OT: Studio Scams

[spicemix]

I guess he is reading the replies then...

Anyway this 419 thing deffo makes you think about deposit/advance payment policies. Could it wind you up in more trouble?

GS thread

[KingFish]

Interesting... I was contacted a year ago, didn't think anything of it, I would never fwd ANY finances till "All funds cleared" - I put this guy on with my assistant to make all the arrangements.

He was writing stuff like...

Hello Mr DAVID so sir I have project of recording with you; Jay who introduced me to you its an argent project please send your programme.Thanks for cooperation

DEEP REGARDES thanks

So, David Iam sorry for my absence for your email I send you this message just to show you my time of payment.I am first going to record 5 songs with 8500 dollars payment is going to be done on 6nd august 2007 but I will send 4500 dollars like the bigginig of the project. And after this confirmation you will send me a letter showing my time of recordig and the agreement. You should also start helping to fund an appartment on 350 dollars.

Hello Danni everything is ok now so let's stay in full touch as well I made the deposit. Today I want to the national bank till now no problem all the papers are good so you should may start to make the preparation of the letters and invoice and send at once.

GOD PROTECT YOUR project

Hello, Miss DANNI

I am so glad to send my updates to you, now every thing is ok as you know I am planing to record with David, by your side is there my project will get sens.
May be there was a silence in those days,but I was depending on a hard stuation with my bank concernig, you know many things about sending money in our country is worse.Can you imagine that to send amount you must go to national bank so, Everything is done now and ithink that it's not later to make the project together, you also you remain with the same will give a go ahead and then I send it. I have also got a visa card for helping me once I am in CANADA. Now it's ten songs I am ready to pay them for 8500 by upfront, apartment.

This guy was coming over from Uganda or somewhere, and in the end, had asked my assistant to "Fund an Apartment", provide Immigration papers for his government, all kinds of stuff "In advance" and claimed 4 or 5 times the money had already been sent (We sent him Bank wire instructions) , it really got "Out there" - obviously cut the string as soon as all this started happening.

Targeting Studios.... such an un profitable endeavor. And What a WASTE of time.

In the end, my assistant had phone calls with him (on some skype lookin un traceable number) - he actually speaks french, and she grew up in Paris (Speaks fluently) - he made alot of CLEAR promises that never came true. probably 50 or 60 emails, promising Wire Transfers, CD's of his last projects, a total waste of her time.

in the end, she got really blunt - she CC'd me on the last correspondence she sent out, and after ALL that - he disappeared.

Yes... send the money... Use your new VISA card, and send a few thousand bucks through PayPal, Just get SOMETHING here.

You're still nothing but an Anonymous e-mail address, and untraceable phone number to us.

- I don't have any of your past albums
- I don't have the songs we are supposed to work on
- I don't have a website, MySpace, Picture, or Anything about you
- I don't have any Money from you.

All promised to me, 3 times that it's "ALREADY" been sent.

David's been here, producing records for 20 years, there are hundreds of pictures, songs, websites, videos, on the internet, about him, and the records he's worked on... he's not going anywhere... He'll be right here.

Send some money.

WHEN I have it here, I'll make ALL final arrangements.

I won't leave you stranded - if you're doing all 10 songs, and a full album project spanning several months, I'll take you shopping for a phone, an apartment, and make sure you are taken care of, but I won't make any of these arrangements, TILL I get something from you.

Again, if working together becomes a reality... I Will help you with lots.... there's almost no time left, to hold the original recording time with David.... you need to use your VISA to send some money, even 2 or 3 thousand dollars.... through www.paypal.com to our paypal account, which is [email protected]

or.... you need a wire service, through your bank, to get it here.

You've already said you sent it twice - there was an error, so you sent it again.... and now, are saying there was another error, and you've now gone to a national bank, you need to send it today - and send me a number I can call, from the bank, to verify, and track the transfer of money.

I'm really sorry, but I can't spend any more time on this, until I can confirm there is SOME funding in place, I've easily spent 20 hours now, trying to administrate these sessions for you.

I will only reply once funds are verified on my end.

And look I just spent MORE time on this, posting it to the DUC.

Frustrating.

[tommyj1112]

I received the same email (this time he was coming to Ohio) a couple of weeks ago.

I never responded because I noticed that my email address wasn't in the "To:" field, but rather it was in the "BCC:" field, which was a warning sign. I mean, if someone was really trying to send me an email, the email would be sent TO me, not Blind Carbon Copied.

Though, part of me was curious to hear some Malaysian century western gospel singers

[Steevp]

He hasn't contacted me... Hmmmm word of my financial state has spread to Africa!?!?.....

[nwrstudio]

Yup, I got the same thing last year. Like he was really gonna come to good old Erie, PA. Hey, maybe he wanted to meet one of "The Wonders" !

[audiogeekzine]

I usually check to see if they've sent the email to multiple addresses at once. They seem to email a dozen or more studios at once.
So far I've only had inquiries from Nigerian scammers.

[brianjanthony]

I got this email too. Only its Harry Johnson.

[email protected]

Incredibly detailed for a scam.

run away.

brian

[Greg B]

After too much reading to have to find a support link for AOL, I found the email address to report terms of service agreements for AOL email addresses. It is the following-

[email protected]

I included "Jason's" email address. At least we can slow these guys down for an afternoon. Maybe...