Both myself ( piano) and another teacher (violin) have had similar e-mails
one of which is repeated below. I was wondering whether anyone in the A.B. or elsewhere knows anything about this or can offer any adcice. Suffice to say we have both been cautious in our replies.
"
Hello,
I am Mrs.Alex
I was ask to contact you on piano leason
Well my son( steve)is coming to stay with his freind for some couple of weeks in the U.k and he loves music. i want you to help me teaching him piano.
However you are based on recomendation from a freind in the states,So Note:my son steve is just a beginner. so plaese kindly teach him well.
So kindly let me know your charges cost per week's ,inother for me to arrange for his payment before he travells down to your side. i have even made preparation for his personal piano he will be using priavtly at home after class practise.

Please Advise back on
1. How many week will he use...
2. weekly charge's and payment method( Let me know if you will accept usa bank cheque ,credit card or Money order)
I look up to your reply regarding that.
Best regards

Who is the friend that recommended you? That is the detail that appears to be missing!

I received one of these last night, and thought it might be a scam, due to the very odd English and general tone. I sent a very cautious reply saying I didn't have any vacancies!

Any ideas how they were able to get your email address?

And I don't understand what the purpose is, are they ultimately after your bank details or something?

Jane

Yes, as I'm listed on several music teachers sites. I suppose it was only a matter of time before some sort of scam arose-it seems to have reached every other area of the internet. I would think the purpose is either bank details, or just to waste loads of time.

It certainly looks very odd - perhaps a youngster playing a joke? On the other hand, if you are suspicious of a scam, you should not reply at all but delete it immediately in case it contains a virus.

Thanks for the advice from decibel. I will do this.

How they got my e-mail address? we are on the internet - Google search for "Piano teacher" give the first site as "Piano teachers U.K." and there are lots of us listed. I am sure there are other ways. As someone has mentioned, it is only a matter of time before one's information etc. becomes possibly misused. I asked who the friend was, got a reply, and didn't recognise the name.

Paul

It is very frightening what google can bring up regarding people`s details.

The email you posted looks very suspicious indeed and it looks as though they are after your bank details and such. I have received similar emails myself and I always delete them. (Ebay is notorious in the fact that spoof emails are always being sent,normally addressing people as "Dear Ebay member" )

When registering on sites even as harmless as Piano teachers UK,it`s best to use anon email addresses such as hotmail. No individuals,except a very few close friends whom I trust and certainly no organisation,except my service provider,are in possession of my ISP address.

If you are unsure or suspicious of any email don`t open it up and delete it immediately.

I had one, quite well written from a "swedish" man, asking for Saxophone lessons. I didn't realise it was a hoax for a few hours, so I sent back a tentative email asking for more details.

I got this yesterday:

Hello there, My name is Mr Peter Wells and i am Swedish nationality based in Africa. At present,i am looking or a good personal tutor for my 18year old son that would be visiting the United Kingdom in April.He is aspiring to be a good and talented Violin Player i would be glad if you can advise on your practice and let me know if you can offer your services on my behalf. In regards your fees,i would be happy to ask my client to post a certified UK cheque to you in advance for deposit and booking of your services.I would make arrangements for every other payment in cash once my son arrives.Pls let me know your fees (per hour....perday) depending on how you have always given your services.I would like to also know if you pay your clients home visits or you have a place where you tutor your students.I would be happy if you can get in touch with me as soon as possible. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

I wrote back saying did he think I was born yesterday and that I was perfectly aware that if I said yes, his next letter would be to ask for my bank details for identity theft purposes. I then blocked him.

I know these people are poor, but a scam is a scam.

Violinia

It is amazing what people think they can get away with, and how they think they can decieve someone into revealing confidential information. I have not been tried out yet, but am on the look out.

I had similar attempted scams when my email contact was added to a music sales site where I was trying to sell my son's bassoon (£750, Artia, suit up to G5 if anyone's interested!) The giveaways are the stilted English & the complete lack of interest in actually seeing the instrument, just the payment method!

Sounds fishy!!!

QUOTE (Violinia @ Mar 26 2005, 02:50 PM)

I wrote back saying did he think I was born yesterday and that I was perfectly aware that if I said yes, his next letter would be to ask for my bank details for identity theft purposes. I then blocked him. I know these people are poor, but a scam is a scam.

Nice one Violinia! Its hard to tell whats going on here, because they aren't specifically asking for bank account details - yet! Like Decibel, I would be concerned about the possibility of a virus too. Thanks for drawing this to our attention folks!

I saw something like this on BBC watchdog in the last fortnight and I believe that the gist is that they offer to pay you with a British Cheque, which is from another person based in the UK, who (they claim) owes them money. So the cheque is for more than your fee required. YOU then are supposed to send them the cash/money order difference. You are a nice person and do not see this as a problem and agree to 'refund' them the difference.

The scam is this. You wait for the British cheque to clear - which in theory it does, because of bank clearing etc. and you send the difference of on.
THEN you get a letter from the bank - say about six days later - with THE cheque returned with a stamp on it saying CONTERFIT INVALID.

You loose your money.

Apparently these cheques are very very good copies but obviously the banks will pick them up in clearing. The loophole is the time it takes to clear and the bank tell you its clear THATS INACCURATE!

If this isnt clear plese check out the BBC website. And yes on watchdog there were many who had fallen victim to versions of this scam.

It all sounds very suspicious. The best thing to do would be to ignore it and make sure you block all future emails from that sender.

QUOTE (Ayshah @ Mar 27 2005, 09:48 AM)

The scam is this.  You wait for the British cheque to clear - which in theory it does, because of bank clearing etc. and you send the difference of on. THEN you get a letter from the bank - say about six days later - with THE cheque returned with a stamp on it saying CONTERFIT INVALID.   You loose your money. Apparently these cheques are very very good copies but obviously the banks will pick them up in clearing.  The loophole is the time it takes to clear and the bank tell you its clear THATS INACCURATE!

I heard of this same scam also. The cheque does in fact clear, as it is a copy of someones real cheque. The person then alerts their bank that money has been taken from their account unauthorised, and then the cheque is returned to drawer, leaving you with the hole in your pocket.
Nasty people.

Thanks for bringing this scam to our attention! I hadn't heard about it until I read about it here.

The sad thing is that these emails really are from Africa, and the families involved are mostly very poor, and get their teenage children to write the emails, the proceeds from which are supposed to support the whole family. Normally I just block and delete, but occasionally I write back, like the other day, because the plan was so detailed, and involved the pretence that someone was actually going to fly over and stay in this country for violin lessons.

I don't know - it's easy for us to judge because we don't need to do these scams to survive - and we shoudl always remember that it's Western policies that have got these countries into the mess some of them are in... but falling for scams aint the way to help these people longterm.

I get at least one of these a day, and my partner, who's an artist, gets emails asking for his bank details so they can buy his paintings - "I'd like 5 of that one and 10 of that one, etc etc". Yes, hmmm. They're original paintings, not posters! But that's hardly the pint - they just want the bank details.

Apparently billions are lost every year through these scams, so there must be a lot of naive people around. But then you end up feeling smug and mean, guarding your money while these people starve...

Violinia

QUOTE (Violinia @ Mar 28 2005, 12:42 AM)

The sad thing is that these emails really are from Africa, and the families involved are mostly very poor, and get their teenage children to write the emails, the proceeds from which are supposed to support the whole family. I don't know - it's easy for us to judge because we don't need to do these scams to survive - and we shoudl always remember that it's Western policies that have got these countries into the mess some of them are in... but falling for scams aint the way to help these people longterm. But then you end up feeling smug and mean, guarding your money while these people starve... Violinia

Thats true Violinia, but being devious and trying to con people like that is wrong. I haven't had any of these emails - yet, but I received quite a few for a different scam a while ago. I can't remember the details now but basically they wanted to use my bank account to help them 'hide' money from their government. It was on the news and I forwarded them to the email address of the police who were trying to catch them.
Yes, you do feel guilty sometimes trying to guard your money while others starve, but if I didn't work so hard I wouldn't have any money to protect.

QUOTE

but if I didn't work so hard I wouldn't have any money to protect.

That's true, but however hard those people work they can't pull themselves out of poverty - that's the problem.

Violinia

I had a similar one months ago which I thought looked slightly dodgy and I deleted it.

I'd completely forgotten about it till now. Thanks for the warning.

I do get loads of the non-musical variety of scam e-mails .... you know the sort of thing ...
"my client entrusted to me $45,000 and has died in a car crash, and I need your help to get hold of the money."


Maggie

QUOTE (maggiemay @ Mar 28 2005, 10:53 AM)

I do get loads of the non-musical variety of scam e-mails .... you know the sort of thing  ... "my client entrusted to me $45,000 and has died in a car crash, and I need your help to get hold of the money."

I get lots of those, mostly from "The bank of Nigeria" about millions of US dollars, which could be mine... Yeah right...

QUOTE

That's true, but however hard those people work they can't pull themselves out of poverty - that's the problem.   Violinia

Yes, thats why organisations like Make poverty History: www.makepovertyhistory.com, and Christian Aid exist, which need a lot of help from the public to stay running....

I have been told that every police force in the country has an officer for dealing with the African Fraud thing.

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Mar 28 2005, 11:01 AM)

QUOTE (maggiemay @ Mar 28 2005, 10:53 AM) I do get loads of the non-musical variety of scam e-mails .... you know the sort of thing  ... "my client entrusted to me $45,000 and has died in a car crash, and I need your help to get hold of the money." I get lots of those, mostly from "The bank of Nigeria" about millions of US dollars, which could be mine... Yeah right...

yeah, i got them too! i got loads in one go a few months back.

QUOTE

I don't know - it's easy for us to judge because we don't need to do these scams to survive - and we shoudl always remember that it's Western policies that have got these countries into the mess some of them are in...  but falling for scams aint the way to help these people longterm.

Yes.Because western govts want these people to stay in absolute poverty because it suits the govts own ends.

QUOTE

Apparently billions are lost every year through these scams, so there must be a lot of naive people around.  But then you end up feeling smug and mean, guarding your money while these people starve...  :blink:    :unsure:

QUOTE

however hard those people work they can't pull themselves out of poverty

Naive and perhaps greedy? I certainly don't feel smug and mean.I just wish there was a solution to end these people's misery.

QUOTE

Yes, thats why organisations like Make poverty History: www.makepovertyhistory.com, and Christian Aid exist, which need a lot of help from the public to stay running....

I don't think so.Are people aware of the admin charges? Why should the public help finance these organisations?

And whatever happened to Sir Bob's "Feed The World" campaign back in 84? It's helped to a certain extent I'm sure,but not really changed anything.

I never make any contributions to these charities because I know the money doesn't reach the people that really need it.

But that capitialism for you. The link I've provided relates to the beginning of 20th century Britain,but the principle remains the same. It's called the great money trick.

http://www.cat.org.au/dwu/moneytrk.html

QUOTE (Semele @ Mar 28 2005, 12:13 PM)

Naive and perhaps greedy? I certainly don't feel smug and mean.I just wish there was a solution to end these people's misery. I never make any contributions to these charities because I know the money doesn't reach the people that really need it.

There is a solution of sorts - it's called cancelling Third World debt. Sadly Western governments aren't prepared to do it. But just because many of our elected leaders only pay lip service to alleviating poverty in Africa (and Latin America and large parts of Asia) it doesn't mean that we can't help at all. I know that the money we give to charity doesn't always reach the people and places it's supposed to but, were it not for the work of organisations like Christian Aid, the situation would be far, far worse than it is at the moment.

There's quite a few people on MSN who try and get you to say that your their sister/brother/long lost relative, so that they can come and see you.

Usually their email gives it away like. One was so obvious with ineedmoney@hotmail.com!

QUOTE (Semele @ Mar 28 2005, 12:13 PM)

Are people aware of the admin charges? Why should the public help finance these organisations?

What about the fund which was set up by Girlguiding UK where all of the funds raised from units across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales went to the survivors of the tsunami and poverty stricken countries?

I agree that these charities need help, but, I don't want to give money because money gets lost and never actually gets to the people that need it.

Post deleted.

Let's pray there is not another Tsunami.

Thanks for bringing this scam to my attention a few weeks ago. In the last few days I've had requests for flute lessons, lessons, and violin lessons. As I play neither flute nor violin, and my e-mail address was included in the "bcc" rather than the "to" field, it shouted SCAM very loudly!

Yes, we need to take action to relieve poverty, cancel debt, and generally make the world a better place, in particular for the poorest people, but you'll still get some greedy sorts trying to swindle the honest majority.

fluteandbassoon - most of the larger charities will tell you exactly how much of your donation goes to support their work, and how much on admin. This should give some indication of how reputable a charity is - would you prefer to give money to a charity which keeps 5% or 95% of your donation to cover their operating costs? Anyway, I digress. Keep vigilant, thank you to whoever started this thread, and let us know of any more potential scams affecting us poor musicians.

Yes - thanks for the warning. I got one of these a few days ago, and fortunately was alerted and deleted it straight away.

Not before I had noticed though that the name at the top was not mine, and the place the potential "student" was intending to stay was somewhere in the west country - about 4 hours' journey away from me !!

Who do they think we are !


Maggie

I had a slightly different one yesterday - the gist of it was that some guy had died in a car crash, leaving 10 year old twins , who his company were relocating to 'your part of the country'.. 'You will tutor them on piano for beginners'.. 'You will be tutoring them for 3 hours 5 times a week for 3 weeks ' etc etc . 'The company would like to make an upfront payment'. Yeah, right. Heart rending stuff.

I guess my email address is easily available on the ISM website, and others. Tempting though it was to reply, I didn't want to get a virus. I suppose it only takes a couple of naive people to reply, and they'll have done quite well.

QUOTE (Helen VJ @ Apr 12 2005, 09:48 PM)

'You will tutor them on piano for beginners'.. 'You will be tutoring them for 3 hours 5 times a week for 3 weeks ' etc etc .

Can you imagine how a 10 year old would react to 45 hours of piano lessons in 3 weeks? Thats more than my students would get in a year. I don't know many who would like it but their playing would improve considerably!

This scam isn't as plausible as some I have heard about.

The answer is simple.If you don't know who the email is from,you don't even open it,even if it's a normal christian and surname.If you reply they know the email is active.

Just delete.

They are not bothered who they are,they are after your dosh..ie leading you on to disclosing your personal information. Don't be curious...delete.

QUOTE (Helen VJ @ Apr 12 2005, 09:48 PM)

I had a slightly different one yesterday - the gist of it was that some guy had died in a car crash, leaving 10 year old twins , who his company were relocating to 'your part of the country'.. 'You will tutor them on piano for beginners'.. 'You will be tutoring them for 3 hours 5 times a week for 3 weeks ' etc etc . 'The company would like to make an upfront payment'. Yeah, right. Heart rending stuff.

Yes, I got one of these yesterday too-I wonder how many more versions these people will come up with? Just received another enquiry today with the entire text of the email as an attachment-how suspicious can you get?

I received a few of these about a month ago. Today I received a cheque for over £8000! It contained no letter and no contact information and was from a british company (although sent from spain). Could it be connected?

FlyingTeacher

If you gave them any details then it could be. Bank it, keep any details you have (the police won't do anything but it's nice to invite them to!) and wait and see what happens .... on no account part with any money!!

Liz

Did you reply to the original email? £8000, thats a lot of music lessons. Can you think of any reason why a British company would send you this money? Obviously their name is on the cheque so you could contact them.

I love these. My spam killer blocks most of them but the odd one gets through. Always gives me a laugh.

ALERT all forum users: this reply in itself was an attempt to give some credibility to the scam!! Of course no cheque for £8K was ever received.. Don't be naiive.. treat everything with extreme scepticism!

Gosh. So what is going to happen when I contact a teacher in my home country about short-term tuition for Viohazard over the summer. .??? It sounds as if I am going to have a hard time getting anybody to take an enquiry seriously...I normally phone and then e-mail or vice-versa, but with time differences, e-mail is really the best choice.

So long as you can spell, you will be OK. biggrin.gif

I would have nothing to do with 'free' cheques. Thay always say, if it is too good to be true, it probably is! Sounds like part of the same scam.

The Forums Team strongly encourage members who receive spam email NOT to respond and simply to delete the message. Please note that responding, even if it's to refuse the offer, simply confirms that your email address is active and may encourage more nuisance emails.

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Many thanks



Christine

Well it was a scam, and the fact you are suggesting that I posted to give credibility to the scam is ridiculous! Has nobody else received a similar cheque? I called the UK company and they said it was a stolen cheque and it's happened to them uncountable times. I am sorry you don't believe me but I have had no end of e-mails and phone calls from these psycos and yesterday I had the police in my living room for over an hour doing a crime report. :-(

The cheque was recieved about 2 weeks ago and was for 100 hours tuition. They told me that they had sent too much, and that I should forward the difference to their travel agent to pay for the kids plane tickets. The police can't do a thing about it but were interested in the bank details these people sent me.

Just want these losers to leave me alone now.


FlyingTeacher

I HAD ONE OF THOSE!!!
except i didnt know they were after them, or i would have sent their address to the police...hehe it was clear they didnt know me as they wrote asking if my 'company' could help them hide money (im a 16 yr old student lol!) so i just sent a nice little reply back saying that i didnt have a company, and so i couldn't help them!
hehe i know that people are doing scams but i still thought it was fair to be polite lol!
hoxie
x

I've also had quite a lot of the "confirm your bank details" type - for banks I don't use mostly!

I'm sure most of you have had similar ones over the past months.
However, recently these have become less polite and much more unpleasant and almost frightening in tone, eg if you don't reply we will close down your account and you will never be able to use our bank again.

It's unlikely you'll be fooled by these - but just in case anyone is tempted to reply - ignore and delete. Bona fide banks don't work like this. As Christine said it applies to bank details too.