A Victim Of An Internet Con Artist To Fellow Artists in Scotland and all other interested parties, I could have easily been a victim of an internet con artist. That's why I am writing this account for your attention so that you might protect yourself from people who would like to rob you of your hard earned money. My name is Aileen. It hasn't been all that long since I decided to start showing my artwork through Scottish Art Circle and on my own web site. Well, I couldn't believe my good fortune when about six weeks ago I got an e-mail from a man who called himself Sebrian Desmonde. He said he was a construction engineer from Madrid, looking to spend up to £1000 on artwork as a present for his fiance. He was given my name ''by a friend'' he claimed, and asked for my web address. The morning after sending him my website address I recevied an e-mail from the guy saying he wanted to buy 3 of my paintings, to a total value of £1,100. The image above is of one the paintings he ordered ... ironically titled 'Messed UP' Can you imagine how excited I was? A new-to-showing artist as I am, not only suddenly selling my work, but selling three pieces all at once, AND selling over-seas, to cap it all. In his next e-mail Sebrian said that he'd be sending me £2,180 from his U.K Swift account, to cover the cost of artwork and shipping. Somehow I begane to feel a bit dubious about all this as a week or so passed with no further contact from Madrid. And, needless to say I was a bit disappointed too, thinking it had been dream stuff anyway! Then, like out of the blue, came another e-mail from Sebrian apologising for not having been in touch, but that he'd been to France on business. However, he assured me that the cheque would be with me within the week. I still felt a bit dubious about it all, but at the same time becoming a big bit more hopeful. On Tuesday 13th November, a cheque for £2,180 from Northern Dublin Bank arrived ... Yepee! I got so excited I was physically shaking. What a Christmas my two kids were going to have! The timing couldn't have been better. Six weeks before Christmas, and the same week my husband Kev's job had ended. I was absolutely buzzing and obviously, went straight to the bank. Paid the cheque in with delight. It was like a dream come true.
Then I began to panic. I had no idea how to package paintings or to arrange for shipping. No hassle though. Sebrian sent all the necessary details. I was to pay myself the £1,100, and the remaining £1,080 was to be paid to the shipping agent, one Paul Smith, via Western Union. The shipping agent from Manchester was supposed to have been licensed to carry artwork and confectionery into Spain, so said the guy in Madrid. He even went to the trouble of listing the 3 branches of Western Union closest to me ... just for my conveniece. The message from Madrid suggested that once payment had been made, the agent would contact me to arrange for collection of paintings from my home. What a relief! They would also package and crate the paintings for me.
It seemed like I had nothing else to do for such an easy sale. How exiting for a new art seller. I was like the cat that got the cream - for two days anyway. Then I got a letter from my bank saying that the cheque I had lodged in was invalid as it had no serial number on it. Yes, you can imagine it. My heart just sank. I could have cried. Now, instead of going Christmas shopping, I'm going to the Police. Thankfully I had the sense not to send anything out before receiving valid payment, but as an innocent person, I feel angry that I should be a target for fraudlent activities. Beware The Con Artist Aileen Tel: 01864 502 112 email: kevails@btinternet.com You'll see more of my work on my website at http://artbyails.co.uk P.S. If you have experienced circumstances similar to mine, please get in touch with Ali Abubakar Tel: 0141 946 5032 email: ali@artinscotland.com He'd like to hear from you. Top # 0000con |
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