and numbers to route their messages. Blocking one IP will not necessarily halt the stream of message.
Report the email scam and forward the scam email in its entirety to the entities listed below under Resources.
Submit an abuse report to the email service of the sender (gmail, hotmail, yahoo, for example). You can look at the email message raw source to find more information about the sender.
Flag the email as Junk and then permanently delete it.
Block the phone number if the scam was received via text message or phone call.
Don’t do this:
Respond to the email, text message or voicemail.
Stay safe out there, my friends!
Resources: Where To File A Complaint
Internet Crime Complaint Center
Updates on Scams and Domain Slams
As I get new information I’ll continue to update this article.
UPDATE: Scammers are offering credit card information rather than money orders. Read some of the most recent comments below.
UPDATE 4-26-2015: Today I found this in my inbox. It appears to be another type of scam with many similarities to the design scam.
Dear Sales, How are you today, my name is Chan Tong the owner of Far Eastern Department Stores Co. Ltd,i will like to order for some items in your store,but before i proceed i will like to know if you can supply and ship to Taiwan and if you accept CREDIT CARDS as payment.Kindly advise me ASAP, so i can proceed with the list of needed items. Regards Chan Tong Far Eastern Department Stores Co. Ltd
UPDATE: 6-29-2015: Scammers are using SMS to run this strategy. Do not reply to any text message from a scammer. Simply delete it and block the number.
UPDATE: 8-22-2015 Article updated.
UPDATE: 12-22-2016 According to Michelle M (see Comments), scammers are apparently targeting bid and crowdsourcing sites. Be on the lookout if you source projects through these sites, and notify the site owner(s) if you encounter anything suspicious.
UPDATE: 12-13-2017 I removed mentions of the agricultural business website URL that’s included in many of these scam emails (read through the Comments) at their request. Their URL was used in the scam.
Domain Slamming Scam
09/20/2018 This scam involves registering Asian domains that mirror your domain name. The initial contact message will look something like this screenshot:
I ran a browser search on scam and momser, which returned the following results. I’m not going to do into detail describing how the scam works, because these links provide all the into you need to know:
Scam To Register Asian Domain Names Keep Alert
Chinese Domain Name Scams Blue Corona
How Does A Domain Name Scam Work? The Guardian
Domain Name Application Scam HoaxSlayer
As with other scams and slam attempts, DO NOT REPLY TO THE EMAIL. Instead, forward it to your domain registrar. The email address will most likely be abuse(a)yourdomainregistrar.
Then delete the email.
286 Responses
You’re probably not in danger by sending an invoice. However, I would change your PayPal password.
OMG… I talked with this guy for 2 weeks (with the same info you got) and the same scam…. I am so pissed off for the energy I spent on this.
ONE question… I did this guy an invoice from PAYPAL… do you see any reason I am in danger of any bank fraud??? I mean… he does not have any of my bank info except that paypal invoice.
Today, I received the Sport Wears version, shown in your list of scams above.
Budget: $3000 to 6000
From Herold Treanor
Business Name : Herold Sport Wears
Address : 23 Rector Pl, Bloomfield NJ 07003
Email : heroldtreanor01(a)outlook(dot)com
Onwer Name : Herold Treanor
So many misspelled words are an obvious clue of a non-U.S. business person not being who he says he is. Using a real street address.
In the past, I also got the scam email for the Nuts website.
Cate Rogers, freelance web designer, BlueSkyCreative(dot)net
I got the same message via text and email “My name is Jeffory Evan, Do you do Website design for new company and do you accept credit card ?” I smelled a rat and didn’t reply, and after Googling and finding things like this, I’m glad I didn’t. I have heard of similar scams when people want to buy cars listed for sale.
OMG I GOT THE SAME EXACT EMAIL!!!!!!!! no way i thought it was too good to be true! thanks for posting this!
Same here, recently received an email from this guy and he was suspicious to me.
After I googled his email, I found that other people got it.
Here is the email content i got:
Name: derrick wollmann
Email: derrickwollmann0010(a)gmail(dot)com
Options: Web Designt
First email: Good Day, I wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you accept credit cards?kindly email me it’s important Thanks
Second email: Thanks for your swift response and i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in SC and the company is based on selling of imported tiles. so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www(dot)classictilenewyork(dot)com/…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and I have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site. Meanwhile I need you to know I’m in the ICU just recuperating from an ear surgery i undergo which i was advise to stay off phone for a while and the easiest way to reach me is via text or email
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as derrickwollmanfirms(dot)net
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of july month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
This exact same thing happened to me this week! Now the scammers go by the name Larry Kent. I had a funny feeling from the first time he claimed to be in the ICU because if you are that ill you wouldn’t have access to a smart phone or computer! What convinced me it was a scam was when he offered to pay me more than I asked for the down payment and to pay his consultant because they don’t take credit cards. Our e-mail exchange is below.
Message Details:
Name larry
Subject web
Message Good Day, I wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do accept credit cards ?? Kindly email me it’s important Thanks
Email larrykkhappy(at)gmail(dot)com
Hello Larry,
Sorry for the delayed response. Are you still in need of a web designer? Would you like to set up a meeting, in person or by phone, to assess if our companies would suit one another? Yes, we accept credit cards via PayPal.
Kind Regards,
Genevieve Boulet
Eve’s Graphic Artistry
Thanks for your swift response and i have small scale business which i
want to turn into large scale business now it located in SC and the
company is based on selling of imported tiles. so i need a best of
the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need
you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this
if its possible redactedwww(dot)classictilenewyork(dot)com/…. the site would
only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on
the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting
and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and I
have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the
logos for the site. Meanwhile I need you to know I’m in the ICU just
recuperating from an ear surgery i undergo which i was advise to stay
off phone for a while and the easiest way to reach me is via text or
email
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as FLtiles.net
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of July .
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Hello Larry,
Yes, the design example link you’ve provided is something which I can manage to create. I hope you have a speedy recovery. Please note, that the cost of site updating (for the first year) will initially be bundled into the design bill; following this it will be an additional charge. This is mentioned in my Estimate document, which I have attached in Word and PDF formats. Additionally, 25% of the bill will be due upon the start of the project, 25% mid-way through the project, and 50% upon project completion. Materials such as logos and content should be provided following the signing of the contract.
1.) Estimate Total: $5,281.39 (fees explained in document)
2.) (719) xxx-xxxx (business cell)
3.) Yes, I am the owner/operator of a sole propreitorship.
I have some further questions for you.
1.) How often would you estimate that the site will require updating?
2.) How would you like the website to be built?
Options are:
A template w/ customized coding
Template with customization (no access to code)
Custom CSS/HTML code built from scratch
The most efficient options are the first two, with this the project is likely to be completed ahead of schedule. The last option takes more time to create, and will be completed just before scheduled completion or on time.
3.) Do you have a preferred color scheme for the website, or should it be complimentary colors to the materials you’ll provide?
Thank you for this opportunity,
Genevieve Boulet
Hello
Thanks for your response, i am okay with the estimate and i wanna
proceed so i will be depositing $2500 using credit card so work can
commence ASAP, i understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will need a Lil favor from you and the reason i need this favor from you is
because the consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am presently in the hospital for surgery so i will be
glad if you can help me out with this favor,The favor i need from you
is. i would give you my card info’s to charge for $6200. so $2500 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $3500 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he has the $3500 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via cash deposit into his account, sending of funds would be after funds clears into your account and also $200tip as form of Gratitude towards the Job.
Hello Larry,
The initial payment would be 25% of the total, which would be $1320.35. However, before payments would take place, I’ll need to draft up a contract to be signed by the both of us. However, in order to create the contract, I’ll need you to kindly answer the questions in my previous e-mail, pertaining to the design of the website. Also, I would not have your credit card information, the PayPal website service would take your information and I would simply receive payment from them.
Considering that you are in the hospital, it’ll be difficult to get a contract signed, because these would be printed, signed, and scanned in to a computer to be sent back to me, or by mail. Our studio’s policy is to not begin work until the contract is signed, then initial payment and work will commence. I’m going to respectfully decline the favor for you. My suggestion for this situation is to wait until you are released from the hospital and pay your project consultant yourself.
Please get in touch with me when you are out of the hospital,
Thank you,
Genevieve Boulet
My name is Jeffory Evan,Do you do Website design for new company and do you accept credit card ?
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in FL and the company is based on importing and exporting of Office Equipment such as Printer , Scanners,Laminating Machines and Dictation Machines so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this
if its possible …avada(dot)theme-fusion(dot)com/classic-shop/… I have a private consultant that has the text content and logo for the site . the site would only
be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate.
I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as J.E.R.officeequipment(dot)biz
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next 2 month.
7. My budget is $2000 to $5000
8. Are you the Owner
I was contacted by Jeffory Evan today. Thank you for putting your information. I received an identically formatted email like the one above from him and it sounded too good to be true.
I too was contacted by “Jeffory Evan” jefforyevan(a)outlook(dot)com – email was written in broken English.
It seemed a little odd to me that I got this email out of nowhere, as I usually get business through referrals. He asked right away if I took credit cards. I gave a whole rundown about the way I do websites, but gave 0 personal information. Stated that I take payments through paypal. When he responded, he ignored everything I had said in my response. His replied with a vague description of what he wanted for this “wholesale office equipment site”, what website he wanted it to look like, a 2 month time period, a $5000 budget, and that he had a “private consultant” that would email me all the content. It made me concerned that he asked for my personal phone number, as I have done business without supplying that to clients. I looked into it after thinking about it, and realized his response was an exact duplicate of others’ here on this forum. I will be blocking this email.
Thanks for this post! Very helpful!
I too got a message and text from “Jeffory Evan” today with the exact wording others have posted. A different number in Dallas texas but same name. Thankfully my assistant fished around and found your post and warning about this “Jeffory.” Thanks!
This guy is up to no good. Thank God for Google.
Beware of
Jeffory Evan wrote:
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in CA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Office Equipment such as Printer , Scanners,Laminating Machines and Dictation Machines so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this
if its possible govliquidation(dot)com… I have a private consultant that has the text content and logo for the site . the site would only
be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate.
I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as J.E.R.officeequipment(dot)biz
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next 2 month.
7. My budget is $2000 to $5000
8. Are you the Owner
Hello! I am SOOOOOOO glad i found this post here. I also received the same crap email. jamie.pedro01(a)gmail.com 636-393-8018 24 Rector Pl, Bloomfield NJ
– – – – – – – – –
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “pedroactivewear.com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Regards
Jamie Pedro
Got another one today. Luckily I’ve seen these before, and I usually I toy with them for a while… I ask for phone numbers, legal address, corporate location, FEIN, etc. I tell them I need all cash up front and I will not be paying any third parties for anything. They keep sending responses as if I agreed to their terms.
scammer: Alan Frost – frostalan61 at gmail dot com
———–
Hello John,
I am glad to read back from you. My wife and I have a small scale business which we intend to turn into large scale, It is located in Albany County, and it is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? So i need you to check out this site but i need something similar if possible http://www(dot)cargill(dot)com/. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and but we do not want more than 20 pages for the site as we want it to only be informational and a Contact Us page. I have a project consultant that has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
We do not wnat Videos and blogs for the site
We want only English language
We don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as www(dot)farmprodusagro(dot)com
You will be updating the site for me.
We will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
We want the site up and running by the end of next month.
My budget is $3000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner of the company ??
Thank you
Alan & Sara
Got this two days ago:
Subject:
web design needed
Message:
Hello am hunter i need to know if you can handle website design for a
new company and i also need to know if you accept credit cards as form
of payment ? i have small scale business which i want to turn into
large scale business now and the company is based on importing and
exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and
Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for
it. Can you handle that for me?
I responded that we do accept credit cards and received the following response:
Thank you i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site. Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as movefarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $10000 to $15000
Kindly get back to me with an estimate
I laughed at the $10k -$15k budget for a basic info site. Also he wants his site to be like the sample site but “more perfect”. What the hell?
Sender’s email is hunterlandon20(at)gmail(dot)com.
Today I received another inquiry:
Subject:
website design
Message:
Good Day, Am Harold .R Baker . i wanna know if you can handle website
design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ??
kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details…
email address for this message is libertycares07(at)gmail.com
Didn’t bother responding – did a quick Google search and found this thread. Thanks for posting. The whole thing was suspect from the start so I wasn’t going to commit any more time or effort into it, but it was nice to be able to confirm my suspicions.
Ran into the same thing. Adding a new scam email to the list: Hazzan Baggio at: hazzanbaggio(a)gmail(dot)com
Fred Cole strikes again!
Yes, I too have received emails and texts from Fred Cole requesting a website. The wording is exactly as EMW posted back in March 2015. Apparently, his site request hasn’t changed… This is the second time in the last 6 months I’ve been contacted for a fake website, but thanks to this site I was able to verify Mr. Fred Cole was a fake. Thank you Alvalyn for helping to expose these scams.
-a
Thanks so much for this thread. I was contacted by text from a Jeffory Evan, 414-215-996. I wondered about someone in Wisconsin contacting a designer in Arizona, but he said he found me on Indeed. Something smelled fishy, so I said I currently have a full-time time contract gig (true), and that I do not take credit cards. He did not text back.
Beware of Jeffory.
-Sandy G
Thanks for sharing your experience, Mark. In my experience, fraud sites and law enforcement have nothing to work with unless a person becomes an actual victim of a scam. If not, there’s no harm that’s been done and nothing to pursue legally. Time spent doesn’t count.
Wow,
I wish I had come across this sooner. I got to the “I need a little favor from you…” stage. Right now, I am trying to figure out how to report this. The government fraud sites all ask for victim information, but I haven’t done any credit card processing or receiving money or funds. So I don’t have much to report except the emails. I’ve read through these posts and what happened to me is so similar. I went through the emails back and forth, and “he” seemed to have legitimate answers about what he wanted for his website and everything. I wasted my time, too, setting up proposal documents. I guess like the others posted, this guy is adapting. He used the name Russell Evan and the phone numbers of 1-323-638-7574 and 1-414-215-9967. I hope this info helps stop people in the future being scammed. Thank you Alvalyn for your Blog.
Hi, Rajneesh: Thank you for posting. As to how these guys are getting contact info: If your company’s people and/or contact information is listed anywhere online, it’s findable. Hackers and spammers troll for information, looking for opportunities to exploit. I suspect they think that smaller companies and entrepreneurs are less likely to have security measures in place. These people do seem to be specifically targeting creatives and IT. Freelancers can often be enticed by large budgets and front money, so I’m sure that many of them respond to these emails and are fooled. Otherwise, why continue to send out the same email for so many years?
I got exactly the same email from the person : Jeff Brown
Hi,
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now and my company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you
handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible.agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i
agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
abiscofarm.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Jeff Brown
Don’t know how he got out company email address and emailed us.
Waiting for more of such kind. It seems they are targeting IT companies and web developers and designers in particular.
Just received the same scam. Name from scammer is being submitted as Sanchez Moore at sanchezmoore(a)outlook(dot)com He’s also using some used car dealership in Fort Wayne, IN as his physical address.
This outlook(dot)com email address is being flagged.
The email you received follows the typical template. It’s good that you were suspicious and didn’t take the bait.
Hi I have received an inquiry which is suspect, and is the agro theme. Here is the gist of the email:
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as yourtopproduce.co
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
When I inquired about my typical questions, ie. what is your business and goal. I was pressured for where he would be able to send the credit card payment to.
I felt like something was wrong with this request. Particularly because I remembered receiving another similar request to duplicate the same agro site a few months back, with a higher budget setup. I deleted that email and am no longer responding to this string.
Thank you for publishing this and allowing a venue for this to become known.
Best Regards
Same scammer, same request, new name and email address. I received it on Thursday, and it threw up a bunch of red flags.
The new name being used: Bowen Moreno
The new email being used: bowenmoreno@outlook.com
Here’s the email request I was sent:
———————————–
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “bmsportwears.com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Get to know you through a website designer, he said that he got a lot of project his working on. So he refer me know your email but he said that he havent work with you before.
Regards
Bowen Moreno
———————————–
Same message from a “Laura Savage”, laurasavage36(a)gmail(dot)com, which I’ve reported to Gmail.
WOW – I got the same thing.. from a name of Matt Robert or Matt Roberts in his email per email address: mattrobert92@gmail.com
He provided phone: 970 237 6718 // Which I called.
Got a guy who could barley speak English claimed to be in India??? If anyone did a domain look-up, you would see who the domain owner is, which I asked if he knew this person… He answered “NO”.
He then hung up…
I then received a broken English email about how he will go to someone else. I called back and advised that the reason why this seems all to strange… is due to this link being online…
He hung up again…
Oh well made for a fun day!
*** Always look-up the domains + Always see if the sender has a FOOTPRINT – which made it even more strange *** And best of luck!
I got the same email! now two people are messaging me! I got that coco nut website email and I am not responding to the second one. Such a waste of time! They seem like BS right off the bat, especially since their numbers don’t show anything when googled.
Looks like we received nearly the same exact request here under a different name. The owner of our business thought it was suspicious and tried to get them on a call to record it and toy with them a bit but no response yet. They are also getting a bit smarter and cloaking/using a proxy for their IP address in the header.
Here is the email:
Name: Smith Pen
Email: smithpen02(a)gmail.com
Content: I’m Smith, I would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also
if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job
details
Follow-up email:
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located
in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as
Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you
handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more
perfect than this if its possible . agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be
informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check
out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to
check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos
for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding
videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as TNtopfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Second follow-up after our team sent a preliminary estimate:
Thanks for your response, I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and i’m ready to make payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed so work can start asap but i will need a Little favor from you and the favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $5,200.00 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $2,500.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $400.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $2,500.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $2,500.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
Third follow-up after the owner played along to try and extract their contact information:
will you be doing the favor for me ?
—-
We will update if anything else progresses. Beware everyone!
yep. scam. Here is one I got…
“Hello,This is Roy Doster, I will like to book DJ for my daughter birthday and also hope you accept credit card for payment and get back to me via email roydoster101(a)gmail.com”
A Fraud
Thanks for the tip about Thumbtack, Michelle.
laurasusan027(a)gmail.com with the phone number 7206892574 is scamming on Thumbtack now, Diana Rawlings is the name they used here. Thankfully Thumbtack is refunding the quote
I received an initial email and subsequent communications similar in nearly every detail to the ones other commenters have received, but from a “Martin Berg.” I had some sneaking suspicions, but it was when he asked to pay extra so I could forward the excess amount to his project consultant I knew it was a scam. Just sent an email letting him know “no can do” and will refuse to do business with him, block his number on my cell and report him if there’s any argument. Thanks for posting this so we freelancers have something to refer to online…and so we know we’re not alone! I do a lot of work for artists, and they had a long wave of similar scam attempts over the past year or two (which isn’t completely over, but these scammers must think web designers are a more lucrative target si they’ve shifted their focus), so I wasn’t completely unprepared for this, but it’s always good to know there are others in the same field being targeted. Looking forward to checking out more of your website when I have time – it sounds like you’ve posted lots of great info and resources here.
Just got 2 emails asking for DJ service (which we don’t do but supply the equipment) I replied but never got a response:
roydoster101(a)gmail(dot)com
Hello,This is Roy Doster, I will like to book DJ for my daughter birthday and also hope you accept credit card for payment?
Same email received by me. Thanks all for posting.. This is what i received.. Obviously not getting back to him/her..
FROM: Bergs Martin martinsberg90210(a)hotmail.com
Thanks for your swift response xxx ,Here is the job details. I use to be a chef and now i am setting up a restaurant which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in IN and the restaurant is based on any kind of foods,American meals and Chinesse foods so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this californiagrillrestaurant(dot)com/ …. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
I want only English language
I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as.
gracemeal.com
you will be updating the site for me.
i will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
my timeline is two months, the features i want on my website are below.
¦Home page
¦About Us
¦Contact Form
¦Gallery
¦Search Box
¦Social Media Links
Kindly get back to me with:
An estimate
your cell phone number
And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Verbatim what I got. The ‘gallery’ without shopping cart didn’t really throw me, however. I’ve worked with enough clients with wares that need showcasing but that are not sold online.
The sitemap thing is definitely weird. A lot of folks may not ask specifically for a sitemap, but who asks specifically NOT for a site map?
Verbatim what I got. The ‘gallery’ without shopping cart didn’t really throw me, however. I’ve worked with enough clients with wares that need showcasing but that are not sold online.
The sitemap thing is definitely weird. A lot of folks may not ask specifically for a sitemap, but who asks specifically NOT for a site map?
Stefano,
Eergh! Yeah, me too. Although, neither my cell nor my business email are associated w/ my PayPal. So, that’s good.
I was cordial enough for the first two emails, but was immediately leery when she agreed so quickly to my pricing, etc. No questions at all.
However, she contacted me directly through my website form.
This is the lookup info:
marshadavid176(a)outlook.com is associated to this person
Name Marsha David
Organization Marsha Sport Wears
Address 34 Rector Place map
City Bloomfield
State NJ
Country US United States
Phone +1.8666052484
Fax +1.4165350123
Private no
List of domain names registred by marshadavid176(a)outlook.com
Domain Name Create Date Registrar
ivansportwears.com 2016-09-06 tucowsdomains.com
Here’s the email I received November 13, 2016 from Marsha David
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “mdavsportwears.com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Get to know you through a website designer, he said that he got a lot of project his working on. So he refer me know your email but he said that he havent work with you before.
Regards
Marsha David
Thanks, Charlene.
I note a few contradictions in the request which make this suspicious right away: they want a products page but no shopping cart. They don’t want a sitemap but they want to have a products gallery.
Asking if you are the owner and if you accept credit cards is common to these scam inquiries.
Thank you for sharing, Rae.
Hi Avalyn,
I too was contacted by Marsha David (marshadavid176(a)outlook.com). The message is almost verbatim of Oscar S’s above. I have reported the phishing to my gmail account. Thanks for hosting this email thread!
Hi, Wow, I’m so glad I also looked for that email address online – I just got the inquiry and felt a bit leary of it. Thanks for all of this great information, I will block and delete! Here is the e-mail I received for her/him:
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “mdsportwears(dot)com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Get to know you through a website designer, he said that he got a lot of project his working on. So he refer me know your email but he said that he havent work with you before.
Regards
_________________________________________________________________
From: Marsha David
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2016 8:43 AM
To: *************
Subject: Website Design
Hello,
Good morning, how you doing today ? Do you do website design ?
Thanks
Marsha David
Hi, Stefano. Thank you for sharing your experience. Unless you shared your paypal information with the scammer, it’s probably not a concern. However, if you are concerned, please consult with a qualified lawyer or law enforcement.
It’s always good to change your passwords every so often, and to make them as long and complex as possible.
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. I offer information and recommendations out of my own experience as a creative professional and freelancer. Nothing is intended as legal advice or legal opinion.
Hi Alvalyn,
thank you so much for posting about this – just got the same email as Oscar – the difference in the method was that Marsha David (marshadavid176(a)outlook.com) contacted me through my Carbonmade.com portfolio so it gave it more legitimacy – they are getting smarter indeed. Before I found your article I had replied to her with my cell number and also stating I do take credit card through PayPal. Do you think my PayPal account could be in danger? I did not provide any information about it. I will monitor the situation and post here for any development. Again thank you so much!
Great website Alvalyn.
Thank you for putting up this blog, I’m glad I was able to find out more information about this scam. My red flags went up when I was starting to get irked by this Marsha David individual and her reluctance to follow my payment terms. Like a poster stated above, this person even went as far as signing the contract and asked me to create a STRIPE account instead of using my PayPal, that kind of raised the first warning. Then there were way too many back and forward conversations about payment. Glad I stuck with PayPal in this case, it helped me be more observant about the following e-mail exchanges. The individual Also gave me a cell phone number to communicate with her with. Good thing I only gave her my Google Voice number and not my actual number, which is what I normally hand out to clients that reach out to me through e-mail.
———————————————————————————
Here’s the information I have on this individual:
Name: Marsha David
E-mail: marshadavid176(a)outlook.com
Cell: 636-393-8018
Message after initial communication:
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “Davidsportwears.com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Regards
———————————————————————————
I appreciate this site confirming my suspicions and I have already reported it to IC3 website mentioned in your previous comments. I love how we as designers can look out for each other. I don’t have a blog but I might start one or just put a special post to inform designers of these scammers.
Thanks,
Oscar S.
So glad I researched this “marshadavid176(a)outlook(dot)com” email.
I just received the same email inquiring about website design.
I received the exact same set of emails from “Martin Berg” preciousllm(a)outlook(dot)com
And had I not been alerted via a thread on Reddit this morning, I’d still be communicating with him.
Hi, Marinela:
Thank you for adding your comment. These tactics are used by a number of scammers, and it’s an international problem. The best advice is to be on the lookout for suspicious wording, the use of 3rd parties, and setting payment terms and budgets. If you’ve received 1 of these scam emails, you will receive more. I’ve even received text messages. It’s not limited to email.
The first thing I do with an unsolicited project inquiry is to send the person my list of onboarding questions to respond to. If they don’t respond, no matter. !f their answers are suspicious, vague or incomplete, I let them know I’m not interested. The onboarding questionnaire is a quick way to filter out scammers and other problematic inquiries. It saves me a lot of time.
I’ve set up the questionnaire as an email signature, so all I need to do is hit reply, select the signature and send. It takes just a few seconds. Of course, if the scam email is immediately obvious, I don’t reply at all. I forward it to one of the reporting agencies listed in this article, then tag it as junk mail and then delete it.
Alvalyn and Anthony, the Marsha David scammer (marshadavid176(a)outlook.com) contacted me for a quote on September 27, 2016, and went so far as to sign a contract w/ me in October, then suddenly had payment issues – said she couldn’t get PayPal to work for her, then also had issues w/ Stripe on my site (which I’d tested and validated already).
Following is the latest email:
“Thanks for your response, I will be making 50% upfront deposit payment for the project and i want you to add the sum of $4,120.00 to the amount you will run on my card plus 3% Cc company charges.So when you receive the fund in your account, you will send the $4,120.00 to the project consultant that has the text content , imagery and the logo for my website .
Once he receive the fund, he would send the imagery and logo needed for my website to you immediately.
I want work to start immediately and everything should work out fine.”
Of course I’m not going to get suckered by this obvious fraud attempt, but I’m irritated that I’ve wasted time on this scammer. Any suggestions for how to stop this fraudster from continuing his/her scheme?
Valuable suggestions – BTW , people require a NY DOH-4455 , my friend came across a fillable form here
https://goo.gl/Rf9bSCThank you for sharing this, Anthony.
Just got this today from a marshadavid176(a)outlook.com asking for a website.
with Pretty much same content:
Thanks for your responds, below is my project details.
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? The site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on my want below, the estimate should include hosting and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
WHAT I WANT-
I need a very simple informational website that shows the products that I sell.
(4 main pages)
HOME PAGE
ABOUT US
OUR PRODUCTS (gallery) – about 25 products for now and adding 5-10 new products every month. I want the product to be classified into 4 pages , which are
Male : Adult and chidren , Female : Adult and children. so that the customers can get full details.
CONTACT US – with a form to fill out so that they can get in contact with me.
Domain Name i want- “Davidsportwears(dot)com ” or anything along that line.
TIMELINE- this should go “live” in 2 months.
Note:
1. I want only English language
2. You will be updating the site for me.
3. I will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
4. I want the site up and running before ending of next two month.
5. My budget is $3000 to $6000
6. No shopping ability
7. The site will be mobile friendly
8. I don’t want sitemap
9. I have 25 product to be on it.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
(4) Do you accept credit cards as payment ?
Regards”
“No name or Phone, email is to a Marsha David”
It does fall into the 419 category – advance fees for goods or services.
Just got this email myself. This is straight up 419 Scam. Not a very good one at that. Checks, and money orders will be bad. Credit card transactions will be reversed. Guaranteed. 419
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam
Hello, Anastasia. Thanks for your question. The scammers really aren’t sending you any money. They send a bogus payment that’s for more than the agreed-upon amount. They ask you to refund them the difference — by sending the difference to their “agent”. So you send the refund. Their original payment to you does not go through (like, their check bounces). Their money does not actually end up in your account. But, you’ve sent them the “refund”. So you’ve paid them, in essence. Then there is the returned item fees your bank will deduct from your account.. After all is said and done, you have less money than you began with.
Hello, I just got this email, but i still didn’t understand their plan? what is so bad if they send you money? finally you got money and can disappear
I got the same email scam today from Jennifer Wooldridge jwooldridge91@gmail.com. I did a quick Google search for her email and I found this webpage. Thanks everyone for sharing the info everyone. Below is my email correspondence with the scammer.
—————————————-
From: Jennifer Wooldridge
Good day,Hope u having a great day at work.I’m Jennifer.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards?
—————————————–
From: me
Thanks for getting in touch about your website project. In order for us to respond quickly (promptly) and thoroughly to your request and to see if we’re a good fit for each other, we need to know a little more about your project. Can you please tell me a little more by answering the questions in the attached website worksheet? We look forward to learning more about your website project.
——————————————
From: Jennifer Wooldridge
Hello Blake,
Thanks for your response and hope you having a great day at work. I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in city and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin… the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as http://www.PreniumBestFarmGoods.net
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $3500 to $7000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) An estimate
(2) And will like to know if you are the owner ?
(3) Your cell number
This is the first time I’ve heard of a scammer using Stripe. That’s something to look into, because Stripe is a popular software for credit card payments.
I advise having a contract signed with any client, before going to the effort of making special payment accommodations. Also, if a prospect is requesting special payment terms, I make that an additional fee to set up. I don’t know if you can use that for future legit clients, but I find it’s a good business practice.
Thank you for posting your experience. Keep in mind that there was going to be no income if this scheme went through, and you would actually lose money if you followed through.
I wish I had read this sooner, I wasted 3 days of communication to find out I’m being scammed. What’s scary is they are so detailed, it’s not a canned response, I’m really communicating with his person. I got a message through my website asking if I created websites from a p_carpenter657 (a) gmail.com. He wanted to launch his site by September 1st and gave me all of these details even PDF documents of the layout ideas he had. He gave me a 2000-5000 budget, stating he already had everything I needed to start. So I created 3 options, did detailed research on his industry, built a contract, and client space, and detailed invoices. He was creating an Indian restaurant website so any slight grammar mistakes I attributed to his personal background. He was supposed to be out of Houston, TX. So I figured he was trying to lowball me since a site like he wanted could cost 10,000 in Houston. I figured he was looking for small design firms from smaller cities to get a lower rate.
My first red flag was when I mentioned how I would be collecting payment through PayPal he said his bank advised him against using PayPal because it shows up as a double charge. I have a history with local clients who don’t like PayPal so I always have options. He specifically requested Stripe. Which was odd because you have to build the check out process with Stripe, so my first thought was I have to make sure this is completely secure. So I built, tested, and secured a special check out portal for him within my website.
He then emails me after he received all of the documents and says he wants a direct stripe link (red flag) and he wants to pay me two payments of 2500, when the whole package was 2500. Then he says that I would need to send half of that back to the project manager and then I was like.. Nooooooo! All of my hard work and time, wasted on a scammer.
I told him no I cannot bill him for more than what he’s contracted for, and I cannot pay anyone else because I’m not contracted with them. I also tell him it’s unsafe for all of us legally and tax wise. He emails me back and says, I’ll take care of all of the taxes and legal issues. So I sent him the hard no. My heart is a little broken though that income was going to be great. I live in a small town and it’s hard for me to get $1000 for a website without a year long payment plan locally. Oh well, I’m using the 5 minute rule and moving on to the rest of my clients
I got the exact same web development scam.
The first email: Hello I am Johnson and i am hearing impaired i need to know if you can handle website design for a new company and i also need to know if you accept credit cards as form of payment ?
After I responded, here is his second email:
Thanks for the reply, I have small scale business which i want to turn into
large scale business now it located in IL and the company aim is based on
importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia
Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you
handle that for me? if yes, i will need you to check out this site but i
need something more perfect than this if its possible .
agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i
need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out
the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i
gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the
text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as (Farmsbj.us)
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $5000
Kindly get back to me with an estimate
Favorable Regards,
Johnson
After I responded with questions about there needs, (which I found odd from the quickness of their responses and the terrible grammar) This was there response.
5th Email
Thanks for your response,i am okay with the estimate and i wanna proceed so i will be depositing $2500 using credit card so work can commence ASAP, i understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will need a Little favor from you and the reason i need this favor from you is because the consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am presently in the hospital for surgery so i will be glad if you can help me out with this favor,
Regards,
Johnson
Okay by now, I know full well this is a scammer, I responded with this..
Johnson –
What is the favor you need? I am confused. You mentioned that you understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will need a Little favor from you and the reason i need this favor from you. I can begin the site immediately without the content right now. There are some initial back-end coding and layout parameters that must done first anyway before any wording content is needed, so that’s not a problem I wont really need actual content until 8/30/15.
You mentioned also that he consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards. That’s not a problem. Simply get the credit card information and go online and charge the card via my PayPal account, which is how I accept credit card payments and conduct business. I will this done before any work can begin. I will send you an invoice to make the deposit via PayPal
This was the scammers response in Email #6
The favor i need from you is. i would give you my card info’s to charge for $5000 so $2500 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $2500 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he has the $2500 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via walmart or money gram location near you,sending of funds would be after funds clear into your own account and also $100 tip for your stress
That was all I needed. Any time I see Walmart or Money Gram in a email message requiring me to do anything Its my “STOP” sign. End of story. I simply email the scammer with this…
“Get Lost You Jerk” Your scam did not work.
I received this today!
Here is the job details
l have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in OR and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as billfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $2000 to 5000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Thank you
Report abuse by gmail accounts here: https://support.google.com/mail/contact/abuse
Sadly nobody. We have some Law Enforcement folks who work at scamwarners.com as well as some in the financial industry. Nobody cares unfortunately. The law here has zero jurisdiction, and the banks could care less if a card s stolen.
I found this page after I received a text message searched the phone number it came from. The message said “Hi i am Ellis Evett and would like to know if you design websites and can work on my project. get in touch.”
The phone number was (440) 573-1141
I was freelancing years ago but didn’t think my number was out there, so it seemed suspicious to get a text like this. Glad I checked.
“Ijekaffy02farmproduce.com” is the most rediculous one i have seen. My scammer wanted StarFarmNeeds.Com which i found strange but….OK. now they are not even trying to make proposals that make sense
Interestingly enough Zac, the earlier incarnations of this were spelled and executed better. the first spammer was very interactive and seemed savvy.the newer ones are more desperate and respond to pretty much anything you say
I just got one. They didn’t even fill out the city or proper domain name. The good thing is that is is pretty clear this is a scam.
The scammers email is: eeshumwayy(a)gmail.com. I tend to Google anyone’s email address if I suspect anything. If nothing at all shows up it makes me very suspect.
Below is the scam email.
======================
Thanks for your swift response and l have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in city and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as Ijekaffy02farmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $10000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Thank you
Got this EXACT same email this morning and it just seemed off.
Thank you to everyone posting the email address (Phils Family – philsfamilycrip(a)hotmail.com) because that’s what I searched on and that’s how I confirmed.
I’ve been getting these in all the variations for a couple of years. I’ve stopped taking out of state inquiries unless I know the referral source. Not great for business.
The scam is stepping it up. The other day I got a phone call from a woman in Mexico who wanted a website. The call had all the other elements, especially the “do you take credit cards” line. When I asked her why she was calling Alaska for a web designer she said in Mexico it was too expensive. I thought I’d laugh for the rest of the day!
Here is the email today – the basic version:
email address: kelvinw327(a)gmail.com
Good Day, Am katerine cole.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do, do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details. Thanks katerine cole
I know the feeling. Every unsolicited request is suspect now. I’m turning down all non-local inquiries unless I recognize the referral.
I received the same scam from Mannix Jones mannixjones01(a)outlook.com and mannixjones34(a)gmail.com
mannix jones
Jul 19, 2015
This is Mannix jones I am hearing impaired,
can you handle website design for new company
and do you accept credit card payment?
Next email:
mannix jones
Jul 20 (9 days ago)
to me
Am so glad you responded so i will be glad if you can create my website for me.
Here is the job details for the site i want created.
the business is a salon and spa but it still a small scale business so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so here is an example site i want you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible indocanadasalonandspa (dot)com… the site would only be informational, so E-commerce functionality is not needed on this site, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the example site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and also i want the site to be on word-press plus i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, whom has the text content and the logos for the site so there wont be any delays.
Note:
1. My budget is $3000 to $11,000
2.I want the same exact numbers of pages with the example site i gave you to check
3. i want the domain name as mannixsspa.com, cos i dont have a domain yet
4. Updating of the site will be by you guys
5. the images, logos and content for the site will be provided by me.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) Are you the owner ??
Then he started texting me, asking me to sign up for stripe and not use paypal for payment.
I wrote a detailed proposal for him, he approved it and said he was going to send a credit card.
I googled his name and didn’t find anything, then I decided to google – “web design hearing impaired scam” and found this thread.
Thank you.
I knew it was a scam but was just so curious how they think we are stupid enough to get money out of by their stupid schemes.
Same here. Came from an outlook.com email address.
———————
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NJ and the company is based on importing and exporting of Sport wears such as running jacket, jersey,dance wear,socks, boots etc for both adult youth ladies and girls so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible http://www.sportwearargentona(dot)com …. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i
gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
thesportswearus.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next
month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
8. No shopping ability
9. The site will be mobile friendly
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Bowen David
Anthony- i feel your frustration too. That’s how i felt after the whole “Laura Susan” thing. Wasted my time and then some on this. a learning experience but one i could do without. Some a-hole in Nigeria probably who can’t get or won’t get a job or business sitting here and harassing hardworking designers like us
Thank God I found this site! I just got this email scam verbatim.
Here I am, working full-time, trying to do web-design on the side, struggling to pay the mortgage each month. I finally get something that I think would be a decent job. And it turns out to be a P.O.S. scammer. It’s just so infuriating!!!!
Interestingly enough they sent every detail on the card I asked for. So these scams are a bit well thought out. So they must have stolen every aspect of the card. I am going to note this on my blog as well., Does anyone know who do I report possible stolen cards to?
Update on the latest:
Henry Mark
“the favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $5,000.00 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $2,000.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $3,000.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $3,000.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap”
So they sent the card info over. Zip code is in WV. Now that i have that i can report it to the authorities.
You mean Amanda Patty is not real? Dang here I was so excited about the prospect of making $4000 to $8000 for the first time ever on such a simple WordPress CMS designed site. I’m just trying to figure out if any business owner has actually ended up falling for this scam and gone all the way through with it? Especially, after getting the emails about receiving payment from Mrs. Amanda Patty and then forwarding it on to the unknown project consultant? I feel sorry for the Agro America company because they’re a legit organization headquartered in Guatemala that’s been used as an innocent bystander in this scam.
Decided to reply to this guy to see what his email scam will be. Same garbage as before. I sent an email that i set up to record these guys with a cooked up estimate. Going to report these one after the other to the authorities
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as yourtopproduce.co
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
My reply:
Hello the Estimate for this job will be $5,000.
The pages will all be easily customizable and the site will be very personalized and customized.
I will need the contact info for your consultant to obtain the content
I am the owner.
Thanks very much
Louis Cypher
Thanks Nina i will do just that. These people need to be shut down for good
Add Henry Mark to this as well
Sorry to hear of this Chris. AS a result of my near brush with these scams, i have started an antifraud part of my business.
More of this garbage 2 days ago
6177936365
Hello This Henry Mark i will like to know if you can handle my website and design it and do you accept credit cards for payment please get back to me as soon as possible OK.
An email came to us and I thought it was legit, till some things just did not seem correct. It was from Adam Curry wanting a web design for salon and spa business. The same type of verbiage was used as I see here in this thread. We responded thinking this may have been legit. Luckily we found out what this was really about.
I got the John Cloer email as well as the hearing impaired one in the form of a text message.
These people must really get around.
http://officewebdesigner.com/
This company will rob you of your money , be rude and produce absolutely rubbish as a semi funal product. Its run by Jeff Davidson Tel 1 618 319 4598 and Pailette Hill 1 623 302 4892. They are running this scam out of florida and will tell you no deposit and present you with work which is not theirs and claim it to be theirs make you then pay a deposit and never call you back, work or just plain be rude until you give up. Avoid them by all means, and by the way thet are outsourcing whatever work they claim to present to you to the Middle East..
Robbed July 2015!
And the name and email they used was Tara Johnson and claiming they owned agricultural company which was a small scale business which they want to turn into a large scale business that was supposedly located in OR and that their company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it.
As I stated in my above message, just be aware of these pathetic, low-life scammers!
Wow! I just received the same exact email the other day! At first they had me going with their lies but soon enough as they continued to email me and text my phone, things just were odd and seemed very fishy. So I did my research online to look for people who may try to scam a web designer and low and behold I came across this blog only to find out other web designers and web developers such as myself have been receiving the same exact emails with someone trying to scam them. I’m really glad that I followed my instincts and looked into it. I just knew something was off and it was weird how they had such a big issue with making their payment through PayPal, then the other weird thing was they wanted me to send money to their Project consultant claiming their project consultant didn’t have a facility to accept credit card payments (Now what type of professional project consultant does not have a website or any type of payment method set-up for their clients to make a payment and and even more, why was it up to me to make sure their project consultant got paid?……can you say weird) Then they went on to say how they were in the hospital preparing for surgery so that’s why they needed the favor from me to send the payment. Then they wanted me to handle their credit card information which I did not feel comfortable with at all. And my whole thing was……okay, hospitals have wifi, you’re emailing me so obviously you have access to wifi in the hospital so why can’t you just go to my website and make your payment yourself? Then they tried to feed me some weird lie about how they can’t do payments through PayPal because they’ve had trouble with it before in the past……blah, blah, blah! So fellow web designers and developers, please be aware and keep a lookout for these pathetic, sad low-life scammers!
I too almost fell for this one – with the same Philip Scholz – god bless you and much thanks for saving a lot of aggravation! I knew it didn’t feel right, but it took my girlfriend – who is also my financial manager – to get em to google the phone number which led me here. Just texted him to decline the offer!
Add to the list of names: Brad Carlton
I’ve received two of these spam attempts – 1 via email and the second via sms.
More names:
Jacquelyn Reynolds
adam bernard
Same here…I got one from a Martin Berg….he even signed the contract. I use quick books for all our credit card transactions online so of course he never paid the deposit. Why would he even sign the contract?? how silly.
Just got this email in my spam inbox from Faith Thomas , with the following:
This is Kate Peterson,Am hearing impaired, I want you to check if you have available weekends between August 1st-30th. If you have a date open i want you to work on the estimate cost for the 5 hours photo coverage from 11am-4pm, and 6-16×20 prints family photo portraits because we have 6 families coming together for the reunion event. The event will be held locally here in the state but i will give you the main address once i have the address from the event planner i will cover the travel expenses if needed. and i hope you can handle this event. I’ll make the full payment with my credit card to book the date also i will forward you the event venue once the event planner book the hall.get back to me if you can handle this for me ..
I hope it helps other not get into scam like this one…
I’ve received the same email! Luckily I realized it was a scam because I went through it before with “Michael Stones”. He signed my contract and I told him I’d be sending an invoice.. I sent it through PayPal for 50% upfront deposit and never heard from him again. I have no clue how he planned to scam me but this post and comments are helpful. I guess when he saw I expected to be paid through PayPal he gave up.
But I almost lost a real client I’ve gotten so used to the scam emails. I wrote it off as another scam and would’ve ignored them…
Same thing today, only his name was Scott Smith.
The same exact thing happened to me today. This time is from Brad Carlton. I told him to get lost and that I’m reporting him to the authorities. Thank you for shedding light to these terrible scams:
>> I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you
to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
bestfarmproduce.biz 4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $3000 to $6000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Brad Carlton
I received the SAME EXACT email yesterday but from an Allen Maxwell. I had my doubts through all the back and forth emails, but now I know for sure. Thank you for this post and these comments!
This guy even went as far as signing my service contract. I told him before I would send him an invoice for the deposit, I would like more information about him and his business. That was before I found this post/these comments. I haven’t heard back from him and now I know I probably won’t. Good thing.
Remember that you CAN report it @ ic3 etc, but the best thing to do is report it all at places like this page and scamwarners.com so potential vivtims can find out its a scam if they google the email address or part of the letters
Nigeria is OUT of all Law Enfircements jurisdiction, so they never get caught
Here are some more names and email addresses:
Mr. David – ben david – bendavid7007@outlook.com
John Cloer – johncloer101@hotmail.com
Mary Scott – maryscott00930@outlook.com
I JUST RECIEVED THIS EXACT SAME EMAIL!!!!! The name was John Cloer. So glad I found this page. My question though is how does this scam actually work for them?
*******
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
jcesfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running by End of August.
7. My budget is $4000 to $9000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
John
***********
Unfortunately there is NO way to catch them. These guys are all in Nigeria….our Law Enforcement has ZERO jurisdiction there (and anyone who says they can help you get justice/your money back is another scammer) In Nigeria this kind of activity is not only legal but CELEBRATED…It is literally what drives the economy there and they even teach scamming in the schools.
Educate yourself …good site is scamwarners.com
You should NEVER tell them you know it is a scam. All that does is help them learn from their mistakes. If you wish to engage with them (ala 419eater.com ) make a seperate email just for that.
http://www.scamwarners.com can always help you if you are in doubt
Same here.. my friend who is a photographer (he doesn’t do family portraits), forwarded a message to me. It was from faiththomas3x@gmail.com, with a reply-to from Kate Peterson, asking for a quote for a family reunion, and it started with “I am hearing impaired.” I had a bad feeling because of the bad grammar, but went ahead and emailed her some information because I hadn’t seen this yet. What tipped me off is that it was sent to “multiple recipients” with my friend’s email in the BCC. I decided to follow my instinct and google the email address… and here I am.
Same thing here. The scammer paid it. Then went on about wiring to their “consultant” crap
I refunded the amount to whoever the card really belongs to and the bank is investigating.
I kept copies of the entire conversations
The thing about these scammers are they are persistent and they will interact with you. I sent an quote and everything. AS a result of this, I have instituted some new safeguards in my business. I have kept a complete record of my conversations with “Laura Susan”
Yep! I got the exact same text. they were going into “surgery”
on may 26th, 2015
“The reason i need this favor from you is because the consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am presently in the hospital for surgery so i will be glad if you can help me out with this favor,The favor i need from you is. i would give you my card info’s to charge for $4300. so $1250 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $3000 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he has the $3000 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via cash deposit into his account, sending of funds would be after funds clears into your account and also $50tip for your stress So i will be looking forward to read back from you.Thanks”
that is the EXACT same one that i received, that email address
My spammer also said she was going into the hospital soon!
Now i have just received the 3rd one of these.
Sorry, the name and email of the scammer: Phil – philsfamilycrip@hotmail.com.
Content:
Hello,
This is phils,&i would like to know if you do Web Design Service,do you accept credit card for the payment?and i will also like you to get back to me with your workshop Address as soon as possible.
Regards
Phil.
I also received a couple of these. You can tell by the grammar.
Thanks for putting up this page as a warning!
It seems these scammers are just going crazy nowadays.
This scammer contacted me yesterday using the name Alex Buffett. When I requested to speak with him, he said he was in the hospital due to a medical condition. Initially sent same email as shown by PG Carr. I did manage to get him on the phone but he was anxious to get off, and insisted he could only speak briefly as he was in the hospital. I sent him a questionnaire to answer so I could prepare an estimate, but he did not answer all the questions and was vague. I went ahead and prepared the estimate, but by now was feeling odd about it. I emailed it to him and he was on it like a duck on a junebug. Texted me to let me know he had replied to my email. As soon as I saw his email reply to my estimate and what he wanted to do with the CC deal, I knew it had to be a scam and took to Google. Glad I found this post. Validation is good. Thanks for sharing.
I received a similar e-mail earlier, it says she wants to book a family reunion photo, and will cover my travel expenses. I believe the scammer grabbed my e-mail from freelancer.com
Most likely a chargeback will be incurred. That is what Wells Fargo told me is the likely outcome.
Most likely a Chargeback scheme. I contacted Wells Fargo bank about it
The Laura Susan that contacted me was at
914- 278-1151
Has the nerve to continue contacting!!
I got the same one last month.
Here is the job details
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in CA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin.. . the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as Starfarmneeds.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $6000 to $10000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
I have gotten 3 of these scams. One is posted on my website. I interacted with the first one a bit then ignored the rest. I will post shot soon
Thanks for putting this up I received this exact email and wasn’t sure !
Thanks for getting back to me Here is the job details,
I work with Royal Australia Navy and right now I’m on sea. I will be back home early next month so this is the best way we can communicate and i want the work done before i be will back onshore.
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in…. and the company is based on importing and exporting of Red Wine products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible . agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin… the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as TNtopfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Tara
I’m so grateful you all shared this! Just got the same one:
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin… the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
HisGracefarmproducts.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Martin Berg.
I’ve actually gotten this via text from (917) 503-9684. Because of spelling & the ridiculously generous terms, it’s obviously a scam. I played along with a fake email address for a while. Basically he wanted me to accept a $4600 prepayment and forward $2500 to another consultant.
It’s basically a way for them to launder stolen credit cards. Beware.
Just got the same scam from amandapatty06@gmail.com. Here’s the email exchange:
=================
I have a small scale business which I want too turn into a large scale
business Now is located in TN and the company is based on importing
and exporting of Agriculture product such as Kola nut,Gacillia,Nut and
cocoa so I need a best of the best layout for it.Can you handle that
for me?So I need you too check out this site but I need something more
perfect than this if it is possible agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin…the
site would only be informational,so I need you too give me an estimate
based on the site I gave you too check out,the estimate should include
hosting and I want the same page as the site I gave you to check out
and I have a private project consultant,he has the text content and
the logos for the site.
Note:
1.I want the same numbers of pages with the example site I gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2.I want only english language
3.I don’t have a domain yet but I want the domain name as TNtopfarmproduce.com
4.You will be updating the site for me.
5.I will be proving images,logos and content for the site
6.I want the site up and running before ending of Next month
7.My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with an estimate,your cell number,and I will
like too know if you are the owner
Regards
Amanda patty
=================
Hi Amanda Patty,
Exciting news! We have a proposal for you. Our team has reviewed the example site as well as taken in all of your input to put together this proposal.
We would love to schedule a call with you sometime next week to walk through the proposal in more detail.
Let me know a day and time that works best for you.
=================
Thanks for your response back, I’m ready to make payment now with my
credit card,I understand the content of this site would be needed so
work can start Asap but I will need a little favor from you.
=================
Hi Amanda,
That’s great! I would love to jump on the call with you tomorrow so that we can start scheduling things.
Are you available at 10:30am tomorrow (Monday) morning?
=================
Thanks for the prompt response sir, Am hearing impaired that why am using via email message to contact you now,kindly get back with me with your direct cell so i can send you my credit card.hope too here from you soon.
=================
I understand. Here’s what we’ll do:
We will update the proposal with dates.
We will put together the contract for your review and send it over.
Once you return a signed copy of the contract, we will send over the first invoice. These details are in the contract.
We will setup a project kickoff call shortly after.
Can you provide me with the legal company name and state your company is from?
Please let me know if you have any questions.
You can expect to see an email from us today.
=================
can i send you my credit card via text so you can help me too fill it and payed cos am in the hospital right now.
=================
Will you have availability later today?
We still have to finish up the paperwork before payment.
If you’re still not available later, we can make arrangements for payment.
=================
hope you understand that you are going too help me and charge $2,000.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $2,000.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap
=================
The more the email exchange continued, I started to become a bit skeptical, so I decided to do some background checks and luckily found this post. I politely declined and she never responded thereafter. Whew, now back to some real work!
Just got the same scam from amandapatty06@gmail.com. Here’s the email exchange:
<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>
Hi Amanda Patty,
Exciting news! We have a proposal for you. Our team has reviewed the example site as well as taken in all of your input to put together this proposal.
We would love to schedule a call with you sometime next week to walk through the proposal in more detail.
Let me know a day and time that works best for you.
<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>
Hi Amanda,
That’s great! I would love to jump on the call with you tomorrow so that we can start scheduling things.
Are you available at 10:30am tomorrow (Monday) morning?
<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>
I understand. Here’s what we’ll do:
We will update the proposal with dates.
We will put together the contract for your review and send it over.
Once you return a signed copy of the contract, we will send over the first invoice. These details are in the contract.
We will setup a project kickoff call shortly after.
Can you provide me with the legal company name and state your company is from?
Please let me know if you have any questions.
You can expect to see an email from us today.
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
Will you have availability later today?
We still have to finish up the paperwork before payment.
If you’re still not available later, we can make arrangements for payment.
<<<<<<<<<<<
hope you understand that you are going too help me and charge $2,000.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $2,000.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap
=================
The more the email exchange continued, I started to become a bit skeptical, so I decided to do some background checks and luckily found this post. I politely declined and she never responded thereafter. Whew, now back to some real work!
Wow! I received the exact same one from Amanda Patty and also an identical one from David Shepard … these people are pathetic!
Hi, just wanted to add to the list that I also received one of these emails. I’m not even bothering to respond. Thank you for reporting so I know to avoid.
For reference, it came from: amandapatty06@gmail.com
Message contents:
Hello i am Mrs Amanda patty ,i would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ? ? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
I GOT THE SAME EXACT THING
G’day to you all! So I have Laura Susan on the hook and even managed to get an “address” by telling her our invoicing system could not send an invoice without the billing address & info. LOL
Do you think this is a stolen CC laundering scheme or a chargeback scheme, or both?
Best!
That’s the thing, Monique. These emails appear legitimate at first glance.
When I received one the first time, I thought something was peculiar, and then pursued it a bit to find out more.
The methods used (Stripe, Western Union, and such) differ, but the methodology used is common to all of these.
Ok, a new one – I felt like this wasn’t right, finally did a google search and found you guys. This is coming from 1-701-484-2029 and they are now asking to use Stripe. I don’t use Stripe unless I am able to have the full address, the CVV and billing zip. When asked for this, I was no longer given communication. Please note the change of website, but all the details the same. Thanks everyone – this may seem that it is “obvious” to you, but to some of us, it all seemed legit until they asked for us to pay someone else with the extra. That extra payment wasn’t asked for until done via text, and this was supposed to be an extra 3000.00 to them, with the exact wording you all used, because they needed logo and branding and the person couldn’t handle credit cards. Wow. Anyone know where we can report this?
Philipp C Scholz
Date: Wed, 20 May 2015 12:01:44 -0700
Subject: Re: FRESH WEBSITE NEEDED
From: philippscholz19961@gmail.com
To: mon_monique@msn.com
Am so glad you responded so i will be glad if you can create my website for me. i got you on google.com
Here is the job details for the site i want created.
the business is a salon and spa but it still a small scale business so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so here is an example site i want you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible http://indocanadasalonandspa.com… the site would only be informational, so E-commerce functionality is not needed on this site, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the example site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and also i want the site to be on word-press plus i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, whom has the text content and the logos for the site so there wont be any delays.
Note:
1. My budget is $3000 to $11,000
2.I want the same exact numbers of pages with the example site i gave you to check
3. i want the domain name as philippsss.com, cos i dont have a domain yet
4. Updating of the site will be by you guys
5. the images, logos and content for the site will be provided by me.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) Are you the owner ??
Scholz
On Wed, May 20, 2015 at 9:10 AM, Monique Kordasiewicz wrote:
Yes, absolutely. May I ask where you heard of us from? Most of the time it is a referral. We just like to thank the client if it was one.
-Monique Kordasiewicz
Owner & Chief Web Designer
NocturnalDaylight Designs
Sent from my Windows Phone
——————————————————————————–
From: Philipp Scholz
Sent: 5/20/2015 8:06 AM
Subject: FRESH WEBSITE NEEDED
Hello this is philipp scholz, Am making an inquiry to know if you can
handle website design for a small scale business kindly get back to me
ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
Here is the Email they used laurasusan027@gmail.com
Got a text to day from phone number 720-689-2574:
“Good Day, My name is Laura Susan, I’m hearing impaired, I wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP with your email address so i can send you the project details. Thanks Laura.”
I as pretty sure it was a scam but i usually love to play them out to see how “cleaver” they are becoming. They had specifics on the project. But poor grammar and “ASAP” was used in every email.
Complete scam. Thought I would post it.
I received VERY similar emails from these frauds. Here is one of the initial emails:
“Here is the job details below :
I have a small scale business which I want to transform into a large scale business very soon,It located in TN and the business is all about importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Palm kernels and Cocoa so I need one of the best layout design for this,Can you handle that for me ?
Please I need you to check out this site but I need something more perfect than this if its possible .agricultural business website URL removed by this site’s admin,the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site I provided you above, the estimate should include hosting and I want the same page as the site I provided above and I have a private project consultant,He has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the sample site I gave you ,excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want it to be just English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as freshfarmproduce.com
4. Your company will be in charge of the site updates.
5. will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $7000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Looking forward to read from you asap
Thanks “
I got the something and reported to the FBI.
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 8:09 PM, Wesley P Davis Sr wrote:
Paypal? But my card don’t work on paypal
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 5:06 PM, Open Tech wrote:
We only accept payments by paypal.
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 8:04 PM, Wesley P Davis Sr wrote:
Yes, i will email you with my Credit card info’s to charge for $5600, $3000 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $2500 you will help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website, once he has the $2500 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via cash deposit into his account,sending of funds would be after funds clears into your account and also $100tip for your stress So i will be looking forward to read back from you.Thanks
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 4:53 PM, Open Tech wrote:
How can I help? Do you need help with the content?
On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 7:52 PM, Wesley P Davis Sr wrote:
Okay good,Thanks for your responds, i will like to proceed and am okay with the estimate, i will depositing $3000 using my Credit card so work can commence ASAP, i understand the content for this site would be needed as for the job to commence, so regarding the content i will need a Little favor from you because the consultant does not have facility to charge Credit cards,also am presently in the hospital for surgery, so i will be glad if you could help me out with this favor
Thank you for posting this! We have seen a lot of these in the last 3 months. All “close” to legit, but always seemed “off. This confirms my suspicion, and I am glad the web design community is banding together against these crooks!
File a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
Forward the email conversation to:
spam@uce.gov
reportphishing@antiphishing.org
I received the same message. I am concerned for the not-so-phoney names and credit card numbers as victims of identity theft. I am reporting it at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx ! Thank you for posting this.
I also got form Alex Thomson alex_thomson70@hotmail.com
Good Day
I’m Alex, I would like to know if you can handle website design for my company and also if you do accept credit cards ??, kindly get back to me asap so i can send you the job details.
Regards.
============
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in LA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Cacilia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?.
So i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible URL removed by the site owner the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
@emmafarm.com or @emmafarm.net
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $8000 to $10,000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number with your location
(3) And will like to know if you are the business owner ??
i was asking if you accept credit card for payment.
Regards
Emmanuel Tim..
===========
please get back to me with estimate, also merchant do you charge credit card with?
I received one of the same:
——————
Good Day, Am Tom Williams i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new marketing and also if credit card is fine to make payment with you kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Regards
————————–
Hi Tom,
It’s nice to meet you. I would be happy to help you out with some more information. I do accept cash, cards, and checks upon invoicing. Feel free to send me some details and I can get back with you on the best quote for the job. May I also ask how you came upon my design services?
Happy Friday!
———————
Hello,
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TX and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as topfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $6000
Kindly get back to me with an estimate
Hope to read from you
Regards
————
At that point I knew it was a scam, but did a little research to find out and this information lead me to my original conclusion. Everyone keep a watchful eye out for these people! They seem to use really generic names as well.
Hi Dave,
I’ve received this one two times now. The first time – I wasted time putting together an actual scope of work and contract for the guy. Chatted with him via text and IM online. He wanted me to accept extra money via credit cards – and then send the additional $$ to his consultant. I asked him why his consultant didn’t set up Quickbooks and receive credit card payment and leave me out of it. The guy disappeared.
-Josh
Same one from John Cloer just yesterday.
Phil S at philsfamilycrip@hotmail.com just sent me the same garbage. After feeling him out, I got a funny email. See:
“Nathan,
I appreciate your update so far..and to come up with your questions,we are based in Carrsville,Va and i actually searched for one of the best Website Designer Personnel in town,We can mostly communicate through email or text message,It will be fine with me and again,It will be fine with me if i can get the quote right away,Bottom line i want have a view how things will go..through and if i can make an upfront payment down just to be sure am done with this special aspect with you,then you can provide the service paid for any time you are ready,I got lot of things i need to get done,Plus my surgery takes place in few days away so i want to take care of this aspect first so as to be sure am off the hook and i don’t have to worry about the expenses again.
Phil”
I got this exact same email from “amanda patty” (amandapatty06@gmail.com)
1st email below:
Hello i am Mrs Amanda patty,i would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
I responded, and their 2nd email is below:
______________________________________________
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible URL removed by the site owner the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as TNtopfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
______________________________________________________________________________
I basically knew it was weird and something was fake about it, but a friend convinced me to respond at least once more. So I did answer the last three questions…. I hope giving my cell phone number wasn’t too bad!
I got this exact same email from “amanda patty” (amandapatty06@gmail.com)
email quoted below
______________________________________________
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible URL removed by the site owner the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as TNtopfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
__________________________________________________________________
I got an email from her as well 🙂
Here is a second reply:
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have a small scale business which i want to turn into a large scale business now and it’s located in LA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agricultural products such as Kola Nut, Cashew Nut and Cocoa so i need the best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?.
So i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible URL removed by the site owner the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the sample website i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as well.
4. You will be updating the site for me.
5. I will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
6. I want the site up and running before ending of this month if possible.
7. My budget is $8000 to $10,000
Kindly get back to me with the following:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number with your location
(3) And will like to know if you are the business owner I’m dealing with
Regards,
Deborah Clark.
thanks for the link, that is what I’m looking for, or was. I am wondering if they will entrap them as to catch them? I have found when reporting crime potential, I’m always told that nothing can happen to the crook(s) unless the crime has been committed.
I don’t know the end game of this scam, BUT I am not about to be out thousands of dollars finding out.
Anyone know what the scam is exactly? They get the cash, and then the web designer winds up having to pay back money since the charge was likely put on a stolen card?
I received the exact same email, from a hearing impaired Mary Owne-
EXACT same email from Mery Owne/Mary Owne (maryowne42@gmail.com). First red flag was they used two different names. Second red flag is that they told me they were hearing impaired so we could not talk via phone. Plus all the other stuff mentioned on here!
This was the email I received:
Good Day
I’m Deborah, I would like to know if you can handle website design for my company and also if you do accept credit cards as payment?, kindly get back to me asap so i can send you the job details.
Regards.
Deborah Clark
It smelled of scam, so your article confirms this!
Things that are common to many of these are:
Claims of being hearing-impaired
Claims of being hospitalized
Asks if credit card payments are accepted
Request to work with a project consultant
Use of two question marks: ??
We have the same thing. I’ve had a funny feeling about it so I went google hunting. One difference with ours is this one said he was hearing impaired and had tons of medical/hospital/health issues. Also won’t schedule a consult, not even a chat.
From: Terrance Spencer
Email address: terrancespencer11@outlook.com
First Email he sent (just below) I replied to with consultation times and he refused consult and only sent another email.
“Good Day,
I’m Terrance, am an hearing impaired.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards kindly get back to me with you requested to my email address terrancespencer11@outlook.com so i can send you the job details. Thanks
Terrance”
Part of his 2nd email response to consult request:
“l have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in OR and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.”
I sent a reply giving an basic starting price but he won’t supply details, and I would think if he had a consultant that person would be talking with me. The fact his email is almost word for word the same as Peggy above. SO CREEPY. Glad I trusted my instincts. Thanks for sharing everyone!
Ha! I just got these exact same emails from “Raymond Scott”. Sounds like a perfect use for goatattack.com 🙂
I got the exact same guy, same “business” and description but his name was “Paul Fowler”… I got suspicious because of his poor English.. then it got even more interesting. He offered a ridiculously high budget. His last e-mail really made me laugh:
“I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and I’m ready to make payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed so work can start asap but i will need a little favor from you and the favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $4,500.00 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $1,500.00 as deposit for the design of my website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $2,800.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $2,800.00 and you will have the money cash deposit to their account….”
After all he’s not that smart 🙂
Hey everyone I got the same thing everyone is talking about as well. First he texted me from this number (774) 999-4455 and then he emailed me this message “I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?”
He said his name was “john steadman ;”
Just be aware that this is a scam and I hope he gets caught.
Got this exact email myself. I was amazed at the amount of time they spent working me over. Had never heard of this particular scam.
I submitted an estimate that they accepted. Then, I was instructed to take my deposit out of the total they were paying and forward $3,000 of it to their logo and content ‘consultant’. Really?!?! They also wanted me to process their credit card – by texting me their CC information. That’s right, texting me.
I told them that wasn’t a good idea and that I would send them a PayPal invoice. After sending the invoice and double checking my account, the name didn’t match up at all to the email address I was given. It went from michellewitherspoon@outlook.com to a Kayurkamar Patel as the registrar. Hmm.
Then, I did some further investigating. The credit card ZIP code was from North Carolina, their business address allegedly from Tennessee. The street address they gave me was a vacant home listed on Zillow.com.
To top it all off, I checked my website log and narrowed down the point of contact to a someone in Malaysia. All in all, I couldn’t believe the effort that went into this rouse. I’m so glad I told them to take a hike. It could have been very expensive and difficult to correct.
Hi
Thanks for this post. I almost got sucked in by the email from Mike Moore m_more123@outlook.com.
Here’s my response I emailed once he emailed me a site outline and I found this post in a Google search for “Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa”.
“Sorry Mike. On further research I realise that this website would cost $1,479,987.75 American Dollars.
You must remit this, before I can start on anything, in cash only, small denomination notes, to;
Mr Slarty Bartfarst
P.O. Box 20678
Gaborone, Botswana”
(The address is UNICEF)
Well I got mine a few minutes, so I decided to copy and paste part of the email I got into google to see if similar search strings would pop up and lo and behold I found ALOT!!!!!! This is what I got. he signed Rich but his email is Bill Jones.
I am glad to read back from you. l have small scale business which I want to turn into large scale business now it located in OR and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa, so I need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ? I need you to check out this site but I need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so I need you to give me an estimate based on the site I gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and I want the same page as the site I gave you to check out and I have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site I gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but I want the domain name as bestfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $3000 to 6000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards,
Rich.
I recieved the same as mentioned about the kola nut… etc however it was from Ryan Brayden. He responder to email and also asked if I was able to txt. We txt back and forth about why I wouldn’t send his “consultant” the additional money for the services he was providing him and actually got quite confrontational. I tried to call the number he was txting from and it was listed as a txt only number. I feel all your pain when you spent time out of your day to send a quote and project proposal, when at the end someone had no real interest in your services to begin with. I just wish there was something that could be done to stop stuff like this from happening.
I recieved the same as mentioned about the kola nut… etc however it was from Ryan Brayden. He responder to email and also asked if I was able to txt. We txt back and forth about why I wouldn’t send his “consultant” the additional money for the services he was providing him and actually got quite confrontational. I tried to call the er je was txting from and it was listed as a txt only number. I feel all your pain when you spent time out of your day to send a quote and project proposal, when at the end someone had no real interest in your services to begin with. I just wish there was something that could be done to stop stuff like this from happening.
I received this exact email and spent time on a proposal. And then he informed me he was sending $2000 more than my deposit and would I please pay the guy who is preparing the content for him.
I’m an artist as well and I’m very familiar with these types of scams that have been circulating over the last 5 years. I immediately emailed him that I was not comfortable with that and I have not heard back from him.
Then I did a search to see if others have received these emails.
I receive this one today, so glad I researched it right away.
It is clever that a “James Parker” is the Assistant Horticulture Inspector – NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
james parker761 (at) gmail
Hello I am James parker and i am hearing impaired i need to know if you can handle website design for a new company and i also need to know if you accept credit cards as form of payment ?
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in ID and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me?
Got the exact same email from Leverett:
“Am so glad you responded so i will be glad if you can create my website for me.
Here is the job details for the site i want created.
the business is a salon and spa but it still a small scale bussines so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so here is an example site i want you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible http://indocanadasalonandspa.com… the site would only be informational, so E-commerce functionality is not needed on this site, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the example site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and also i want the site to be on word-press plus i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, whom has the text content and the logos for the site so there wont be any delays.
Note:
1. My budget is $3000 to $8,000
2.I want the same exact numbers of pages with the example site i gave you to check
3. i want the domain name as leverettHarquinss.com, cos i dont have a domain yet
4. Updating of the site will be by you guys
5. the images, logos and content for the site will be provided by me.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) Are you the owner ??
Leverett”
So glad my instincts made me check Google.
File a complaint with the FBI: http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx
Forward suspect emails to spam
Notify your bank and credit cards. Let them know what has happened. Find out what they recommend to stop receiving charge backs. You might need to close your accounts and open new ones.
From now on, always look at the email message source when you receive an inquiry from a prospect. If the source sender email is different from what shows in your email message window, or if there is a discrepancy in the name of the sender and the email address, or if the reply-to email address in the header is different from the sender email – those are all red flags.
Let all incoming calls from 800 numbers go to directly to your voicemail. Do not give any financial or identifying information over the phone. You can do a phone number search on Google to find out who’s calling you. Block the 800 numbers on your phone.
Get everything in writing from a client up front from now on. If the prospect will not sign your contract, walk away.
Perform a Google search on any prospective client before accepting any downpayment, and before writing a contract.
Be aware, be alert, be careful.
-Alvalyn Lundgren
I actually got hit by the agroamerica scam. Then started getting chargebacks. I’ve been disputing all of these, knowing know it’s a scam.
What’s the best course of action with this?
Just received an email from our buddy “Leverett”. Luckily I googled the email and found your article. Thanks for posting!!!
We just got one of these on Friday, BCCed and addressed to “undisclosed recipients” – bit of a giveaway, that:
“Hello Am Leverett Harquin, Am making an inquiry to know if you can handle website design for a small scale business and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
Leverett “
I just received my email from a Richard Temidayo also hearing impaired and looking for a quote. He asked if I can accept credit card payments. What information do authorities need to investigate this? Bank issuer of the card and card number, correct?
This irks me because these scams only work by exploiting a weakness. For Freelancers and small services businesses like ours, it is our desire to work and the fact we don’t charge a lot. I felt that was a strength until now.
Just received an email myself from “Darrell George” who wanted a site similar to AgroAmerica. Same BS story: I’ll send you twice the amount and you can send half to my consultant.The scammer was “in the hospital”:and only had a credit card, while the consultant could only accept cash. He texted me from an Indianapolis number and said he was from Tennessee. As well, what’s interesting is that I’m a Canadian web designer and there was no mention about whether the charge should be in USD or CAD. And of course the scammer wanted the card charged right away, and any attempt to get the contact info of the consultant to confirm the details was brushed off by the scammer.
In the end the scammer is the “consultant”, he/she wants you to charge a stolen credit card and deposit half of that cash to the scammer. Then later down the road you need to return the full amount charged (or face consequences of credit card fraud) and then you are out the amount that was sent to the consultant.
If you ever get such an email or text please report it to the police. If you play along and can get the credit card info it would be good to report to the police so that the real owner of the card can be notified and cancel the card. But for those who are too scared of that should definitely not respond and block all the numbers/emails!
Thank goodness I found this blog, I too received almost the same exact thing, almost word for word with the “could you do this site, but more perfect” and the “get back to me with this info”, I was very skeptical and only emailed back with a domain suggestion and no other info about me, then the person didn’t even talk about the domain(all real clients are most concerned with domain right away, that is the #1 thing!). Also the same with the “I am hearing impaired”. Wow, the fact that these people are now targeting individual freelancers such as myself is quite concerning.
I received a text from a hearing impaired person named “Kyle Roger.” Here was the original text:
Good Day
I’m Kyle Roger,am hearing impaired.I would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so I can send you the job details.
Regards
Kyle Roger
You can read about the whole episode and what I found here:
http://wolfcreektechnology.com/post/Scam-Targets-Web-Designers
Thanks for getting the word out!
Same except the grammar was cleaned up, ie, no double question marks. I took that hearing impaired line that he needed 508 compliant website and those are extensive so I was not thrown off yet by the generous budget. We got as far as wasting time sending a quote and an a anticipated project schedule.
I just received this today:
from richardtemidayo@hotmail.com
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible . http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as silverfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $5000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
Favorable Regards,
Richard
Thanks for posting a comment, Brad. We should all be skeptical when a client is that eager to pay that much money no questions asked.
Those double question marks ?? seem to be common for most of these spam inquiries. Thank you for sharing, CJ.
I got the same e-mail yesterday with only a few words of the text changed. The bloke only offered me $4000-5000 so I feel short-changed. I was a bit skeptical because there was no address or phone number. Remember there are apps for the hearing impaired.
Nonetheless I responded asking for more details about the job. Today I got the same response as others have with the “client” way to eager to shell out $4000 – $5000 without asking anything other than could I do it.
Now I was really suspicious so I googled it and found lots of sites reporting the same scam with minor variations.
It pays to be a bit skeptical. Good luck to all.
Later Brad
Here’s the one I got:
Hello
How are you doing today ? This is Jetty Eliot. Am hearing impaired. i would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Regards
Ah! Leverett Harquin! I too got an email from this eloquent gent… I ignored it because the tone of the inquiry was really strange and offputting… I figured it was either spam or the type of client best avoided. Sounds like Mr. Harquin is both…
I did too. This is a typical Nigerian Web Designer / Freelancer Scam. The email is identical to Mike’s (example website changed). My email came from a guy that is “hearing impaired” named Richard Temidayo. I provided him with a quote and he quickly agreed to send payment. He then responded with the following.
Thanks for your response, i am okay with the estimate and i wanna proceed so i will be depositing $2000 using credit card so work can commence ASAP, i understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will need a Lil favor from you and the reason i need this favor from you is because the consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am presently in the hospital for surgery so i will be glad if you can help me out with this favor,The favor i need from you is. i would give you my card info’s to charge for $3500 so $2000 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $1400 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he has the $1400 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via cash deposit into his account,sending of funds would be after funds clear into your own account and also $100 tip for your stress.
Sucks because we waste time replying to a quote, checking out their requests and creating an estimate to have this be just a scam in return. A quick Google search for his last name should have alerted me that he was Nigerian. Make sure to update your robots fly and deny all IP’s from Nigeria.
WOW! Thank you for posting this!! I got the below email (took out my email address) and it set off enough suspicion that I went googling for scams and found this blog post. My first thought was this person didn’t read anything on my site or he would have half these questions answered but this might be the opposite. I think they read enough of the site to make it convincing. Well almost convincing. Ha!
Mike, I received the exact same email today! word to word 🙂
Got mine yesterday. I always put in the person’s email address so I can see the “face” of the prospect.
Here’s my letter from him:
Am so glad you responded so i will be glad if you can create my website for me.
Here is the job details for the site i want created.
the business is a salon and spa but it still a small scale bussines so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so here is an example site i want you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible http://indocanadasalonandspa.com… the site would only be informational, so E-commerce functionality is not needed on this site, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the example site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and also i want the site to be on word-press plus i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, whom has the text content and the logos for the site so there wont be any delays.
Note:
1. My budget is $3000 to $8,000
2.I want the same exact numbers of pages with the example site i gave you to check
3. i want the domain name as leverettHarquinss.com, cos i dont have a domain yet
4. Updating of the site will be by you guys
5. the images, logos and content for the site will be provided by me.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) Are you the owner ??
Leverett
I too was contacted by leverett harquin aka leverettharquin@outlook.com who wanted to send me money and then have me pay his “designer” because he himself was “in the hospital”.
I sent all the info to law enforcement.
Card Name..Leverett Harquin
Card Number….6011005495876271
Exp Date… 02/19
CVV..233
Zipcode..62650
Card type… Discover
Address…. 1018 S Main St
city……Jacksonville
state….Illinois
zip code…62650
Thank you for this post, it helped.
Just received an email from “leverett harquin”. I am usually suspicious, so, Googled the name prior to responding. Thanks for this website:-)
Here is the IP & email-address of the sender.
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of leverettharquin@outlook.com designates 65.55.34.205 as permitted sender) client-ip=65.55.34.205. This IP address would be from Microsoft/Seattle.
Content of the message:
Hello Am Leverett Harquin, Am making an inquiry to know if you can handle website design for a small scale business and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
Just got the same email:
Hello Am Leverett Harquin, Am making an inquiry to know if you can handle website design for a small scale business and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
—————————————————————
I own a new design firm, so when I got this message I had some guarded skepticism,but I replied anyway. It’s been 30 minutes since my response and still no reply from Leverett..lol
They got to get a bit more creative to get me!!
Good Luck!
No attorney can help you….the person doing this is IN NIGERIA. They are COMPLETELY untouchable and untracable. Just be glad you did not end up charging a stolen credit card. Please go educate yourself on how these scams work, it is very dangerous that you actually believe that this is someone in this country possibly or that an attorney can help you. There are only TWO wanys to fix it
Ignore it
or scambait it (419eater.com)
EDUCATE YOURSELF
http://www.scamwarners.com
I replied above but thought I would do the same here. It just sounded too good. I do sometimes get clients that want to start on day one, but they want to talk on the phone first. Not this guy. And I NEVER forward any money to anybody. Watch out for him. Mr. Leverett Harquin
Leverett Harquin just tried it with me. Texted me and did not want a contract. I was going to do a contract anyway….THEN he wanted to send me twice the down payment so I could pay someone else.
Wow wish I would found this post a few weeks ago. I was contacted by both emails (fabio_venier247@outlook.com) Fabio Venier and Paul Ware (pware0041@outlook.com). Did not know the Paul Ware was a scam and even got who ever to agree to a contract for $10,000. I have a lawyer who is going to pursue and see what they can find and do. Man….can’t believe I got played…
Thank you so much for this post! I’m so glad I Google’s fabio_venier247@outlook.com. I received basically the same email as one of the other commenters. The budget and timeline seemed fishy to me, so I suggested that we could use WordPress and customize a theme as opposed to completely custom website and CMS. I said I’d need more time for the estimate, but “Fabio” is being extremely pushy, after the initial email he followed up in less than an hour with “Can you handle this or not ? I need a reply ok”
I asked where they found me, and received this: “Well i found you from the search Engine, so tell me what is the Estimate so i can make the payment now, i really need a very good and standard website for my Goods. ASAP.”
I suppose I could mess with them, but I’m just glad I found this online!
Here’s the original email I received from fabio_venier247@outlook.com:
Thanks for your swift response
we can always communicate on here for now, i have been at the hospital for the past 3 days now.
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in IA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a very good layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. if so, i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i just asked you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same pages as the site above, i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
premiumfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
Fabio Venier.
Me too! I knew it was a scam thats why I googled the email. I should have known. I am glad I did not move forward.
I just had a little exchange with this person as well. I wish I had time to engage in some scambaiting (cf 419eater.com) but I have to cut them loose by referring them here and asking for an explanation.
Good advice!!!
Well I’m joining the crowd…I just had my time wasted with fabio_venier247@outlook.com
I smelled something funny after the 2nd email…why the ASAP…what’s the rush? A new client wanting to send me money up front right away?
Yeah .. wait.. did HELL freeze over?
Dear Fabio was in the hospital and could talk. Never answered any of my questions just kept pushing the money…then I told him he was too vague for me to give an estimate…then this:
Thanks for your response, I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and I’m ready to make half payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed before work can start but the content, images, logos Is with the Project Consultant and I’m having a problem with him because I still have to balance him up but he does not accept credit card as a method of payment and I would need a favor from you about that so we could proceed.
The favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $7,800.45 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $2,000.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $5,600.45 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $5,600.45 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
more asap..well Mr Fabio..Thank you so much for wasting my time.
Thank god for this page..all I had to do was put in search for Fabio Venier and POOF Thank you …
The old saying is true. If it sounds too good to be true , it isn’t!
Leverett Harquin strikes again… Sank some time into a proposal and knew something was off when I got fast tracked, and wouldn’t get my standard intro phone call answered. Same (515) 344-4216 cell number. Thanks for this post.
Same here. Asking to book a family reunion photo session. Same number: 323-844-9104 I played along then they asked for my full name and if I’m the owner. I said my name was Faith Thomas. No reply so far…
Got the same Leverett harquin email – another scam artist.
Got the same string of emails. I asked him if there was anywhere I could find out more about who he was because our entire conversation sounded like a scam. He replied:
“Never ok, i am An old man and i want you to do this, i am in the hospital and i will be paying you off with my wife credit card, i will send you a copy of my passport and my consultant driver’s licence, just for a prove that im serious. i am a very welled known man and i wont do such ok, i just want a very good web design for my production. and i know you can get this done perfectly.”
He then sent me two images: the first was a picture of some dude he obviously got off of Google Images and pasted onto a picture of a US passport; the other of an Iowa drivers license belonging to a Steven Alan.
If that’s not legitimate proof, I don’t know what is.
4/21 Just got a call from the same number asking me to photograph a family reunion. This time her name is Kate Peterson. New name but she’s still hearing impaired. Didn’t sound too legit from the get go. Who books a photographer by text message?!?!
Just got the exact email from Leverett Harquin yesterday. Exact same scam. I told him this project was not a good fit for my company.
I got the same offer today. It looked fishy to me from the start. Googled the name, so thanks for posting it here. Leverett Harquin was the name I got, too. 99% of my business comes from referrals, so I am always cautious about “cold calls”
Got a same scam email from leverettharquin@outlook.com
Though the email sounded convincing, the few things that made me suspect there was something wrong were:
1) They contacted me directly through email, weird because this is a private email that I dnt post online. Normally a client would contact me through form mail, anyhoo
2) The budget for just an informational “wordpress” website was $3000-$8000 (again weird!) though it was very tempting
3) The person’s name was leverett harquin – and they wanted a spa website with the domain host – leverettharquinss (I mean who in the sane senses would name their website that!)
4) I sent detailed estimate explaining clearly to the client that depending on their requirement, time committed and type of server/hosting used the final figure would vary. But still the client kept insisting on a final estimate.
I then just tried to search this person (I always try to do a little background check if possible on the person or the business). I couldnt find them on facebook, but when I searched their email, I landed up here! Thank you soooo much Alvalyn. You just saved me time and brought to my attention this scam.
Exact same thing is happening to me. Here’s the thread of correspondence from marcford99@msn.com
Good Day. Am Dr,marc-ford.i would like to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards as means of payment ???thanks
Me:
Yes, we can design a website for your new company, and yes, we accept credit cards. Why don’t you give me a call at your convenience and we can discuss your needs and goals for the site, and I will get a proposal together for you?
Marc Ford then tried to text me claiming he had lung cancer and so couldn’t speak on the phone.
When I told him I don’t text for business, he sent this email:
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in CA and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as http://www.watergrowfoods.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $9000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
I was suspicious so googled it and found this thread. Now today I get another email from ryanbranden@outlook.com :
Good Day. Am Dr,ryan-brayden.i would like to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards as means of payment ???thanks
Dang! These spamscammers apparently have my email now.
My wife and I received the exact “John Cloer” scam. We really appreciate this blog and all the comments. Good to be able to decipher scams before it is too late! Thanks guys!
My “guy” is Leverett Harquin, and I Googled him and found this post. I became suspicious the minute I read it because he wanted to pay via credit card. Also, the tip off, for me, was that he did not contact me via any of my online forms. A legit potential client usually does this. (If they don’t, it is a red flag to me that they cannot or will not follow directions; not someone I want to work with anyway!).
I Just got my first one of these, and just could help but reply.
When you know it is a likely scam you can have so much more fun with it.
Thank you for this post! This scam is still on going. I received identical emails from Fabio Vernier (fabio_venier247@outlook.com) and Paul Ware (pware0041@outlook.com) within the past week. My site is in maintenance mode at the moment, so I thought that the first on odd, but the second was a dead giveaway. Pasting the text from the initial email led me here.
I really appreciate you posting about this. ~ Christin
Hi guys,
I received a quote request from a person with this email address. I immediately do searches when receiving requests – so fortunately I found your string before any damage was done.
However, given the unique fact that you were all so vocal about this fellow (which I greatly appreciate the effort) I thought I would do my own effort into seeing what this ‘hearing impared, hospital ridden’ fellow could offer me as far as personal information. I played dumb for a week, after he gave me 3 credit card numbers (all from different states – which fell under a national fraud claim) i notified him that the transactions went through and asked him for details on where to send his “content editor” his loads of cash! Well, he gave it to me. And guess what…he’s in the states. He is of African descent but that’s all I can gather. I was able to locate his facebook page (which he took down after I notified him that I was aware of his scam) but I got his account number which if for any of you were scammed by or attempted to be scammed from, I strongly suggest you take your evidence to your local Bank of America branch, present them with your details and let them go to work. I am the first to do this, and I strongly suggest anyone else do to do the same if you still have your evidence handy.
His name is : Morenikeji M Lasisi
His BOA account number is: 446030384606
Happy hunting guys and once again, thank you so much for making such scams aware to the rest of the community.
Greatly appreciated.
Ole Leverett Harquin tried with our firm as well. Thanks for the post as we headed him off at the pass early on!
Thanks for posting this. I received one today from “leverett harquin”. Really appreciate your post.
lol I just received this today
—————
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
jcesfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before end of May.
7. My budget is $4000 to $9000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
John Cloer.
Holy cow. We have just received the same email. It had me going for a while, until he said he had a project manager that didn’t accept credit cards and I got the exact same explanation as the one above.
This time, he is recovering from cancer in the hospital:
“Thanks for your response,I’m presently recuperating from the diagnosis of lung cancer and am still in the hospital,I will like you to handle this for me. I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and I’m ready to make half payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed before work can start but the content, images, logos Is with the Project Consultant and I’m having a problem with him because I still have to balance him up but he does not accept credit card as a method of payment and I would need a favor from you about that so we could proceed.
The favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $4,800.45 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $1,600.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $3,000.45 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $3,000.45 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
Regards
John”
He was in a very big hurry. He didn’t check out my portfolio or even question what my prices were before agreeing to everything.
Word for word the same as the email from “Roy” to the previous poster.
Wow.
Jo
I got the Faith Thomas one too. I replied to her text but thought I’d better look her up before I email her. Interesting…
Got an almost verbatim email from a Leverett Harquin about a website a couple of days ago. Too bad we didn’t see this post before I spent a good portion of a day writing a proposal for him. We were tipped off when he wanted us to charge a deposit of $2000 higher than the amount we requested and ‘help him send it to his project consultant, with $100 tip in it for us for helping him.”
I guess the red flags along the way were the fact that he stated his budget upfront— who does that?? And we Googled his name and got nothing. That was unusual. Then texting us to process payment was very odd.
So once this guy is saying you have to pay someone out of the money you get from them you emailed him back?
I got this one today. I was 99% sure it was a scam. I am pretty used them now days. I replied with “sure” and got back this (see below).
Good Day, Am Roy Doster i wanna know if you can handle website design for a
new company and also if you do you accept credit cards kindly get back to
me with you requested to my email address roydoster101@gmail.com so i can
send you the job details.
Thanks Roy
Response
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
l have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business
now it located in NY and the company is based on importing and exporting
of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need
a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i
need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this
if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com. the site would only be
informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i
gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the
same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project
consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to
check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
farmproduceimports.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $3000 to 6000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Thank you
Roy
I just got the following text message (typos included) this morning (4/16/15) —
“Good Day,am Faith Thomas i am an hearing impaired.i want to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do accept payment with credit cards kindly get back to me to my email address: Faiththomas3x@gmail.com so I can send you the job details.”
The text message was sent from phone number 323-844-9104.
It sounded a bit fishy to me so I Google the phone number and name and found this post. Thanks for posting it. Although these guys probably rarely get caught and changed, it may alert other web developers to be cautious.
Here’s a little tricky I pulled. We shall see if anything comes of it.
Firstly I visited this .gov to file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center – http://www.ic3.gov/complaint
I played along to get as much information. I nabbed his IP by viewing the Received-SPF record in the original email header. It may be useless, but thorough. The text messages originated from (443) 779-3351 – 4437793351.
I reported that information. If it matters maybe I can further provide information.
Today I got smart and took the Gateway log for CC processing and pulled a failed entry. I just replaced all the client details with Roy’s and changed the failure code. I used the AVS 27 code and asked him for the billing, which may also be useless.
Qupte ID => 607
User ID => 118
Amount => 4600.00
Response Code => 1
Response Subcode => 1
Response Reason Code => 27
Response Reason Text => This transaction has been declined.
AVS Result Code => A
Transaction ID => 6744037379
Quote Number => 607
Description => Emajen Quote #607 Deposit
Amount => 4600.00
Method => CC
Transaction Type => auth_capture
Customer ID => 118
Cardholder First Name => Roy
Cardholder Last Name => Doster
Zip => 75081
Country => US
Card Code (CVV2/CVC2/CID) Response Code => M
Reserved Field 11 => Mastercard
“That response reason code is, “Address Verification Service (AVS) mismatch; declined by account settings.” What’s the billing address, where the bill for the CC is delivered. ”
🙂
I got it twice. The first time from John Cloer no phone number. He gave up, I asked too many questions. The second time started from a text from Faith Thomas. Her number is 323-844-9104. Similar verbiage in their emails. This must be working on someone if they’ve been doing it for 4 years. Crazy.
I just received email from leverettharquin@hotmail.com. Since they wouldn’t provide their address or phone it raised a red flag. Put the email address into web search and immediately found this tread. Thanks for posting. I am going to see if the FCC has a fraud or spam registry.
I had the same scam attempt yesterday, but it began with a text from “Kyle Roger” from 407-536-7964 then the follow up email from mathappen112@outlook.com
Poor “Kyle” failed again.
Same thing happened to me and I didn’t go for it either.
Contact name given: Frank Bud
tel: (440) 573-1141
same email as several above.
Just got the same email today from a Fabio Venier. Smelled the BS from a mile away. But boy am I gonna have fun with this one (insert evil grin here.)
Add me to the list. I was solicited and “played along” like others in this thread, despite obvious suspicions.
Cell phone: 515-344-4216
Email: leverettharquin@hotmail.com
I called my wireless provider, told them the situation and asked what to do – they suggested calling the police, which I’ve done. Seems to me a cell phone is easily tracked and this scumbag can be brought up on some sort of charge.
Alvalyn – thanks for posting and as an SEO, I recommend you put this person’s cell phone number in the TITLE of this page, so it can be found more easily.
Yout title is currently: Email Scam Targets Web Designers.
Change it to 515-344-4216 Email Scam Targets Web Designers
If needed, II’ll play along to reel this guy in so the authorities can take action.
Mike
Yes just received a text from the “hearing impaired Terrance” – watch out for these fools:
Good Day,
I’m Terrance, am an hearing impaired.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards
kindly get back to me with you requested to my email address terrancespencer01@gmail.com so i can send you the job details. Thanks
Terrance (702) 847-4317 4/7/15 3:29 pm
702 847 4317 is a scam
There is this:
https://www.onguardonline.gov/articles/0002-common-online-scams
I got the CC info and filed a complaint here – http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/
Anyone have other resources for reporting this kind of fraud?
Roy gave me the CC number and info. I’ve filed a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/
Does anyone have another resource for filing fraud claims like this?
I Googled this person’s email address and found this article. You would think he would change it up a bit
Thanks for writing about this. I see many people have the same issue.
Here too. This time from ‘David Fox’:
Good Day, Am David fox i am an hearing impaired.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details. Thanks David fox
Thanks for updating, Jarod.
Poor Roy – undergoing surgery and working with poorly-equipped project consultants… that’s probably an attempt to get your sympathy so that you’ll do the favor. Notice where is risk is – all on the designer.
Meanwhile… Here’s what I have as I anticipate his response…
Name: Roy Doster
Email: roydoster101@gmail.com
Roy’s input:
i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards kindly get back to me with you requested to my email address.
—
l have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in NY and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa
—
i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
—
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as farmproduceimports.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $3000 to 6000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
—
Thanks for your response, i am okay with the estimate and i wanna proceed so i will be depositing $2000 using credit card so work can commence ASAP, i understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will need a Little favor from you and the reason i need this favor from you is because the consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am presently in the hospital for surgery so i will be glad if you can help me out with this favor,The favor i need from you is. i would give you my card info’s to charge for $4600. so $2000 would be a deposit payment for my website design and the remaining $2500 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he has the $2500 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to him via cash deposit into his account, sending of funds would be after funds clears into your account and also $100 tip for you stress So i will be looking forward to read back from you.
—
That’s where we stand. I’ll keep this thread updated 🙂
I’ve got Finn on the line now under a different name. Different details, same pitch. I’m playing along for now. He is supposed to be sending CC info. I’m hoping to save some poor soul the trouble of going through stolen identity nightmares. I was so looking forward to a legit prospect, the least I can do is try to get the ppl caught…
I’ll update once we move forward. I’m so thankful to have stumbled onto this thread. I will outline all the specifics as others have to help the next designer avoid this sure-to-be headache.
I find it interesting that FINN asked if you are the owner. Perhaps they were scoping out who is in charge of payables and receivables.
Thanks for the posting. I just got the email. Figured it was a scam, but didn’t know how they planned on scamming. Now I know.
Just received the same exact email from a ‘Terrance Spencer’.
Hello
I’m Terrance, am an hearing impaired.i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards kindly get back to me with you requested to my email address terrancespencer01@gmail.com so i can send you the job details. Thanks
I just got the exact same email from this email address: seanthomson170@gmail.com
The interesting thing is that I sent an invoice for a deposit (via Square) just to see what would happen and it was paid. I’m now wondering where that money came from and if it will actually clear.
Unbelievable.
FinnPownall@hotmail.com sent me an identical e-mail with the following message. His first message at the bottom, my reply, and then his reply:
Thanks for your swift response, i got your on yp.com
Here is the job details
i have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in FL and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I dont have a domain yet but i want the domain name as farm-produce.us
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $5000 to $12,000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) Are you the owner ??
FINN
________________________________________
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2015 18:44:13 -0400
Subject: RE: WEBSITE DESIGN NEEDED
To: finnpownall@hotmail.com
Hi Finn,
Yes to both! Please send me over the details and I will take a look.
–Charles
——– Original message ——–
From: Finn Pownall
Date:03/26/2015 5:44 PM (GMT-05:00)
To:
Subject: WEBSITE DESIGN NEEDED
Good Day, Am FINN POWNALL i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
FINN
———————————————————————
He actually just texted me about an hour ago telling me to reply to his text so we can proceed to the payment. Here’s the number that he used: 5153444216
Being solicited out of the blue and the high number made me immediately suspicious, but I figured what was the harm in playing along. I expect shortly the old Craighlist scam of ‘I sent too much, send me the rest back’ yadda yadda will ensure. A quick search for the name that he gave led me to this page. Thanks for writing this up so I could have my suspicions confirmed.
–Charles
Same here in the US: I have received the email which the GUY claim to be a hearing impaired and would like to build a website for his business: See below the start email and the conversation so others web designers and or web design firm wont waste time replying these criminals.
START:
From: Fred cole
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 3:40 PM
To: Fred cole
Subject: Web Design
Good Day
I’m Fred Cole,am hearing impaired.i would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Regards
Fred Cole
1ST REPLY (I placed his email visible)
From: ccdantas@ccdantaswebdesign.com
To: fredcole101@outlook.com
Subject: Re: Web Design
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2015 17:31:11 -0400
Hello Mr Cole
Yes we do accept credit cards and we can handle any website job.
Thanks
Fred Bailey Ingram
————————————————————————–
Mr COLE REPLY
From: Fred cole
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 2:28 AM
To: CCDantas Web Design
Subject: RE: Web Design
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as yourtopfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
———————————————————————–
MY REPLY (NOTE – MY INITIALS ON THE SIGNATURE FBI – I have reported of course)
From: ccdantas@ccdantaswebdesign.com
To: fredcole101@outlook.com
Subject: Re: Web Design
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 06:33:23 -0400
Hello Mr. Cole,
Based on the job description and the site sample your project has been estimated in $5,000.00 and a time frame of 45 business days.
Updates is on monthly bases and starts at $200 (2 working hours)
Hope hearing from you soon.
Best Regards
Fred Bailey Ingram
Project Manager
—————————————————————
MR COLE REPLY
From: Fred cole
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 1:14 PM
To: CCDantas Web Design
Subject: RE: Web Design
Thanks for your response, I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and i’m ready to make payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed so work can start asap but i will need a Little favor from you and the favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $5,700.00 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $2,500.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $3,000.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $3,000.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
Regards
——————————————————————
MY LAST REPLY
From: ccdantas@ccdantaswebdesign.com
To: fredcole101@outlook.com
Subject: Re: Web Design
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2015 08:57:41 -0400
Hello Mr. Cole,
Before we go any further we need the following information from you:
Card Holder Information needed for per-authorization
Name on the Card:
Billing address:
Billing Zip:
Billing Country:
Clear copy of credit Card front and back (you can cover the CCV code): (you can take a picture of the credit card using your phone or a digital camera)
Your project consultant full information as follows:
Name:
Address:
Email:
Contact Phone Number:
Regards
Fred Bailey Ingram
————————————————
MR COLE LAST REPLY (He sounds very busy trying to scam)
Hello Fred.
Sorry for late respond. I want you to get back to me with yout cell phone number, so i can text you my credit card details. what type of credit card machant are you using?
Hope to hear from you asap.
—————————————————
Rule of thumb: Don’t let a client – or a prospective client – dictate your terms of service.
I walk away from anyone who attempts to tell me how I should be paid, or asks me to do him a favor.
Finn is recruiting…Received this text…
Thanks for your response, i am okay with the estimate and i wanna proceed so i will be depositing $5000.00 i understand the content for this site would be needed so as for the job to commence so regarding the content i will needing you to charge an extra funds for the reason that my consultant does not have the facility to charge credit cards and i also am about going for lung cancer surgery so i will be glad if you can help me out with this favor,The favor i need from you is. i would give you my credit card to charge for the sum of $8,700.00 so $2500 would be a down payment for my website design and the remaining $3700.00 you would help me send it to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once she has the $3700.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you also the funds would be sent to her via cash deposit into her account as soon as the fund been cleared into your account okay?
Best Regards
Michelle Williams
Same thing here. We got an email from so-called Martin Berg. I asked him to give me a phone #, because I need to talk to him.He said that he has an ear surgery and is advised to stay away from the phone. Hmmm, very suspicious. He also asked for the merchant company we use for payment, which I never give because it is not relevant to the transaction.
I sent him the standard paper works for initial Client Questionnaire – with all contact information needed, UBI#, Legal Name of the company, owner name, etc. I am sure he would never get back to me.
I have been in the business for 15 years, and here is the important things I have learned over the years…
1. Always talk to the person on the phone before anything else. This gives you an idea if he is real, or if you really want to take the project. Somehow you will know if it is the type of client that will give you headache in the long run. You really need to select your client or it will drain your limited resources.
2. OK, so Martin Berg said he has an ear surgery. I still gave him the benefit of the doubt because I had 2 clients who had surgery and they used their recovery time to work on their website. This time, I sent him the standard Client Needs Questionnaire. If I already talked to the Client on the phone, we asked him to skip most questions but he/she still needs to fill in the basic information.
– This is the main thing for me, if the Client didn’t get back to me with the completed info- then that is the end of the conversation. It means that we can’t work with him because he is not serious and the project may not even get completed, or he wouldn’t take time to give what you need and your company would end up organizing things for him and being his admin support.
– You also need this info to do a quick background check of the client, and the other contact people he/she has listed. This will not only give you assurance that the person is legit or NOT the competitor, but also to give you an idea on how you are going to approach the client/project. Be very clear that your company will only communicate about the project with the people listed in the form.
3. Never give a proposal. Save your time. Talk to the Client on the phone and make a verbal agreement. Then close the deal with your standard written agreement, with one section outlining the key points. This agreement is not actually for the benefit of the client, but to cover yourself/company from any legal issues.
I can say that I was able to get good clients who most have been with my the company for as long as even 10 years, by following the above basic process. I wished I have done the same process during the first five years of my company.
Thank U everyone for posting your comments. You saved me Some time when johncloer101@hotmail.com sent me his email this morning.
“Good Day
I’m John, I would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Regards
John Cloer.”
Our company received a text message this morning from Finn Pownall 269-431-1129 about web design. We’ve now been alerted that this scammer has used our company’s name to contact senior citizens in such states as Alabama and Illinois telling them their computer would crash if they don’t put a credit card into a specific website. We immediately filed a police report.
No one should give their credit card number to an unknown website.
I recently got this scam twice – once from From: Jennifer Wooldridge and once From: Terrance Spencer.
original message: Good Day,
Am Terrance Spencer I am an hearing impaired. I wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards kindly get back to me with you requested to my email address terrancespencer01@outlook.com so I can send you the job details. I will be be expecting your responds, Thanks.
I got exactly the same!
When I asked for scan of credit card front and back he wrote back that unfortunately he is in hospital with cancer so can’t scan!
Plotting my response!
Thanks for Your response, Unfortunately i wont be able to scan anything here, as i am presently in hospital,I’m presently recuperating from the diagnosis of lung cancer and am still in the hospital, You can send me an invoice so i can make the payment with my credit card and once the money cleared into your account you can proceed with the Project consultant Payment so he can release all needed. I hope you understand me.Looking forward to hear from you.
John.
On Mar 23, 2015, at 1:08 PM, John Cloer wrote:
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
ultimatefarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $9000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards
John Cloer.
Glad to have found this post!
I received an email from finnpownall@hotmail.com (FINN POWNALL) today but was first contacted by text. My business number is through Google Voice.
Unlike some of the other comments on here, I did get a direct response to a question: When I asked how he found my business, he said it was yp.com and in our initial text conversation, he responded quickly.
The first redflag was the “to” address in his emails. They all appeared as “undisclosed recipient” as if I had been bcc’d on an email to me.
Thanks again to the poster and comments.
I just got this exact same email today. I knew it was a scam — gotta go with our guts!
Thanks for posting it. Mine came from Martin Berg — martinberg90210@hotmail.com.
Received the same email here is what I sent they in reply to them wanting me to re-route money to the “Consultant”.
My reply:
To proceed in the proper manner. I will need to provide my accountant with documentation verifying your business and payment method. Please provide the following:
1. Photo of business license
2. Photo of drivers license
3. Photo of business credit card front and back (no personal credit cards)
4. Your commercial bank contact information
5. Schedule a skype meeting
When dealing with an out of state / country client my accountant will contact your commercial bank to verify that you have a banking account and alternate method of payment in case your credit card is declined. We do a skype meeting to put a face to the business. I do not accept payment from personal checks or credit cards for any business contracts that is over $250.00.
Once you have this information send it as an encrypted email to me.
–End
If they are legit then they will not have a problem verifying themselves.
Brett,
Wow- I just got the exact same e-mail as you, word for word, from “John Cloer” (e-mail address johncloer101@hotmail.com), please see below:
Thanks for your swift response
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as
ultimatefarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $9000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
I found it odd that after I gave him the estimate for the site, he responded as:
Thanks for your response, I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and I’m ready to make half payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed before work can start but the content, images, logos Is with the Project Consultant and I’m having a problem with him because I still have to balance him up but he does not accept credit card as a method of payment and I would need a favor from you about that so we could proceed.
The favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $8,450.45 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $3,250.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $3,000.45 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $5,000.45 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
Fellow Designers, please beware! If it doesn’t feel right, there is a reason for it! Thank you Alvalyn for this post 🙂
Yep, got the same basic email come-on, but this time from a Mary Scott in Florida. Wanted me to look at the same website and everything. Glad I found these posting to help confirm my growing suspicion that this was a scam. I’ve only created three websites, and those were all for people I personally know, so it just seemed too good to be true. Oh well, live and learn…
Hello all! I just received the same email, Googled the email address and found this website. Here is the email I received:
“Good Day, Am FINN POWNALL i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
FINN”
Watch out friends!
Yep, years later (after your original post) I just received the same thing. agroamerica.com’ was the website again. Same verbiage. Also wanted my phone number. THANK YOU for saving me some time and effort. It sounded too good to be true, so I Googled it with the word SCAM after it and this blog popped up.
Thank you all for posting these!
Continued success everyone.
I’ve received two emails from “hearing impaired” women – Jennifer Wooldridge (wooldridgeme@gmail.com and j.wooldridge@outlook.com) and Cindy Staton (johncindy550@gmail.com) – inquiring about website development based on agroamerica.com’s website. I didn’t realize it was a scam until I searched on “Gacillia Nut”. I think it’s helpful to other potential targets if we post keywords such as the names used, email address, and other details that might be search terms for the suspicious. This refunding hoax is so obvious but no one has time to waste on these scum and the refund play doesn’t come until after they have a quote. May they rot.
OK folks, after responding to that email, I get this text message on my phone:
Thanks for your response, I am okay with the estimate everything sound good and i’m ready to make payment now with my credit card, I understand the content for this site would be needed so work can start asap but i will need a Little favor from you and the favor is that I will send you my credit card to charge for the sum of $6,700.00 plus 3% Cc company charges, You will deduct $2,500.00 as deposit for the design of the website plus extra $200.00 as a tip for handling perfect work for me and you will send the remaining $4,000.00 to the project consultant that has the text content and the logo for my website so once he receive the $4,000.00 he would send the text content and logo needed for my website to you so work can start asap,Sending of funds would be after money clears into your account and You will be charging my card for remaining balance upon completion of work, Kindly get back to me so we can proceed with payment asap
Here is an email I just got…
Here is the job details
I have small scale business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in TN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Agriculture products such as Kola Nut, Gacillia Nut and Cocoa so i need a best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible .http://www.agroamerica.com…. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate based on the site i gave you to check out, the estimate should include hosting and i want the same page as the site i gave you to check out and i have a private project consultant, he has the text content and the logos for the site.
Note:
1. I want the same number of pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as topfarmproduce.com
4. you will be updating the site for me.
5. i will be proving the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of next month.
7. My budget is $4000 to $8000
Kindly get back to me with:
(1) an estimate
(2) your cell phone number
(3) And will like to know if you are the owner ??
Regards,
Bill Munson.
I got the exact same email from ‘Jerry’ tonight. I think I might seeing how long I can drag this out for fun 😉
I received the same email this morning, and the lack of signature information on the email made me cautious. I googled “jerry ford hearing impaired” and up popped your post. A million thanks for saving me the time suck, Teri!
same thing happened to me this is the second time in probably the past 6 years it has happened to me. After the first time I just stopped accepting check for payment except with clients I already had a good relationship with.
Watch out for Roberto Scot –
Hi, Loren: Don’t follow through on anything. Don’t accept or process any payments from him. Don’t respond to any emails or other inquiries.
Dang it. I didn’t do my research first and gave this guy my address cause he seemed legitimate. Now what do I do?…
Glad you posted this. I also got an email from this person. Smelled bad to me too so I Googled the email address and this post came up.
Good Day, Am FINN POWNALL i wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details.
Thanks
FINN
Haha I was almost duped yesterday by the same scam. He sent me an email through my website as follows:
“I’m Jerry,am hearing impaired.i would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP so i can send you the job details. Regards, Jerry ford”
Nothing here made me suspicious. Just because he has poor grammar and he’s hearing impaired doesn’t mean he’s not legit (but now I realize the “hearing impaired” part was so I didn’t question why he didn’t want to talk on the phone). After my reply, he responded with a lengthy, very legit sounding email, going into details about his new company in Tennessee, asking all the right questions about my services, and sending a link to a sample site that he wanted his site to look like. I sent him a ballpark quote the next day, and later that night he said he was ready to start. He also mentioned that he had a project consultant that he’d be working with, and this consultant would be supplying the website content. I emailed him back explaining the steps in my process, and that I would email him a contract the next day (which I didn’t get a chance to do since all of this transpired over the course of 2 days), but my spidey senses started tingling when I Googled the phone number he provided, and it belonged to a woman in California, not Tennessee. But the internet is not always up to date with information, and if his company is new it might be a new phone number. I called it and it was a Google Voice number with no voicemail. Hmmm. I asked him about the number, and his response was, “i do appreciate you validating the number .. that is my wife Mayra the farmland is in TN i inherit from my father the late Lambert ford”. Sounding more and more like a Nigerian scam! He emailed me his address which he probably found randomly online. Then at the bottom of the email he asks, “i also want you to do me a slight favor?” At that point I was pretty sure it was a scam, but HOW?? How could HE, the paying “customer”, scam ME, when I’m not the one paying? I had to find out more, so I asked him about the favor. And here was his response:
“Thanks for your prompt response i do appreciate that , the favor is regarding the project consultant you will be adding his fund together with my deposit so that they wont be any delay with you both working on my project, so you will be adding it to the invoice you will be giving to me …and i should have paid him already but due to the lack of credit card facilities at his place and lack of cash on me, and i will be more than grateful if you can help me out on this… so am going to fill and signed the proposal and mail it back to you.God bless.”
Huh? Very vague, but I had a pretty good idea where this was going, so I asked him to explain in more detail. And his response is still somewhat vague:
“am paying cause it’s my business ..so you are running both the upfront deposit fund and his fund together on my credit card that is what i mean by adding his fund so you will be getting his fund to him when it cleared into your bank account.
do you understand that ?.”
So knowing where this is going, I replied, “Ok I think I understand. After you pay by credit card, after payment clears my bank then I reimburse your partner for his portion?” and he replied, “Yes. Exactly”. BAMM!!
This is just a variation on a very old, common scam where the scammer pays more than he’s supposed to, as much as double or triple, then asks you to reimburse the difference. Since it can take weeks for his payment to clear your bank, in the meantime you’re sending payment for the difference, while his payment is being denied by all the banks it’s passed through, and now he has your money for the “overpayment”. His payment bounces, you get hit with fees, and at the worst, you could end up being investigated for being part of illegal activities!
I wasted about an hour on this scam, but then so did he. I don’t really consider it a waste though, because it’s a learning experience that will help me identify this sort of scam if it happens again.
I’m glad you had the wisdom to check it out before making any commitments.
Hey there! It seems like this Baba Loke has moved on to house sitting scams. I responded days ago to an ad on Craigslist and received an email from this person at the email address babalokenaanii@hotmail.com also. He/She asked for my personal information and i decided that before i move forward, i should google all the information that i have on this person i.e. The name and email address provided; And lo and behold I came across this article. I am very thankful to you guys for putting this person on ‘blast’ and for my foresight of googling his info before blindly handing over my information (I’m new to the internet job search).
So glad someone posted this info.
I was just contacted by a finnpownall@hotmail.com — poor grammar, wanting to pay by CC. As I’ve worked with a lot of musicians I wasn’t immediately scared off by the unprofessionalism, but with a simple search couldn’t find a single social media account for that name.
I actually did reply, telling ‘him’ that he sounds suspicious so I’d need more to go on before proceeding.
I’m glad its just a chargeback scam and (fingers crossed) its not some email worm thing that activates on reply. Probably time to change my password anyway.
Yep, same thing.
Luckily I did my homework.
I am a freelance writer who did a quick check of the email included in a response to an answered ad: babalokenaanii@hotmail.com
This is the message this creep sent:
I got your interest on the craigslist writting ads I posted. I need someone to write a 10000 words articles on the History of the United State such as Formation of United States, Preceeding President up till date, 9/11 incident, States and formation of states in United State, Population and Politics in United States. I have a budget of $1000 for it and also please if you are satisfied with the budget, Send me a message to ( babalokenaanii@hotmail.com ) and tell me how many weeks it will take you to get it completed and we can arrange the payment from there.
NOTE only respond by sending me a message to babalokenaanii@hotmail.com
Thanks’
I knew something was up because this “request” didn’t remotely sound like what was originally advertised. That’s when I re-checked the ad and saw it had been removed.
So these people are clearly branching out to snag writers now that they’ve been busted by freelance website designers and graphic artists.
Just a head’s up.
That’s interesting, Jack. This babalokenannii seems to be quite busy sending out all these inquiries.
The red flags in this one are that the he/she is setting the payment rate, method of payment and how he means of communication. Big problems there. You’re wise to ignore it.
Thanks for sharing it with us!
Same thing with me…
I got your interest on the craigslist writting ads I posted. I need someone to write a 10000 words articles on the History of the United State such as Formation of United States, Preceeding President up till date, 9/11 incident, States and formation of states in United State, Population and Politics in United States. I have a budget of $1000 for it and also please if you are satisfied with the budget, Send me a message to ( babalokenaanii@hotmail.com ) and tell me how many weeks it will take you to get it completed and we can arrange the payment from there.
NOTE only respond by sending me a message to babalokenaanii@hotmail.com
Thanks
Just keep flagging his posts, reporting them as scam, I guess.
Jeff,
I got the same message from babalokenannii as well just a few days ago. He offered me $1,000 to write a report on American History. I replied back stating my basic business questions as I would ask any potential client. My questions were ignored and he asked for all my personal information to send a check. Immediate red flags! I have the urge to tell this guy to go to Hell, but I think I will just call him out on his scam and let him know I’m onto his game. No point let him keep up with his charades!
I just received an unsolicited request for an illustration from babalokenaanii@hotmail.com, and the email exchange proceeded similar to what is described above. When I was asked to provide my address zip code and other information so the check could be sent immediately overnight via UPS by babalokenaanii@hotmail.com, I paused.
When I asked if they could verify their identity, aside from their signature, “Baba Loke” there was silence. I asked, what’s your real name, is it Baba?
Then I found this thread. Seems like there should be some way to spread the word about this scam, but since I found this thread by googling, I hope someone else can find this email address now that I’ve discovered this is a fraudulent phishing attempt.
Well i told this alfredo guy what i will charge for his website this was the reply
For some reason i cannot find the email i sent you earlier in the sent folder as i am sure it didn’t get to you. Anyway, i am rewriting again. Like i mentioned earlier, this project is being financed by a donor as a show of support for what we do. The budget earmarked for the project $10000, and we had been asked to work within this budget. I decided to find a web designer personally, as i was confident i could get this done for cheaper and then channel the remaining funds into the foundations other core needs with your help.
So here goes. Our Donor will make payment available to you in three installments, from which you are to deduct the amount for your services to us. And then with the money left, help us purchase some camp tents and have it shipped to cano printing services so that they can have our brand name, logo and some custom messages printed on them before shipping to us.
You will not be liable for shipping at anytime, and will not be spending any monies from your pocket. As a matter of fact, the foundation is willing to pay you a small token for your time. I believe that we can both the website and this extra task done in a timely manner. let me know if you have any questions
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Jane. This scam continues throughout the creative community as more and more designers and illustrators are targeted. Spread the word to your colleagues to be on the lookout for these scams.
I have received 2 emails similar to this as a medical illustrator, seeking both medical illustration and nature illustration services. Seems this person can’t make up their mind what kind of birthday present they want for their wife. The email address seems like it is hijacked in my opinion: from sender : Alison McCourt
Morning,
I need your services as a Illustrator for my wife birthday in December,she is a nurse so i want to make her illustration of hear and skull.Check your the attach images to this email and let me know if you can make exact illustration also let me know your price,awaits your mail soonest.
Regards,
Mc.
(Alison McCourt )
attachments were a picture of a heart and a skull
then I received this one:
Morning,
I need your services as a Illustrator for my wife birthday in December,are you line drawing artist,black and white pencil or colored and i want you to be creative for me so what is your specialty,humorous,nature,technical but am thinking nature will be better so check the attach of the images to this email and let me know if you can make illustration also am open to suggestion.let me know your price,awaits your mail soonest.
Regards,
Mc.
If you answer this email, you might get a response like this one:
“Thanks for your swift response and let me know the price for black and white illustration and the colored one then i can choose the one i want also am going to frame it,presently am in Philippines doing social work to the victim of typhoon haiyan also its a surprise for her and i want it ready before her birthday so the deadline will be 7 weeks,awaits your mail soonest.”
susyjordan1@yahoo.com recently contacted me as well. I’m a translator and this is the e-mail I received:
Morning,
How are you doing today I am Susan Jordan and your services as a translator is needed urgently so i will like you to take a look at the document attach to this mail and let me know if you will be able to translate it also what is your language combination.The deadline is 3 week and let me know how much your charge per word or page,i shall awaits your reply soonest.
Kind Regards.
Susan Jordan.
Never seen someone with a deadline so close without a requirement for a particular language to translate from. In any case, this is probably the same kind of money laundering scheme that so many of these people online are involved in. I had another person who went by the name of Sandra Wilson try something similar, but I didn’t send any money because it was clearly suspicious.
Thank you for posting this. I was contact by the (apparently) same Susan Jordan at susyjordan1@yahoo.com about developing a 4 page site, where she sent copy and images for the site.
Before I sent a proposal, I was told a check for 3800 was on its way to me, and I was to take my part and transfer the remainder to an address “she” would specify. My BS meter pegged, and I immediately declined the offer. That is when I did a scam search for her name and found this article. Thank you for posting.
Thanks for sharing this, Victor. I’ve become wary of any inquiry from a “business” that does not have an email address as a dedicated URL. I’ve noticed that these emails mostly come through Yahoo and Hotmail, but there’s a different origination address in the raw code of the message header, as you point out.
Forwarding suspicious inquiries to US-CERT is always a good idea.
I just received a similar email from someone claiming to be a Susan Jordan susyjordan1@yahoo.com.
The poor grammar was a dead giveaway, but I proceeded asking questions as if this were a real client. I sent a contract, but they didn’t sign it (of course) When they asked me to cash a check for more than my fee and send the remaining back my Bullshit-O-Meter™ registered a 10.
Here’s a tip check the IP of the email. The email I was sent originated in Lagos, Nigeria.
I am in the same boat. I am lucky to find this article. I have been taking precautions all the way though this process as I do with any international companies. The guy found my company on a design directory and contacted me through the contact form on that site. He doesn’t seem to respond to any exact price that I quoted since I quoted him for 4 different things.. Plus who wants a 2 page website anyways.. Waste of money and time. You cant cram everything you want into two pages.. My guy said he is moving back to maine to start a “precious stones business”.
Thanks for this blog post!
Thanks for your comments, Jessica. That really sounds like the same guy or group. Thank you for helping to make this scam known.
I have experienced the same thing, among other scams against web designers. Sounds just like the email I got. It all ended with the guy telling me he was going to pay an extra $1,000 (via check) that I was supposed to cash and send to his SEO guy for whatever lame reason. I agree, they target people that just don’t know any better. It is sad. I have started responding to a lot of blogs and writing my own too, to make other web developers more aware that the scammers are out to get us too.
~ Jessica Bolin
Motion City Media
Thank you, Alvin. After I had the first experience and wrote the post, I received another inquiry from the same people but with a different “business” needing a web site. They’re still trying to scam people. I’m sure there must be some who have fallen in the trap of this, but if word gets out, more people will be forewarned.
I totally received the same offer letter SCAM, they had me going there for a couple of days, I have not received the check yet, but now I know why there are no responses from my direct inquiries to the client. Also an amount more than the required cost of the service was sent to me by the client made me very suspicious. Great Post! now I know that I am being scammed, and its great that I read this article. I am freelance web and graphic designer…. Thanks!