Lately I've been getting some strange inquiries to my private music lesson ad on Craig's List (Internet).
It usually goes like this: someone from out of the country writes that their son or daughter is coming to the states on holiday, and can I teach them every day for an hour or so- for couple of weeks time......
They always want to know my exact price for the 2 weeks, and often admit that I'll be paid by some company or other (never telling me exactly what company)....
I've never taken anyone up on this - it's all so very fishy smelling.......
Are they just looking for my bank account number so that they can wipe me out?
Has anyone else seen this?
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
It might well be a scam, or at least the set-up for one.
I have read about a couple of variations on the following: A foreign company sends a large check to the victim, asking the victim to deposit it and send most of the amount in a wire transfer to another company--the balance being "for your trouble." The receiver of the wire transfer cashes it immediately and disappears. Then it turns out that there were insufficient funds to cover the original check, so the money to pay for the wire transfer has to come out of the victim's account.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Craig's List is a favorite playground for scams like this one. Never accept any offer where they send you a check for more than they actually owe you.
If you want to check their sincerity, tell them that you - as non-negotiable condition - only accept cash at the beginning of each class. Actually, it would be interesting to see what they'd reply in this case.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Thanks to all.
This weblogs site pretty much explains it..... (thanx mickray)!
Ugh....... maybe I should write them back with a note that I've contacted the FBI or something...... who would be able to chase after scum like this?
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Personally, I would not recommend that anyone try to scam an Internet scammer. Report them to authorities, post warnings about them--like we did here--or just ignore them. Legal and personal risks aside, there are better ways to spend your time than getting involved in schemes like these. IMHO.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
A good marker that the reply to Juliette's ad is (a) either a scam - the most likely, or (b) more mercifully, genuine, but from someone who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
The scam possibility has been thoroughly dealt with above.
If you consider the second possibility, can you imagine giving a lesson in a musical instrument for an hour or so every day for two weeks to a child whose level of attainment or personality you have no idea about? It's an impossible situation.
Learning a musical instrument is not like learning a foreign language where 1-2 hours per day on a one-one basis for a fortnight can result in mqrked progress. Learning a musical instrument (as perhaps oppose to tune leqrning, which is rather different) needs no more than one lesson a week, requiring the pupil to do daily practice during the remainder of the week and allowing a necessary period of time for the necessary physiological and anatomical changes to be absorbed by the pupil's body.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
As good business practice, if a private teacher is receiving payment by cheque (either in advance or at the lesson), then I would recommend that such cheques be made out to a special account set up for that purpose, and not to a general bank account; rather like lawyers setting up individual accounts for their clients. That way, if anything goes wrong then only the money in that special account will be at risk, and even that can be minimised if money is transferred out of that account frequently on a regular basis.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
*If* anything goes wrong???
Sorry, but--based on what juliette has told us--if that inquiry is legit, I'll eat my hat. It sounds exactly like the experience described in the blog, linked above. Just run a Google search for "music teacher email scam" to see several other warnings.
I wouldn't bother with setting up a separate bank account for anything that fishy. The bank fees would just be a waste of money.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
In my second post I was making a general point about someone in business on their own account being paid by cheque, and I wasn't making any specific reference to being the victim of a scam. If it's a business of any significance then there are advantages in having a specific bank account for the business, not least as far as taxes and VAT are concerned. Bank fees can be offset for taxation purposes against the cost of running the business - that was so some years ago when I was self-employed.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Hound, if the inquirer were legit but clueless, he would have to be so clueless that he didn't know he was duplicating a wide-spread and fairly common scam. I see no hat eating in anyone's future.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Sounds like the car buyer scam.
When you advertise your car for sale you get an email from someone abroad who offers to send you a banker's draft for the entire money plus an extra amount, and they say your car will be collected and you just give the people collecting it the additional amount to pay for the collection. Of course, do this and you've lost your car and you've just paid the collection people some money. The cheque, of course, is totally worthless.
The scam doesn't seem to be so common now but it was big a few years ago.
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Nonesuch--
I replied to an email looking for a piano teacher on Craig's List and I got requests for teaching a son and a daughter (separate emails) who were coming to the States and wanted 2 two hour lessons a week and wanted to know my fee. Both stated their child was smart and eager for lessons. Their initial emails, although some misspellings, seemed like normal requests to me. However, when they wanted to pay me, they wanted to send me $3000 by cashier's check and then have me cash the check, take my pay and give the rest to a cousin or business associate. Yeah, right... I told the first to send the money to their cousin and have them pay me directly and never heard back. The second, I simply ignored. Not worth the effort of a response.
Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Lately I've been getting some strange inquiries to my private music lesson ad on Craig's List (Internet).
It usually goes like this: someone from out of the country writes that their son or daughter is coming to the states on holiday, and can I teach them every day for an hour or so- for couple of weeks time......
They always want to know my exact price for the 2 weeks, and often admit that I'll be paid by some company or other (never telling me exactly what company)....
I've never taken anyone up on this - it's all so very fishy smelling.......
Are they just looking for my bank account number so that they can wipe me out?
Has anyone else seen this?
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by nonesuch
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
It might well be a scam, or at least the set-up for one.
I have read about a couple of variations on the following: A foreign company sends a large check to the victim, asking the victim to deposit it and send most of the amount in a wire transfer to another company--the balance being "for your trouble." The receiver of the wire transfer cashes it immediately and disappears. Then it turns out that there were insufficient funds to cover the original check, so the money to pay for the wire transfer has to come out of the victim's account.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by John Galt
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Craig's List is a favorite playground for scams like this one. Never accept any offer where they send you a check for more than they actually owe you.
If you want to check their sincerity, tell them that you - as non-negotiable condition - only accept cash at the beginning of each class. Actually, it would be interesting to see what they'd reply in this case.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by heike
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
This scam shows up all the time on the harp mailing lists. Run away.
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by Tracie
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Run away, indeed.
http://weblogs.uni.edu/unituba/2006/08/musicians_scam_alert.html
# Posted on October 31st 2006 by John Galt
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
creeepy!!!
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by BE
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
You'd want to watch yourself in cyber space. Thanks for bringing this to my attention all the same.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by 52Paddy
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Thanks to all.
This weblogs site pretty much explains it..... (thanx mickray)!
Ugh....... maybe I should write them back with a note that I've contacted the FBI or something...... who would be able to chase after scum like this?
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by nonesuch
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Don't reply to any scam emails like this, it only encourages them.
If you're in the U.S., http://www.usdoj.gov/whatwedo/whatwedo_if.html will tell you how to report attempted Internet fraud.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by John Galt
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Visit this site for what to do with such emails...
www.419eater.com
Visit the "Letters Archive"
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Eliot
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Personally, I would not recommend that anyone try to scam an Internet scammer. Report them to authorities, post warnings about them--like we did here--or just ignore them. Legal and personal risks aside, there are better ways to spend your time than getting involved in schemes like these. IMHO.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by John Galt
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Ignore it!
I have got these through my website.
"I want to pay 2 weeks upfront into your bank account"
Then they want to put all the money for the students accomodation in you bank account too. Then they have your bank details and they empty the lot!!!
Best thing is to ignore the whole thing.
Tommy
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by tompipes
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
I'll probably just keep marking them all as scam then........
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by nonesuch
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
I mean SPAM ! spam/scam what's the diff?
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by nonesuch
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
A good marker that the reply to Juliette's ad is (a) either a scam - the most likely, or (b) more mercifully, genuine, but from someone who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.
The scam possibility has been thoroughly dealt with above.
If you consider the second possibility, can you imagine giving a lesson in a musical instrument for an hour or so every day for two weeks to a child whose level of attainment or personality you have no idea about? It's an impossible situation.
Learning a musical instrument is not like learning a foreign language where 1-2 hours per day on a one-one basis for a fortnight can result in mqrked progress. Learning a musical instrument (as perhaps oppose to tune leqrning, which is rather different) needs no more than one lesson a week, requiring the pupil to do daily practice during the remainder of the week and allowing a necessary period of time for the necessary physiological and anatomical changes to be absorbed by the pupil's body.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
As good business practice, if a private teacher is receiving payment by cheque (either in advance or at the lesson), then I would recommend that such cheques be made out to a special account set up for that purpose, and not to a general bank account; rather like lawyers setting up individual accounts for their clients. That way, if anything goes wrong then only the money in that special account will be at risk, and even that can be minimised if money is transferred out of that account frequently on a regular basis.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
*If* anything goes wrong???
Sorry, but--based on what juliette has told us--if that inquiry is legit, I'll eat my hat. It sounds exactly like the experience described in the blog, linked above. Just run a Google search for "music teacher email scam" to see several other warnings.
I wouldn't bother with setting up a separate bank account for anything that fishy. The bank fees would just be a waste of money.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by John Galt
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
In my second post I was making a general point about someone in business on their own account being paid by cheque, and I wasn't making any specific reference to being the victim of a scam. If it's a business of any significance then there are advantages in having a specific bank account for the business, not least as far as taxes and VAT are concerned. Bank fees can be offset for taxation purposes against the cost of running the business - that was so some years ago when I was self-employed.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Hound, if the inquirer were legit but clueless, he would have to be so clueless that he didn't know he was duplicating a wide-spread and fairly common scam. I see no hat eating in anyone's future.
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by Tracie
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
yer There was a scam like this in some of the newspapers. it was a piano teacher. dont do it... never trust n e that isnt infront of you!!!!
# Posted on November 3rd 2006 by Nathe2005
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Sounds like the car buyer scam.
When you advertise your car for sale you get an email from someone abroad who offers to send you a banker's draft for the entire money plus an extra amount, and they say your car will be collected and you just give the people collecting it the additional amount to pay for the collection. Of course, do this and you've lost your car and you've just paid the collection people some money. The cheque, of course, is totally worthless.
The scam doesn't seem to be so common now but it was big a few years ago.
There are some right ba**ards out there.
# Posted on November 3rd 2006 by Mark Harmer
Re: Scams for music teachers - have you seen this?
Nonesuch--
I replied to an email looking for a piano teacher on Craig's List and I got requests for teaching a son and a daughter (separate emails) who were coming to the States and wanted 2 two hour lessons a week and wanted to know my fee. Both stated their child was smart and eager for lessons. Their initial emails, although some misspellings, seemed like normal requests to me. However, when they wanted to pay me, they wanted to send me $3000 by cashier's check and then have me cash the check, take my pay and give the rest to a cousin or business associate. Yeah, right... I told the first to send the money to their cousin and have them pay me directly and never heard back. The second, I simply ignored. Not worth the effort of a response.
# Posted on June 13th 2007 by conmoto