Thread: My Creep-o-Meter is ringing off the hook with this BIZARRE wedding booking request

So, I opened my belly dance e-mail yesterday morning to this interesting, confusing, and grammatically-challenged message, requesting my services for a wedding (Keep in mind I am based out of Atlanta, GA):

"My name is Mrs kelly Johnson and i would be celebrating a wedding ceremony with my husband who is from Vancouver Washington. The wedding will take place here in Washington So, I am emailing you now asap my wedding which will be held on the Febury 26 2011, I want to know if you would be available for that day ,the cost you will charge me if you would render service for 5hours from 9am -
3pm . I will be responsible for your transport fare from your location to the hall where the wedding will take place . So i will want you to give me a total cost for the service and transport fare so we can arrange on payment. I will be Responsible for Your Transport fare from the airport down to the 5 rodeway inn and suites Hotel here in Washington

Hope to have a business with you

Mr Mrs kelly Johnson
Jesus is Lord .."

Having previously dealt with both out-of-state and English-challenged clients, I wasn't as initially weirded-out as I should have been. I responded very kindly and professionally, saying that my price would be well over $2,000, which would NOT include airfare/transportation/hotel rooms for myself AND my male bodyguard. I suggested that Kelly find a belly dancer local to Washington, and suggested that she look online for belly dancers who were more local (i.e.- Seattle) . Kelly responded to my e-mail with the EXACT same message that you just read above, which creeped/weirded me out. Then, a couple hours later, I got this new message:

"How you doing and thanks for the Email Response, I so much appreciate your quick Response.. I just wanna make sure i get the best for my wedding as my husband is on a Trip and i am Responsible for the wedding arrangment , so thats why i need you to please me on that day
However i will want you to know that i will be Responsible for the Flight and the Hotel accommodation.. All i need to read from you is the total cost of your service for 6 hours.. I will also be Responsible for the Car you will have to board from the Airport Down to the Hotel here, as soon as i have the total cost and we have Conclude, then i will disclose and email you the Event Address Location here in Vancouver Washington.
Highly waiting to read from you

Alicia"


I responded AGAIN with my quote, stating that I would require a $500 deposit via Paypal, and that I would ONLY do the wedding if the accommodations for myself AND my male bodyguard were paid for....

It's the setup for a scam, for sure. They've been targeting bellydance teachers and performers for several years now. Google "fake cashier's check" for the scoop. The basic outline is here on Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp

This whole interaction just gives me the creeps. I recently watched a special on MSNBC about pimps who lure aspiring models/actresses from other states and countries into their lairs under the guise of work. This sounds like it could be something similar.

Any thoughts? Am I just blowing this out of proportion?

No, but it's most likely your bank account that's in danger, not your physical safety. Ignore them and they'll eventually move on.

This is obviously a scam. I don't think steering this person(s) to other dancers is a good idea. I would hate hurting another dancer by leading a criminal to their websites.

And, yes, it's money they're after.

Originally Posted by rassicahl

This is obviously a scam. I don't think steering this person(s) to other dancers is a good idea. I would hate hurting another dancer by leading a criminal to their websites.

And, yes, it's money they're after.

Well, I've dealt many times with both out-of-state and English-as-a-second-launguage clients, and at first thought that this was one of those. I get contacted now and again for gigs in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, and have successfully referred dancers in these areas for those gigs. After receiving further e-mails of a suspicious nature regarding this, I know that directing this person toward a "local" dancer was not the solution, and regret doing so. I would never, ever try to put any other dancer in danger--I was only trying to help what I thought was a confused, English-challenged client and a sister in dance.

Thank you for posting the link, Suzana. Hopefully other dancers will read this thread and avoid any communication with these losers.

I guess now that means I shouldn't send that $2,000 check to the soldier in Zimbabwe or the woman dying of cancer who needs help getting at her inheritance

I got one of those emails last year for some wedding wanting to hire my dance partner and I, but the person doing the scam was a little more convincing. Same thing with the transportation supply. I replied I wasn't comfortable with that arrangement and that we would keep gas/hotel receipts that could be reimbursed. I kept asking for a phone call so I could talk, not email. He wouldn't call me or supply a phone number. After 3 emails asking for a venue address, he finally sent me one. It was for a casino and I called them to ask about a wedding taking place on the date in the email. They said they had no such thing planned. That was the nail in the coffin and I stopped responding.

Later I got a frantic email that he wanted to book us immediately, but that they were going to overpay with a check to cover transportation/hotel costs and we just had to send a Western Union back with the extra money...LOL

What pissed me off the most about it was how much time it took responding to the stupid emails!

Run far...run fast!! Warn others.....

Originally Posted by rassicahl

This is obviously a scam. I don't think steering this person(s) to other dancers is a good idea. I would hate hurting another dancer by leading a criminal to their websites.

"Sorry; all the dancers I know in that area are going to the same workshop I'm attending. I can't think of anyone else you could call."

These scams usually have a few similarities:

1) They always want you to provide your service for an unusually lengthy amount of time (5 hours for a wedding?)
2) They always offer to fly out out and pay for all travel and accommodations rather than hire someone local
3) They always want to send you a check

1 & 2 ensure that your fee will be very high, at least a few thousand dollars, and that they cannot meet you in person to provide payment/discuss details. The reason they want you to have a high fee is because they will usually send you a check for more than what you quoted and ask you to send the amount on to someone else. So let's say you quote $5,000. They send you a check for $7,000, sometimes saying it was an "accident", and ask you cash the check and to send the extra $2,000 to someone else like a supposed photographer or something like that. They want you to think "well I'm making $5,000 so I can easily forward along the $2,000". Then you find out the check they sent you was fake and you just send them a legit check for $2,000.

You can do a few things. Ignore them. Demand payment by another means. Or tell them you will wait for the check to clear before proceeding with anything else. If you tell them any of these things they will probably not bother to return your email and you know it's a scam.

What creeps me out is that the person used "Mr & Mrs Kelly Johnson" and then "Alicia"

I am a photographer in Oklahoma and I got the same message! At first she was Alicia Johnson, sending an e-mail from an address belonging to a Johnson Lee. Then she responded as Kelly Johnson, sending an e-mail from an address belonging to a Cynthia Kelly. At first she was responding to all my questions. Then she kept sending the original e-mail to me over and over.

Originally Posted by jmdruadh

"Sorry; all the dancers I know in that area are going to the same workshop I'm attending. I can't think of anyone else you could call."

Or better still, delete without responding.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

Or better still, delete without responding.

Yeah, that response is for when you get skeeved out after you've already been in contact, and they ask you to recommend someone else.

I get emails like this all the time, along with hundreds of you, I'm sure.
Normally I regard these type of emails as scam, based on 2 facts:
- the person refers to him/herself as Mr or Mrs someone... these people are non-English speakers, usually in Europe, or at least in some countries, people are taught to address themselves as Mr or Mrs, etc) which is of course not a problem, but why would they want me? i am not well known (or even known, lol) on a national or international scale, so they are most likely not contacting me directly, they're contacting hundreds, to see who will fall for their scam.
- the person is asking for not 1 performance, or even several performances over days, but they're asking for services (dancing or dance classes) for several hours straight, like 9 am - 3 pm, or 6 hours / day for 2 weeks, etc.

I never respond because it's a waste of time.

Originally Posted by electricapples

I am a photographer in Oklahoma and I got the same message! At first she was Alicia Johnson, sending an e-mail from an address belonging to a Johnson Lee. Then she responded as Kelly Johnson, sending an e-mail from an address belonging to a Cynthia Kelly. At first she was responding to all my questions. Then she kept sending the original e-mail to me over and over.

It'll be "Sybil" next, no doubt...

Originally Posted by IrishLily

It'll be "Sybil" next, no doubt...

Yep. Sounds like a scam that I was targeted with a few years ago. The basic premise is they want to hire you for X amount of time, and they will pre-pay. Then all of a sudden...after they pay you, some emergency occurs like an overpayment, or a flight gets cancelled. They then want you to "save" them and reimburse the money, or transfer the "overpaid" funds.

Even if they send you a check for a million dollars, their request for reimbursement will come before your bank can clear the check. If you actually respond and reimburse them, YOU WILL BE HELD PERSONALLY LIABLE FOR THE MONEY.

Bottom line, if it is to good to be true, it is. If ever you get some kind of generous offer. Make sure the check clears the bank first.

I just got another email, and while it's not as obvious as the other ones are, it probably is a scam. But I sent them a quick email back, I'm curious now what happens.
So what if they ask for a reimbursement, but you wait until after the your bank clears the check? or what if you asked for a money order and deposited it? Then you can deduct your fees and refund the rest, right? I'm sure they have it figured out, but can be played, too :))

When we were baby dancers our teacher used to warn us about potential bookings "If it looks too good to be true...it probably is".

Originally Posted by Marianna

I just got another email, and while it's not as obvious as the other ones are, it probably is a scam. But I sent them a quick email back, I'm curious now what happens.
So what if they ask for a reimbursement, but you wait until after the your bank clears the check? or what if you asked for a money order and deposited it? Then you can deduct your fees and refund the rest, right? I'm sure they have it figured out, but can be played, too :))

The check won't be real. The police were able to trace my check back to a fake bank aoccount in MN that has been linked with the Nigerian scam.