email scam targets music teachers

[Bob]

I hope no one in here falls for this.  I imagine someone smart enough to be online wouldn't go for this.

Never send money to someone who communicates through email.  (Unless they're from Nigeria and you feel really sorry for them and they only want a dollar and you just have to give them you're credit card number and bank account information )




Saw this on the good old MTNA forum....   Someone wires you money for lessons, then asks for some of it back before their check clears.

Amusing isn't it?  Targeting a small popular of music teachers?  Duh!


https://members.mtna.org/discussions/viewtopic.php?t=58


Dearest colleagues,

I was nearly the victim of a scam related to my teaching. Let me warn you.

I received an email from someone indicating she wanted to start lessons with me and was sending money. In the mail, I received an envelope mailed from Holland containing three money orders for $900 each. I took them to the Post Office for confirmation, and they confirmed they were counterfeit.

I've received three similar emails from overseas since then. Unlike the first one, these all say up front they're writing from Europe - they claim a relative is coming to the US very soon and wants to study with me.

Some things to look out for:
- They say they are a beginner, but they want to study during a brief stay in the US.
- They want to schedule lessons without asking about your qualifications or availability.
- They want you to receive the money before they will schedule a lesson.
- They want you to respond immediately.

[jeremyjchilds]

Cute...I like that one

[abell88]

I was targeted like that last year! This woman from the States (she said) wanted to sign up for lessons...she had found my email on another music site and didn't even know where I lived. When I told her she said she was coming for a visit of three months. I had told her (after she asked a few times) what my price was for a 1/2 hour lesson and that beginners normally had one lesson a week...she wanted to know how much she should send for two one-hour lessons a week. She was really pushy about wanting to send me money; in my experience that is not quite normal! I felt something was fishy and finally told her that I was re-evaluating my schedule and that I wouldn't have time for her. My theory was that she was going to send me a large cheque, then as soon as she knew I had it she would say she had a family emergency and needed me to send her a refund.

I also contacted another teacher who was active on the other site, and she had received a very similar email from someone with a somewhat similar name.

(I googled the name and found her active on a board in India, saying that she had a particular model of cell phone available (that someone was asking for) and that they should send her money right away.)

[Bob]

I just feel so sorry for that poor Nigerian Prince.  I could've sent the money, but I bought a donut instead.  My royal stomach did not mind.

[bernhard]

I am not sure if I understand how this works. If they send you a cheque and they ask for a reimbursement, can't you just send their cheque back?

[Bob]

I guess they wire the money.

For example, they send you $1,000 by wire.  The wired money doesn't clear for a few days though (and actually won't ever clear).  In the mean time, they have some kind of "emergency" and need most of that money back right away, but you can keep some.  Say, they ask for $900 back.  You can keep the rest for your troubles.  Good deal for you, easy $100 right?  You just have to wire that money back to them and their original money still hasn't cleared yet.  So that want you to wire the money to them and their wired money will never clear.  They play off your trustingness and greed -- they send you a large sum because they can trust you, and then they will give you money for nothing.  Then a little pressure and guilt because they've had some emergency and need their money back immediately.

I don't see how they collect much money from music teachers though.  Someone must be falling for it if we're hearing about it though.

[bernhard]

I guess the way to be safe was to wait until the wiring was cleared before sending it back. (“Sorry, Mr/Ms Con, but I am a poor piano teacher. I have no money in my account to wire you back. I am afraid that if you cannot cancel your remittance I will have to wait until it clears before I can send it back to you).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.