11/27/2022 0 Comments Decipher textmessage scam![]() ![]() Submit an abuse report to the email service of the sender (gmail, hotmail, yahoo, for example). Report the email scam and forward the scam email in its entirety to the entities listed below under Resources. ![]() Blocking one IP will not necessarily halt the stream of message. You can block the IP address or phone number, but keep in mind that scammers use different IPs and numbers to route their messages. There’s sure to be an unaware freelancer out there somewhere thinking it would be great to have an “international” client eager to pay large sums of money, and take the bait. I’m not out any creative effort or money. Please share this post on your social media and networking channelsĪs with any lie, there’s just enough truth involved to make the scam sound legit, but the further you go with it, the more it falls apart.īe watchful. They’re posing as legit businesses, and culling information from websites, portfolio sites, and social media. The fact that this came through my business and was centered around a web design project shows that scammers are creative. This type of scam is usually targeted toward uninformed seniors. You are requested to refund the overpayment to the sender or their agent (in my account above the scammer wanted me to send the overage through Western Union.The inquirer is eager to pay you and pays significantly more than the agreed-upon amount.The inquirer dictates the payment terms to you.You receive no response to direct questions about the project, and the inquirer is vague about details.You receive several identical emails or messages but with different information (this means the scammers are using a template or form letter).The sender uses poor grammar (English) and punctuation.They ask if you accept credit card payments. ![]() The email message contains just enough information to make it sound like a legitimate project inquiry.They will mention an associate or business partner located in the USA They may claim to be located outside the USA. You receive an inquiry - this can be a text message, email or voice mail - from someone posing as a startup business.Here are the red flags you should watch for: I figured that if I was being targeted, others must be, also. Over the next couple of months I continued to receive inquiries from different email addresses using the same verbiage with minor variations. ![]() I took the money orders over to my bank where they were confirmed as being bogus. There was no signed contract in the envelope. None of my discovery questions were responded to.Ī few days later two international money orders totaling more than the specified down payment arrived in an envelope with no return address. The stated “budget” was generous, so I prepared my usual contract outlining deliverables, schedule and terms, and emailed it to him. He stipulated that the balance - again a particular amount - would be paid upon completion.Īt this point, I was still testing the waters. The sender then informed me that my rates were agreeable and requested my mailing address so he could have his business partner in New York City send a down payment of a particular amount. Even so, I responded with a price range, discovery questions and recommendation that he work with a designer in the UK. It was odd to me that the sender was not inquiring with local designers in London. He (gender is assumed) asked the cost of designing a simple 2-page web site and included a link to an existing web site as an example of what he was looking for. The sender claimed to be located in London and was opening a small business. I received an inquiry via email regarding web site design services. This was my first experience with the project scam: These inquiries are usually sent as an email or text message, but are also sent as a voice mail. If you’ve received this kind of message, it’s a scam. DECIPHER TEXTMESSAGE SCAM REGISTRATIONDesigners and photographers are being targeted in bogus project scams and domain registration scams!īeware of email and text messages from a prospective client requesting web site design or other creative services, and asking if you are the owner and if you accept credit cards. This design project scam targeting independent creatives has been circulating in various forms for more than 15 years. Scammers are highly creative in who and how they target. ![]()
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