In addition to brides and grooms, I know a lot of wedding planners and service providers log on to the Weddings Abroad Blog. Today, I'd like to take a moment to warn them to be on their guard for email scams targeting wedding planners. There isn't a week goes by that I don't receive at least three of these emails.This current scheme has been going on for the past year that I know of, and basically involves sending in a cashiers check for an amount greater than what you've billed them, they then ask you to transfer the remaining funds elsewhere. The cashiers check clears into your account quickly, you transfer them the money, and weeks later your bank realises the check was a fraud and deducts the amount from your account.
Below is an email received yesterday, as usual it immediately raised my suspicion. Basically a groom or bride-to-be contacts you from somewhere in Europe or the USA saying that they need help planning their wedding from afar. See more details of the scam and a copy of a similar initial email wedding planners were sent last year here. The minor details (name/date/location) change, but otherwise, everyone is receiving similar emails.
As an International Wedding Planner, I am asked everyday to provide information on planning a wedding when overseas, but I am now an expert at ascertaining the genuine ones....others may not be so lucky, there are many new wedding planners joining our industry all the time, and may not be aware of this scam yet.
Here is the email I received:
My Name is Mr Cross James Allen,
I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony.
The wedding is expected to hold on the 4th of Febuary 2009 and 25 to 40 guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is confirmed by you.All checks and balances will be made with you on 13rd October which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a a venue for the wedding (its a christian wedding), a place for the reception ,Videography, Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and flowers.
If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
Pleas get back to me via my personal email which is jcrossalen@rocketmail.com
Best Regards,
Mr Cross James Allen
jcrossalen@rocketmail.com
If this blog entry helps one person then it's served it's purpose....especially in the current economic climate we can do without giving away money and wasting our valuable time! If you have received similar emails lately please feel free to add them to the comments of this thread to make everyone aware.
UPDATED 29/01/2009 - Please read the comments attached to this post to see updates on other current email addresses being used on this and various other "scams"......
38 comments:
Thank you so much!! I just received this information on 9/29/2008 from this Person. I am so amazed how people have time to do these types of scams. Thank you again....
Glad to be of help Corrine!
K
x
Yes. I, too, just received the exact e-mail from Mr. James Cross Allen. I was victimized of advanced fee fraud earlier this year so this one was easy to detect. I did respond to his e-mail, saying that payments can only be made via credit card. He said okay. Is there a new scam going on right now where they can use credit cards?
Hi Czarina
Sorry to hear you were the victim of a similar fraud. I think in this case they may pay a small deposit by credit card which lures you into thinking it's all above board. Then, I am assuming the balance is via fraudulent cashiers check, hence they expect to get more than enough to cover initial cc deposit back.
Thanks
Karen
Please be aware here are the following emails he or she has used. Mr Cross James Allen [eschet@nb.sympatico.ca];Cross Allen [jcrossalen@rocketmail.com];
Cross Allen [crossallenj@rocketmail.com]What legal action can we take?
Also here is some more information. All the emails are coming out of Sunnyvale, California.
Thanks Corrine, not sure we can take any legal action....someone else may be able to advise us accordingly though.
I have received further scam emails today from:
Benjamin Gardner - email benjamin_gardner4@yahoo.co.uk
although the return path of his email was:
vmail@512cs.cn
Maybe we can email the host at the return path email address and report it?
Regards
Karen
Here is another Scam!!!
From: Marc Fitcher [mailto:marc22@rocketmail.com]
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 4:30 PM
Subject: Wedding Planner Needed
Hello,
My Name is Mr Marc Fitcher, I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony. The wedding is expected to hold on the 6th of March 2009 and 25 to 40 guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is confirmed by you.
All checks and balances will be made with you on 13th December which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a a venue for the wedding (its a Christian wedding), a place for the reception ,Videography, music entertainment,Photography,cake and flowers. If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us
Regard
Marc Fitcher
113 KINGSWAY
LONDON WC2B6PP
(44)703-192-5981
Thanks Corrine
I got the same one too today. Let's hope others are now warned.
Regards
Karen
Today's latest scam email:
My Name is Dr Melvin Hughes, I am looking for an experienced wedding
planner who will handle my wedding and arrange dinner for a group of
people who will be attending the wedding ceremony.Seven will arrive few
days before the wedding day.
The wedding is expected to hold on the 13th December,2008 and 35 to 50 guests
are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for
their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for
this booking via credit card once availability is confirmed by you.
All checks and balances will be made with you on 12th November which is
the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a Videography,Music
Entertainment,Photography,Officiant/Priest & Church,cake,flowers and
hall.If there is any these items that is beyond your capability,you let
us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your
response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our
accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
Best Regards,
Dr Melvin Hughes.
Phone +44 704 575 2007
Return-Path: inforr@teddymaye.com
From: "Melvin Hughes" melvinwedss@gmail.com
Beware!!!
Karen
Latest fraudulent enquiries from:
Dr Mark Anderson anaghy2@yahoo.com and mark@andersonhospital.net
Bernie James berniejames@live.com and bernie@james.com
Stefan Green mrstefangreen@uk2.net and boxoffice@boxofficeonline.com
Do they ever give up????
Regards
Karen
I too got the Dr Melvin email.
I am a wedding singer so i forwarded the email to a wedding planner in Harrogate who advised me it was a scam. I then googled Dr Melvin's name and typed in scam and up popped your site!! I feel like trying to find out exactly who it is. I can find out the IP address from my Website company. Can you find who it is from IP address?
Pete Brown
www.petebrown.name
Hi,
I emailed Dr Hughes to say i had arranged the wedding planner, and guess what? Surprise Surprise, within 13 minutes i had recieved another email.
Hi Peter,
Good to read from you.I am glad to tell you that we have concluded all payment arrangements for the wedding and will need you to kindly note the following information before we proceed with the wedding arrangement.
I will send to you my Visa credit card details that will cover the cost of our booking,and the necessary arrangement for me and my guests.Moreover, i also made an arrangement with a logistics agent who will take care of all our traveling logistics to include.
1) Flights
2) International Airport transfer
3)Transportation logistics during our stay
However,because of security reasons and confidentiality reposed on you and because they do not have credit card facility,we have decided that only YOU will have to handle the credit card information.So,once you receive my visa card information,you are required to charge the total amount of {14,850.53 USD} then deduct your deposit which is {5,000.00 USD} and send the balance of {9,850.53 USD} to the logistics whose information will be forwarded to you once this is confirmed So confirm this and provide me with your
1. YOUR FULL NAME
2. ADDRESS
3. PHONE NUMBERS for records and card payment
You are also to deduct the visa fees and taxes involved in processing this amount.
PLEASE CONFIRM IF THIS ARRANGEMENT IS OK AND REPLY PROMPTLY TO ENABLE US PROCEED.
+4470359 43483
+4470359 43485
NOTE:THAT I WILL SENDING YOU THE OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY REQUIRE.THEY WILL BE SENT AS SOON AS I GET YOUR REPLY TO THE PAYMENT/WEDDING ARRANGEMENT.
I just received a phone call form this so called Mr. Stefan Green. He stated he was calling from London and his number was local I let him know that I was to contact local authorities and he hung up, as soon as I tried to call the number back it was disconnected! I don’t know what to do anymore….He said he sent me an email of the credit card information and I did receive it I just had a couple of questions for him to see if he would answer and he was unable to answer them. I am so tired of these emails. The phone number that he called me from was 702-853-0600 and His name appeared to be Mr. Stefan Green, apposed with a very poor accent (not from London)!!!
Hello all. I am an event planner also. I received this message from an overseas "potential client”. Something seemed very strange and out of the blue about this email. Thank goodness I did a Google search and came upon your Web Blog and another. This person’s email sounds almost identical to the correspondence others have received! Thank you. You ladies have saved me time and money! Beware of BERNIE KREC!!!
This person's “identity” is "Bernie Krec".
On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 18:46:00 +0000 (GMT), Bernie Krec krecbbernie@rocketmail.com wrote:
Hello ,
This is a follow up of my last email to you with respect to My need for a
wedding planner. It is the wish of my finance to get married in your city.
I have to give in to her wish and due to the fact i do not have any one
there, you will be responsible for all arrangements which includes choosing
the venue. The date of the wedding is 14th of March 2009.
I will be arriving with my Fiance 14 days before the wedding and hopefully
by then, we would have given you all the information required to make that
day a memorable one. Most of the questions you would want answered will be
treated by my fiance (Jennifer Andrew). What i want to do basically now is
to secure your services and that of the other vendors so that as soon as
Jennifer comes back from Asia , she will be in touch with you to let you
know what she requires.
We have a budget of about $70,000 USD and i hope this will be enough to
plan a memorable wedding.Aside us, i am also expecting about 70 other guest
from Europe and Asia .I am working with a logistic agent that will take
care of their arrival and accommodation arrangements.
I need this wedding to be a memorable one and it does. It is a christian
wedding so you will have to make arrangement with any priest or officiant
to bless us. Not necessarily a catholic priest. Any priest or officiant
will do just fine.
I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover this
arrangement so that i can make a deposit payment to enable you start
arrangements as time is not on our side. Let me know the list of other
vendors that you will be working with and what it will cost to retain their
services for the required time.
I am in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will be possible for
me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any
problem to you.
Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start of
all preparation for my wedding.
I await your response . You can call me anytime on +447045752007.
GET BACK TO ME VIA MY PERSONAL EMAIL WHICH IS recbbernie@rocketmail.com
Bernie Krec
Address: 67 Vivian Ave
Hendon, NW4 3XP
Tel: 011447045752007
E-mail:krecbbernie@rocketmail.com
--- On Tue, 9/12/08, designdiva@events-ualities.com wrote:
From: designdiva@events-ualities.com Subject: Re: Wedding Enquiry
To: "Bernie Krec"
Date: Tuesday, 9 December, 2008, 1:28 AM
Greetings.
You are in the United Kingdom? Are you marrying in the United States?
How did hear about Events-ualities?
Lekiah
On Mon, 8 Dec 2008 22:16:06 +0100, "Bernie Krec"
krecbernie1011@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,
I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my
wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who
will be attending the wedding ceremony.
The wedding is expected to hold on the 14th of March 2009 and 25 to 70
guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might
choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial
deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is
confirmed by you.All checks and balances will be made with you on 1st
Dec which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a a
venue for the wedding (its a christian wedding), a place for the
reception ,Videography, Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and
flowers.
If there is any these items that is beyond your capability you let us
know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your
response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our
accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
Many Thanks
Bernie Krec
Address: 67 Vivian Avenue
Hendon, NW4 3XP London,United Kingdom
Tel:+447045752007
E-mail:krecbbernie@rocketmail.com
Hello all. I am an event planner also. I received this message from an overseas "potential client”. Something seemed very strange and out of the blue about this email. Thank goodness I did a Google search and came upon your Web Blog and another. This person’s email sounds almost identical to the correspondence others have received! Thank you. You ladies have saved me time and money! Beware of BERNIE KREC!!!
This person's “identity” is "Bernie Krec".
On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 18:46:00 +0000 (GMT), Bernie Krec krecbbernie@rocketmail.com wrote:
Hello ,
This is a follow up of my last email to you with respect to My need for a
wedding planner. It is the wish of my finance to get married in your city.
I have to give in to her wish and due to the fact i do not have any one
there, you will be responsible for all arrangements which includes choosing
the venue. The date of the wedding is 14th of March 2009.
I will be arriving with my Fiance 14 days before the wedding and hopefully
by then, we would have given you all the information required to make that
day a memorable one. Most of the questions you would want answered will be
treated by my fiance (Jennifer Andrew). What i want to do basically now is
to secure your services and that of the other vendors so that as soon as
Jennifer comes back from Asia , she will be in touch with you to let you
know what she requires.
We have a budget of about $70,000 USD and i hope this will be enough to
plan a memorable wedding.Aside us, i am also expecting about 70 other guest
from Europe and Asia .I am working with a logistic agent that will take
care of their arrival and accommodation arrangements.
I need this wedding to be a memorable one and it does. It is a christian
wedding so you will have to make arrangement with any priest or officiant
to bless us. Not necessarily a catholic priest. Any priest or officiant
will do just fine.
I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover this
arrangement so that i can make a deposit payment to enable you start
arrangements as time is not on our side. Let me know the list of other
vendors that you will be working with and what it will cost to retain their
services for the required time.
I am in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will be possible for
me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any
problem to you.
Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start of
all preparation for my wedding.
I await your response . You can call me anytime on +447045752007.
GET BACK TO ME VIA MY PERSONAL EMAIL WHICH IS recbbernie@rocketmail.com
Bernie Krec
Address: 67 Vivian Ave
Hendon, NW4 3XP
Tel: 011447045752007
E-mail:krecbbernie@rocketmail.com
--- On Tue, 9/12/08, designdiva@events-ualities.com wrote:
From: designdiva@events-ualities.com Subject: Re: Wedding Enquiry
To: "Bernie Krec"
Date: Tuesday, 9 December, 2008, 1:28 AM
Greetings.
You are in the United Kingdom? Are you marrying in the United States?
How did hear about Events-ualities?
Lekiah
On Mon, 8 Dec 2008 22:16:06 +0100, "Bernie Krec"
krecbernie1011@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,
I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my
wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who
will be attending the wedding ceremony.
The wedding is expected to hold on the 14th of March 2009 and 25 to 70
guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might
choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial
deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is
confirmed by you.All checks and balances will be made with you on 1st
Dec which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for a a
venue for the wedding (its a christian wedding), a place for the
reception ,Videography, Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and
flowers.
If there is any these items that is beyond your capability you let us
know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your
response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our
accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
Many Thanks
Bernie Krec
Address: 67 Vivian Avenue
Hendon, NW4 3XP London,United Kingdom
Tel:+447045752007
E-mail:krecbbernie@rocketmail.com
OH MY! I GOT THE EXACT SAME EMAILS FROM BERNIE KREC. see emails below..
EMAIL #1
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:05:59 +0100
> From: infoberniejames@gmail.com
> Subject: Wedding Enquiry
> To:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am looking for an experienced wedding planner who will handle my
> wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who
> will be attending the wedding ceremony.
>
> The wedding is expected to hold on the 8th of Febuary 2009 and 25 to
> 40 guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests
> might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as
> initial deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is
> confirmed by you.All checks and balances will be made with you on 21st
> October which is the final day of the booking, You are to arrange for
> a a venue for the wedding (its a christian wedding), a place for the
> reception ,Videography, Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and
> flowers.
>
> If there is any these items that is beyond your capability you let us
> know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your
> response as we don't have much time with us so that we can process our
> accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.
>
> Pleas get back to me via :Email:officeberniekrec@yahoo.com
>
> Thanks
>
> Bernie Krec
--------------------------------
EMAIL #2
Hello Angel Czeban,
This is a follow up of my last email to you with respect to My need for a wedding planner. It is the wish of my finance to get married in your city. I have to give in to her wish and due to the fact i do not have any one there, you will be responsible for all arrangements which includes choosing the venue. The date of the wedding is 8th of February 2009.
I will be arriving with my Fiance 14 days before the wedding and hopefully by then, we would have given you all the information required to make that day a memorable one. Most of the questions you would want answered will be treated by my fiance (Jennifer Andrew). What i want to do basically now is to secure your services and that of the other vendors so that as soon as Jennifer comes back from Asia , she will be in touch with you to let you know what she requires.
We have a budget of about $70,000 USD and i hope this will be enough to plan a memorable wedding.Aside us, i am also expecting about 70 other guest from Europe and Asia .I am working with a logistic agent that will take care of their arrival and accommodation arrangements.
I need this wedding to be a memorable one and it does. It is a christian wedding so you will have to make arrangement with any priest or officiant to bless us. Not necessarily a catholic priest. Any priest or officiant will do just fine.
I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover this arrangement so that i can make a deposit payment to enable you start arrangements as time is not on our side.Let me know the list of other vendors that you will be working with and what it will cost to retain their services for the required time.
I am in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any problem to you.
Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start of all preparation for my wedding.
I await your response . You can call me anytime on +447045752007.
GET BACK TO ME VIA MY PERSONAL EMAIL WHICH IS officeberniekrec@yahoo.com
Bernie Krec
Address: 67 Vivian Ave
Hendon, NW4 3XP
Tel: 011447045752007
E-mail:officeberniekrec@yahoo.com
Thanks for your site. I am in Australia and have just received an email similar from a Dr Ford Anderson. I am in the wedding industry but not a wedding planner. I have passed the details on to wedding planners I know to make sure if they receive they know it is a scam.
Ellen
Thanks for posting Ellen....glad to hear my post is helping others. Keep it going!
Here is today's latest "scammer":
Dear , Here are the things i want you to make available for me for now. Others will come subsequently.Wedding arrangements does not finish. There are going to be an estimate of 40 guests. The wedding will be a modern type of wedding.The wedding will be in a venue in your location.Our dates for the wedding is on the 16th of May.I have contacted an outbound travel agent whom shall undertake the visa and flight arrangements for the entire guest which is inclusive in my budget estimate. - Location for the ceremony for marriage by a pastor or a minister from any church? - Location for the reception/ dinner and party(It could be an open Place) - Hotel for the guests ( 3* ) 12- 14) May 2009(20 - double rooms) - A Honeymoon suite for the bride and groom in a 4/5 star hotel - Photographer / videographer - Bouquet and corsage - Flower decoration (Bride and groom love pink and blue respectively) - Wedding cake - Live Band ( for wedding reception on the 14th and buffet dinner party on the 15th) Write me with the estimated cost for the above listed requirements. Others will follow but i wish we do it bit by bit. Once you send me the total cost for the above listed, i will send you the full budget which is Eur 35,000 so that you can begin to procure them immediately.. As we go on, we shall include the others and the travel arrangements for some of the guests.Kindly prepare the bill and send it to me in your next email so that i can send you the money to enable you commence at earnest Thanks HARRY DENT Gordon House6 Lissenden GardensLondon NW5 1LXUK
The email he uses is: harry_dent1011@yahoo.com
I have also deleted about 30 others I have received over the past two months...so it just goes to prove they are still trying!
Keep updating please and forward this blog posting to all the wedding planners/service providers you know
Many thanks
Karen
karen@weddingsabroad.com
I recently received an enquiry from a Dr. Karl Busche. This is a similar scam. How the credit card work is this; they pay you a much higher 'deposit' for your services via a stolen credit card. The finds clear, and then they ask you to pay their 'logistics agent' who doesn't have credit card facilities, a large portion of that deposit. You pay it, then the banks realise about the stolen card and deduct the full amount from your bank account... see the email below..very convincing. BE WARNED!
From: Dr Karl Busche [mailto:blessmywedding@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 18 February 2009 4:16 PM Re: FW: Wedding Arrangement...........Keep Me Posted
Hello Again,
Its nice of you to respond to my inquiry. It is the wish of my finance
to get married in your city. I have to give in to her wish and due to
the fact i do not have any one there, you will be responsible for all
arrangements which includes choosing the venue . The date of the
wedding is 23th of May 2009
I will be arriving with my Fiance 14 days before the wedding and
hopefully by then, we would have given you all the information
required to make that day a memorable one. Most of the questions you
would want answered will be treated by my fiance . What i want to do
basically now is to secure your services and that of the other vendors
so that as soon as Alice comes back from Asia, she will be in touch
with you to let you know what she requires.
We have a budget of about $90,000 USD and i hope this will be enough
to plan a memorable wedding.
Aside us, i am also expecting 50 to 65 other guest from Europe and
Asia . I am working with a logistic agent that will take care of their
arrival and accommodation arrangements.
I need this wedding to be a memorable one and it does. It is a
christian wedding so you will have to make arrangement with any
officiant to bless us. Any priest or officiant will do just fine.
I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover
this arrangement so that i can make a deposit payment to enable you
start arrangements as time is not on our side.Let me know the list of
other vendors that you will be working with and what it will cost to
retain their services for the required time.
I am at an oil rig in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will
be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this
will not pose any problem to you.
MY INFORMATION
Name: Dr Karl Busche
ADDRESS: 14-22, Coleman Fields, London, N1 7AD
OCCUPATION:Chemical Engineer
BRIDE: Sheila Andrew
ADDRESS: 102a, Popes Lane, Ealing, London, W5 4NS
OCCUPATION: Human Resource Manager
WEDDING DATE: 23th of May 2009
BUDGET: $90,000
NUMBER OF GUESTS: 50 - 65
TIME OF WEDDING: Noon
RELIGION: Christian / Pentecostal
VENUE: Indoors
RECEPTION: Same as venue
BRIDAL ENTOURAGE: Best Man, Maid of Honor, 5 Groomsmen, 5 Bridesmaids,
2 flower girls, 1 Ring Bearers.
THEME:...........
COLOR MOTIF: PEACH
MUSIC IN RECEPTION: Romantic, Shaina Twaine (From this moment)
BAND: Soloist
MEAL: Buffet (Continental)
MOTIF: A tri color combination (Peach, Peach Orange, Royal Blue)
INVITATIONS: NOT YET READY
GOWNS AND TUXES: READY
WEDDING DOCUMENTS / LISCENCE: still being secured
HOTEL RESERVATION FOR GUEST: TO BE HANDLED BY MY LOGISTIC AGENT
VENDORS NEEDED:
Caterer (cake should be tower top; 5 Steps)
Photographer (Digital, should be shown immediately on reception)
Videographer (AVP-audio visual presentation of your pre-knops)
A Professional Mc
A Jazz and Pop Soloist (Female)
Souvenirs: organizers, mugs, pens, umbrellas
Bridal Cars (Limo)
Decorator: Bridal Bouquet, Boutonniere for groom, basket of flowers
for the flower girl, decoration of the bridal cars, elegant table
set-up, floral centerpieces, decorated seats, water curtain.
Beautician: Hair, Nail (Full make up package)
NOTE: We will like doves, wedding should be simple but elegant,
flowers should be colorful, and more flowers at the reception than in
church.
Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start
of all preparation for my wedding.
I await your response . You can call me anytime on +4470359 43483
DR KARL
+4470359 43483
Thanks for your alert. I received the same e mail in march 28,2009, with minor changes . I suspected something was wrong becuase this person didn't know where I live. I type "scam dr ford anderson" and your site appear. I'm from Puerto Rico and a lot of destination wedding is done, but I think is the first time I hear from this.
Hi,
We are heavenly creations and we are a wedding and events company based in Sheffield in the United Kingdom.
We too receive the email on 26th March 2009. Been
too good we asked him to send us more details, which he listed what they required, foods, etc even which domination of priest.
On the receiving this second email we just could believe the requirements and budgets. That why googled his name and address. What a suprise with the number of listings regarding this scam.
Thankfully we were not fooled, but they will be some poor persons who are desperate for the work
and will taken for a ride by these fraudsters.
Regards
Alan
Hi,
I have just received the similiar email on May 2009. I have found it is a scam when i try to rectify the email is true or not and found this blog via google.
Thanks for information
Hi,
I run an events company and have just had some brief e mail correspondence with a Donald Scott who seemed to be a potential wedding client from abroad.
The e mails are very similar to those listed above but mentioned credit card payments rather than cheques. The idea was for me to receive an amount by credit card and then transfer a deposit to his 'logistics agent' as they do not accept cards.
I thought something wasn't ringing true as all the emphasis of his correspondence was on money rather than the detail of his wedding! So glad i googled it and found this! Thank you!!!
Wedding planners and Vendors - be aware of a Donald Scott!
Glad I searched for DONALD SCOTT and found this blog! I found his email suspicious, and wanted to see if others had received a similar email.
His "Wedding Card..." email states that he wants my company to print 2,000 wedding invitations for his wedding.
Red Flag #1 - Who sends out that many wedding invitations?
Red Flag #2 - My company has not offered invitation printing services in years, and my website shows no samples or photos.
Red Flag #3 - Final sentence in his email sounds suspicious - "I am at an oil rig in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any problem to you."
Red Flag #4 - The TO field in the email header lists his email address, not mine. Clearly it's some type of mass email, and not a direct email meant only for my company.
I reiterate what Evissa said - Wedding Planners and Vendors beware of DONALD SCOTT (scotmanb2k@msn.com)!
THANK YOU so much for posting this, I did a search for "Donald Scott wedding" when I received this suspicious email. I knew it had to be a scam, I've just never been targeted so specifically. (I design and assemble wedding invitations.)
Thanks again!
Sherrie McKinley
Beautifully Handmade
Greetings,
My name is Donald Scott, I am contacting you in regards of my wedding coming up on the 5th of sept. 2009.
I want your company to prepare a very standard invitation card for my wedding as i need to start giving out invitations to my friends as many people will be attending the wedding from other countries.
confirm to me how much it will take to make a very standard one invitation card and X it by 2000 as thats the quantity i want it to be.
kindly confirm the price for me so i can forward the information that will be in the card in line with the payment to enable your company start off this as soon as possible.
I am at an oil rig in Iraq now and the only means of payment that will be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any problem to you.
Awaits your email.
Donald Scott.
I have too received an email from "Donald Scott". he required 1200 invites in my version though, but apart from that it was the same email. I thought it was very odd considering my business is very small and personal. I offered to post out some samples if he would like before proceeding and said I won't accept credit card, so it will be interesting to see if anything more comes from it.
i am tempted to play along a little, just to waste their time.
Thanks for posting these scams for everyone to see.
Dee {sugarberry.com.au}
We own a wedding boutique and received an email from somebody called Donald Scott on 16/07/2009. He stated that we worked on an oil rig and was hosting a wedding for 1200 people, that he was interested in one of our designs of wedding invitations. At first it seemed too good to be true but luckily I did a google search and came across this blog with many other people who have experienced the same scam.
I suppose if something sounds too good, it probably is too good too be true!!
Anyway if I can help other people from not falling victims of this scam than this blog post has been a success.
Please visit us at: http://www.tresbeau.com.au
Just received letter two. I did explain i will not accept credit card payment, but he obviously didn't read that.
It reads:
Thanks for your mail and i am happy that you have confirmed to design my wedding card. You will have to design 1200 in the same style and send to my wedding planner to this address: Bliss wedding coordinators, 39, Rougemont Avenue modern Park greater London, UK.
The wedding will be held in London although i still have many friends from other parts of the world coming. Your company is also invited that's if it will be convince for you. My wedding planner will take care of booking vendors and making transportation and accommodation arrangements for my guests and i will let him know if your company has a representative that is coming so to make arrangements for your company too.
I want my wedding arrangements to start off as soon as possible as i want to make payments to you to start off and also deposit payment to my wedding planner to enable them secure vendors to work with. I will have to make payments via my credit card due to my location now and has gotten confirmation from my wedding planner that she does not have a credit card charging facilities.
I have decided that only your company will have to handle my credit card information for security reasons. So once you get my credit card information, you are required to charge the total sum of $10,000 keep the amount of $2,000 as i don't know how many cards i will be needing at this time. So the money will be for deposit as i know that i will still pay for shipping fee and balance due and send the balance of $8,000 to my wedding planner to start off securing vendors for me as soon as possible.
Kindly confirm you understand all above and that only your company will handle my credit card information and provide below information for my records.
Full Name:
Address:
Mobile Phone N:
Awaits to hear from you soon.
Donald Scott.
I have actually set up a fake email address and emailed the same person pretending that they had emailed that address to see how much further this will go. It will be interesting to see.
Stephen, I just had a quick peak at your website, your work is beautiful :)
GLAD I GOOGLE'D DONALD SCOTT!
We do wedding stationery in brisbane, australia and have exactly the same email asking for 1200 invitations.
we had sent back our generic reply and got the same email about the 10,000 payment TODAY!!
the most suspicious part was that we are in australia, and was asked to do wedding invitations for him in iraq, to be couriered to london!
not to mention, couldnt decide whether the 'planner' was a he or a she!
The only change to our email was he invited us to the wedding.
I googgled the so called wedding planner and they dont seem to exist anyway!
his email address now is donscottb2k@yahoo.com
BE WARNED!!!
thank you to you kind others for posting your comments.
this has saved me heaps of wasted time spent and money!! :)
amanda
create milk
Thanks everyone...just goes to show this thread has stopped a few wedding professional losing a lot of money.
I think I will repost this as a new thread this week, linking to this posting to keep it searchable.
Incidentally I have received at least seven similar "wedding planner" requests in the past week!
Keep posting to keep the awareness going
Thanks guys
Karen
x
LOL, he took the bait with my fake email/company, never mind that he'd never actually emailed that address in the first place. I thought the give-away would be that the company is called M_er_in_gue Del_u_sion (I have inserted underscores so that the name is not searchable) and my name is Me_rin_gue In_a_face.
This is going to be very funny I think, and if we can get him wasting time on us he is not wasting time scamming real people.
I am an interior designer and just received a similar scam from Giffin Jones. SO GLAD I FOUND YOUR BLOG! YOU SAVED ME!
Hello Sandy,
I appreciate your response and the location of the house is Illinois ,i will be happy to speak with you on mobile phone at your convenience, Actually my wife and kids are presently in 39, Rougemont Avenue Modern Park Greater London , UK in a temporal apartment while I'm at offshore drill with my team. My family should be moving in to the house by 28th of Nov.. 2009 and all interiors are expected to be concluded before my family arrival.
Kevin is my good friend and a real estate agent.. He is a good friend indeed and have really been of good help. He presently has the key to the house and will hand over the key to you for the decorations to enable you have a clear picture of the project before commencing but i will make a deposit to enable you round up arrangement to visit the project site and get back to me with accurate estimate/detail of what to do.
If you are willing to give me in a rough estimate of all it will cost to have a three bed room,three bath room, two living room,one kitchen and two dinning bungalow ready with in the budget of $150,000-$165,000 all home appliances inclusive.
Do your company have credit card charging facilities? Knowing the fact that i am on offshore job right now, any deposit payments or money from me will have to be done via my credit card and i hope this won't pose a problem to your company...
I have given some samples or some artworks that i need to Kevin and he is out to buy them all for me. He will be in contact with you, so you guys can visit the project site as soon as he is back from his trip. kindly confirm your mobile phone number as he would love to call you and fix a date as soon as he comes back.
Kind Regards,
Griffin Jones
Thank god I read this and passed it forward to others. I also received the email as an Interior Designer almost exactly like the previous one received by Sandy and others. I too, provided the individual (who used the name Frank & Susan Chesney)with a fake address to ship me goods and notified the FBI.
I am also an interior designer who received an email from Frank and Susan Chesney from the following emails officechesneysusan@yahoo.com & susanb2k@msn.com.
First found about this scam from http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/476/RipOff0476361.htm
Now how do we take our emails off their scam list?
V
Thank you for the blog,
I have received a e-mail from Monica Panes and Garry Vale.
They posted me a cashiers cheque from Barclays Bank(mr Coby) and it was posted in south London
I know it was a scam, but figured, I should just waste there time as they waste other People's time.
Here is the e-mails
Scammer wrote:
Hi Again ,
Thanks once more for the quick response , support and concern relating the planning of our wedding, we hope and pray things work out for us perfectly well as will be planned by you.
We are happy to inform you that your deposit payment has been mailed out to you via royalmail since you said you needed it ASAP to get started and will be delivered to your provided address information tomorrow morning unfailingly. Check was made out to your name as you've given us , ok .
A certified cashiers check for a total amount of 2100 pounds was sent from which we would like you to deduct your first deposit fee of 750 pounds for you to get started with planning and kindly help us send out 1000pounds to our french entertainment band for their deposit through western union as they will be responsible for music on our wedding reception so we have to make sure it is taken care of now because they'll be flying in from out of town..
Once that is taken care of we can go ahead with the venue plans , other vendor's booking and reservations immediately as well as hotel accommodations for our guests.
Well you might be wondering why we cant do this on our own or Garry's accountant do the same is because we are very busy at this time of the year as we have to make sure everything here is properly taken care of before our BIG move to the UK as you should know too well we have our own responsibilities and jobs here which is also very important to us and the band will not cash a UK cheque , do you now understand why we want you on this ?
Currently i am in my mother's house taking care of her as she is diabetic and just got discharged from the hospital after several weeks of admission .
I am to make sure she is eating well and using all her medications properly because i dont ever pray to loose her.
As for Garry his job keeps him very busy from monday through saturday and he travels alot. He even had to instruct someone in the UK ( accountant ) to mail the check to you on his behalf if you remember me mentioning that in a previous message.
Please let us know if you can help with the band's deposit immediately so we can forward the necessary information needed to do the transfer in another email message? Do you know any western union store you can get the band's transfer done?
We'll be hoping to hear from you soon??
Enjoy all the pleasantries that comes with this day!
Sincerely,
Monica & Garry
Full Names ....................................... Monica Panes
Main Phone Number ...................... +27 762 318 151
Email................................................. monica_myway.panes@rocketmail.com
Details Of Groom
Full Names .................................... Garry Vale
Main Phone Number ................... +27 783 944 952
Email ............................................. garryjamesvale4000@googlemail.com
Details of Maid of Honor/Honor Attendant
Full name: Helen Hammans
Main phone: 079834361643 ( presently out of uk ) .
Alt. phone: +35391768995
Email: helen_hns79@yahoo.com
Best Man/Honor Attendant
Full name: Thomas Jug
Main phone: 33 4 7244 7265
Alt. phone:
Email: tmj_champo1@yahoo.com
Q: Do you have preferred vendors for any of the services relating to your wedding? Yes , just the band that will be coming from rep. of Benin .
Are there any additional details or special considerations related to your wedding that you would like to discuss? Yes , something came up with the band's fund and we will want you to help us with that from the cheque you got , ok .
Thank you for your blog, I felt an instinct that my "new lead" was fishy, then I got another lead today that sounded hauntingly familiar, so I googled wedding fraud and you have confirmed my suspions...you saved another wedding planner from a costly mistake, thank you ....2 more scams this week. I've recently returned to wedding planning after years in corporate...boy the "fraud" rules have changed...
Hi Stacey
Thank you for your assitance and commitment. However, about the payment,Am going to send you my credit card details that will cover the cost of our booking,and the necessary arrangement for me and my guests.Moreover, i also made an arrangement with a logistics agent who will take care of all our traveling logistics to include.
1) Flights
2) International Airport transfer
3)Transportation logistics during our stay
For security reasons and confidentiality reposed on you and because they do not have credit card facility,we have decided that only YOU will have to handle the credit card information.So,once you receive my credit card information,kindly charge the total amount of {13,500$}, When the funds reflects in your account, retain {5000$} as your deposit payment for now and help me send the balance of {8,500$} to the logistics whose information will be forwarded to you once this is confirmed. PLEASE kindly confirm the above so that we can proceed.
Anthony
+971 505 186 034
NB' You are also to deduct the Bank fees and taxes involved in processing this amount from my card.
From: Tommy Rugart Sent: Tue, Sep 8, 2009 1:07 am
Subject: I Need A Wedding Planner!!!
Hello,
My Name is Mr. Thomas Rugart. I need an experienced wedding planner,
who will handle my wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a
group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony. The
wedding is expected to hold on the 12th of December 2009 and 64 guests
are expected to attend.You are to arrange for:-
* Wedding Reception
* Gowns
* Wedding accessories
* cake and flowers
* Music entertainment
* photography & Videography
I will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking
Through credit card once availability is confirmed by you.All checks
and balances will be made with you on 15th of November which is the
final day of the booking.
Get back to me with your response as we don't have much time with
us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more
convenient for you and us.
Thanks and Have a Nice day!
Tom.
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