Interestingly enough, I almost fell for a scam.
I got this email on Thanksgiving from a “person” named “Green Richard” (Go ahead, laugh and click out) who asked if he “got the right contact to a graphic designer.” My email address was incorrect in the contact info, which was another red flag. I hesitated to respond, but after a few quick Google searches, the notice of them using Mailtrack (not that it means anything) and the fact that they were looking specifically for a graphic designer (that’s me), I figured what the hey? I also emailed my incorrect email address and sure enough, I got my own email. Apparently Gmail provides us with aliases we probably don’t know we have.
So I responded.
I don’t use my personal email address for business. I always try (usually successfully) to move it over to my business email (the one that’s attached to this website).
It was a bit odd referring to someone as “Green” who wasn’t sick…I felt really awkward, the whole thing was weird, but I wanted to see where it was going. The guy was pretty quick with responses and had emailed me two emails with all of this info about the business, what he was looking for in the catalog, etc. Like, it was really thorough.
It did catch my attention, though, that he said there would be a third party involved to issue me the collateral. Keep this in mind.
I started to feel a little bad and began giving him the benefit of the doubt. (But I’m hoping you can see where the skepticism comes from.) However, I noticed he didn’t really answer my questions, so I asked again.
One of the other pressing questions I had that he didn’t respond to was “Where did you find me?” I was genuinely curious—it’s very much possible he found me on LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter (someone had already emailed me from Twitter seeing my tweet about wanting a career coach) and we’ve been talking! After a second time asking these question, I got a response.
“Online thru Google” and “by January”.
…
I don’t think my Google+ account is still active—didn’t they shut it down a year or two ago? I know there’s a general profile all Gmail users have, but when I checked it the other day, most of the info on there was private and I honestly don’t know how people can find it!
It was Thanksgiving. I was not doing anything but some school work over my break and some promised freelance work I had picked up to help a friend. The work he was asking for wouldn’t even be started by at least next week and he wanted it by January? That gave me 4 weeks until the deadline (2 weeks of actual working time for me) for a (good) logo and a catalog. Insane!
I told him that there was no way I’d be able to get it done by January. End of January, though still a little short in my opinion, was doable. He responded, said end of January was fine and then asked for a quote.
I was taking my walls down little by little, but still feeling odd, I started to ask around if I was being too paranoid.
A friend of mine who freelances for a living thought it was odd. Asked me what I thought of it. At this point, I’m not sure. She asked if I had an account on Fiverr or anything (I do, but woe is me if I need to get into it), and suggested that’s where he actually found me.
I decided I was thinking too hard and said, what the hey? once more and moved the email correspondence over to my professional email and sent over an estimate for the work. I came up with a figure around $2600 for both items—$800 for the logo (I was thinking 1-color, black) $1800 for the catalog. Not bad, right? I saved the estimate as a PDF from Wave (normally I send them directly, but something was off about this, so…) and emailed it, letting him know that the business would be conducted at that address.
A HUUUUUUGE mistake I made, though, was leaving my actual address on the design estimate (please excuse how ugly it looks—Wave only lets you do so much). Whoops.
He responded and asked how much I require up front.
What normal, non-creative citizen knows to ask this?
(This information was listed on the bottom of the estimate, though.)
I told him and asked for the estimate back, signed. This would ensure that there was an agreement on price in case he wanted to back out and not pay.
I never sent him the first invoice. Why? He never sent me a signed estimate.
Listen, I know I’m teetering on the edge of extinction when it comes to finances right now, but I’m not going to get joshed by some guy named Green.
He responded with an “okay” and then asked what “electronic invoicing service” I use. I told him Wave and this is where things got WEIRD.
I don’t do a crapton of freelance work, but when I do, my client and I always figure out what works best for both of us based on what we have. I’ve accepted checks, cash and credit card payments. I always squirrel away a nugget of it for tax purposes and there are never any issues. I’ve never had someone insist I change my methods because it doesn’t work for them. I use Wave, Square, PayPal, CashApp and Venmo—that’s just for electronic payments!
The craziest part is the merchant bank account. He must be out of his mind.
I told him I would not be doing that.
He then insisted I use Quickbooks or SwipeSmart (which I looked at briefly—it’s an omnichannel POS system from what I gathered) to invoice him.
He had an issue in the pass….
The pass…
I’m not making fun of his terrible English, I’m making fun of his assumption that I’m going to fall for whatever he has up his sleeve.
Former classmate explains the scam.
Just to make sure I was right in my feelings, I went to LinkedIn and posted about this dizzy trip. As of right now, the post has over 1,300 views, 2 reactions (ha), and 18 comments (some of which are my replies). Most of them say “SCAM”. One person, a girl I was in undergrad with, told me how the scam plays out, as she’s been hit with it, too.
I wanted to know more, though. What if this was just a really big coincidence?
I emailed Green and asked where he’s located. He tells me, “El Centro, California”. I’m not geographically advanced, so I Googled it. Sure enough, El Centro is an actual town in California.
I talked to my freelancer friend last night, painting the original picture for her again, but this time filling in the rest so she has the whole masterpiece.
Duh. I never looked up the company or anything. Just this guy’s “name” and his email address.
I did just that while chatting with her. I found a Facebook Page for a furniture store of the same moniker, Living Wood, in Uganda.
Oh. Okay.
I sent her the link, and since she has a Facebook, she was able to poke a little more. She clicked on some of the public info, too, saying the website listed on their page lead right to a Chinese site.
Wait, what?
I decided I would rather have dinner with Donald Trump and declare bankruptcy or set myself on fire while eating unplucked cactus than take on this "work”. (A little bit of me still gave him the benefit of the doubt.)
I emailed Green-Richard-of-Living-Wood-Furniture-in-Uganda-from-El-Centro-California to ask him if there’s anything online I can look at about the company. Anything.
He repeated the first line in his third (or so) email to me when this all began—how his site is under construction and will be finalized soon (without a logo?) and he asked me again for the invoice, I told him he’ll get it after I get my signed estimate and then…
Bingo! Exactly what my former classmate said. PLUS…some mention of having cancer. How monstrous!
WOW.
I quickly downloaded the email chains as PDFs and forwarded them to my town’s police department. I figured they can’t help me, but perhaps they can issue a bulletin for people to beware because I guarantee there are some who are down on their luck and will do anything for work while forgetting to be on their toes.
I also told this POS (this time it’s not short for point of sale) that I got him, that the police would be notified and thanked him for playing along. Haven’t heard from Green-from-Uganda-or-El-Centro-California since.