Wedding Photographer Scam

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

Hey everyone,

I'm a wedding photographer. I got a text from a supposed bride named "Bekky" saying she REQUESTED MY SERVICE URGENTLY. . Rolling Eyes

Red flags written all over everything. "She" wanted to pay me up front via check and have my mailing info so she could get payment to me.

With a bit of research, I learned this is a newer scam where they send me triple the amount of my quoted service fee, then tell me that the extra amount was a mistake and to send it to another account, then the original check bounces and I'm out some $.. You get the idea.

Here's "Bekky's" original email below:

Thanks for the quick response and I'm sorry if my message came in late , i have been busy with other arrangements and i hope you understand .Its really nice reading from you and i am glad to hear that you are available for my wedding .

I want you to know that this is an inside wedding and the order of events will mail to you a MONTH before the wedding day but the order events is likely to be pictures first, then the wedding ceremony , and then the reception but let me discuss this with my Fiance because its our wedding so our two has to make the decision together . I hope you understand my point of view.

I want you to know that we will be taking formal pictures so i will like you to recommend 45minutes or an hour set aside for taking formal pictures because we have large family from both my side and the groom side and friends /co-workers we will want to take pictures with . So it will be easier if we can take the pictures before the ceremony because it will be more relaxed with fewer time constraints and would like you to set up a great "first look" shot of me looking at my groom for the first time on the wedding day.

the wedding date is ******

Basically we need your service starting from NOON to 5PM .

We are expecting 250 guests i.e 200 adults and 50 children .

And also there will be a table place set for you at the reception , so you don't need to bring your own food but it will be nice if you can just give me an hint of what kind of food you want us to arrange for you i.e if you are vegetarian or eat all kind of foods .

Further more , there will be special important parts/people at the ceremony or reception that i would want you to take a picture of .I will send the list of the important parts/people to you a week before the wedding day and i want you to know that my wedding is a sleek modern wedding .

I need you to get back to me with your charges and i will be paying you upfront , I just called my FATHER IN LAW who will be in charge of your service fees he told me that your payment will be paid to you via certified check or Money order so he has asked me to ask for your details stated below that you want the payment to be send to so as for me to secure your service for my wedding party. Below is the info needed for your payment

FULL NAME:

ADDRESS:(no p.o box please)

CITY:

STATE:

ZIP:

TOTAL AMOUNT:

PHONE NO:

I'm currently on working on off shore,we can talk through mail or text

I will send you the venue address once you agree to everything i stated above and also waiting for the details to issue on the payment...

Will be expecting to read back from you with the details I have asked for thanks so much and God bless.
Regards,

Hello am Bekky am about to wed to my fiance on the 28th of February 2015 and i need a perfect event photographer to photo my wedding for me get back to me to know your availability about my day..Hope to read from you soon

BEKKY NEED YOUR SERVICE URGENTLY

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 5373

Hello and welcome.

I would drop this scammer immediately.
He has your real details (cell number and mailing info)

Always bait safe using info that cannot trace to you or any innocent third party.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

Removed unnecessary quote of previous post-bware419ers

Thanks, I guess I will. What can this person do with my real info? If I anger them, I suppose it's bad that they know where I live then?

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 5373

What can criminals do with your info?

Send stolen merchandise for you to forward.

Send fake checks that the authorities will open, tape shut and allow to be sent only to show up at your door so they can question you.

Find you on social networking sites, find your grandparents/parents/siblings so they can email them pretending to be a police office holding you in jail and demanding bail money.

Sell your information to other criminals.

ETA: Simply drop the scammer and they'll go away. Angering one that has your real info is risky.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

Ditto

The thing I'd be most worried about is a robbery..Have you heard of this happening?

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 5373

Highly unlikely. This scammer's writing appears to be west African. Unless you live near 'Bekky' I would not worry about that.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

And a third time...

The area code of the phone number they contacted me from is LA.

This might sound a bit paranoid, but I was scammed in real life by a peer once into buying fake pirated software and a broken cell phone. I blew up at him, and told him to move to Nigeria and join the scammers there. I messed with him pretty bad afterward.

This is a far stretch, but do Americans ever solicit scammers to get info from their enemies? I wonder if this kid paid a scammer to get my info. Doubt it, but it's possible yes?

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2012 Posts: 5373

'Bekky' is using a VOIP number.
If you want, feel free to pm me the number and I'll research for you.

Scammers live everywhere, not just Nigeria. Everywhere.
Plenty of good people live in Nigeria (I just hate seeing Nigeria and 'scam' used as one in the same)

I don't think you are the target of a person getting even.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

Removed another- bware419ers

Ok, thank you. I just randomly had contact with the enemy last night and it seemed too much of a coincidence that I accused him of being a scammer..

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 3:58 pm

The phone number is probably a VoIP and as Ginger says, the writing is West African.

They are not targeting you personally, they will be emailing numerous photographers.

Just block them, delete the emails and don't tell them you know it is a scam.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

Again...

Also, I agree. Every encounter with a Nigerian in the States that I've had has been pleasant. They tend to be very happy, friendly people. Sorry if that came off as ignorant or racist.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

And again...

Will do. I'm a bit disappointed though, I was hoping to have fun with this jerk for getting my hopes up. I guess I screwed that up by giving them my real mailing info?

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 4:06 pm

Our number one rule is to bait safe. You received a text to your personal cell phone. Drop this scammer. I have been posting links to this thread quite often, lately: https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=237673

Quote:

Safe Baiting

First and foremost, remember that the people we are dealing with are criminals. They may seem ignorant to us, but in the end these are con artists who happily (and all too often successfully) steal money from anyone they can, including their own countrymen. There are no depths to which a lad will not sink to steal money. Therefore:

Don't use your real name. You may think it's common enough, but when combined with only a few pieces of information your lad may be able to track you down.

Don't use your real address, or that of anyone else. While it's pretty obvious not to use your real address, be aware of using other locations. Giving out the address of your local strip club may seem funny, but at the same time you're violating Innocent Third Party rules.

Don't use your real phone number. Take advantage of the numerous free phone transfer services such as K7, or use a pre-paid phone which you've made sure doesn't have any links to your real life persona. You may wish to turn it off at night though.

Don't use any real Credit Card, bank or other personal information. Lads generally know what they're doing when it comes to money transfers, and they'll jump on any little piece of information that comes their way.

Be aware of attachments you send. In the 'properties' part of documents we send to lads, it is entirely likely that your real name will come up as the author of this work. Photos may contain personal details in the exif data.

Also: be cautious about attachments you receive from a lad! Often Internet cafe computers send malware, with or without the lad's knowledge.

Don't meet your lad in real life. While a few brave baiters have taken photos/videos of their lads in the past and shared them all for our enjoyment, it must be stressed that there is a big risk involved in such activity. Your lad is likely to have other people supporting them and it may be VERY dangerous to come into personal contact with them.

This number is tied to your business and to you. It would be very unwise to continue this path. Welcome to Eater, look around, read some stickies, but please bait in a safe manner!

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 4:13 pm

Yes, I am double posting here as I was Ninja

'd many times above.

PhotogScam, there is no need to "Quote" every post right above yours. For clarity and ease of reading, you can simply use "^^^" to reference the post directly above. If you do feel you must quote something, please, simply quote the relevant information.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 23 Dec 2014 Posts: 8

And they strike yet again!

Today I got a call from a man with a Nigerian name (looked it up) claiming to want to hire me. His wedding took place in a city near to me, but he of course did not live there. His fiane's name he claimed was simply "Blessing".
I'm pretty sure this isn't the same guy as before. A couple days prior to the call, I had sent this guy a quote for my wedding photography through a service where you can post service requests. I didn't get to the point where we talked about payment, I hung up on him once I decided it stunk to high heaven of SCAM. He called me back a couple hours later. Didn't pick up. I'm sure he'll be calling more.

You guys, I'm so tempted to mess with him. It's really a shame he has my real number. I will refrain from angering him or talking any further but I have to say it's REALLY hard not to. All I want is to see these people humiliated..And a foot up their asses.

Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:51 am

PhotogScam wrote:

All I want is to see these people humiliated..And a foot up their asses.

All they will do is quit calling you and move onto the next likely victim - much like they do with other scams.

What they're doing isn't a new scam - I've been getting these emails for years and just delete them. Another version of it is they have seen photos on my website and want to buy them and have me ship them...without saying which ones, size, material, etc. They will send you a check and you should forward the extra amount to the shipping company.

The best is to just delete the mails and forget it.

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