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Post by fox on Dec 12, 2006 8:40:40 GMT -6
I noticed the Kim Moser letter on the rogue site this morning, about the scam targeting fencers/fencing coaches. Has anyone in Texas or the SW Section gotten one of these yet?
I am curious how big a net the thieves have cast.
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kb
Squire
Posts: 261
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Post by kb on Dec 12, 2006 9:52:40 GMT -6
I noticed the Kim Moser letter on the rogue site this morning, about the scam targeting fencers/fencing coaches. Has anyone in Texas or the SW Section gotten one of these yet? I am curious how big a net the thieves have cast. Maybe post on fencing.net- that is a wider audience. Don't these scammers know that fencers are usually pretty intelligent?
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Post by schlager7 on Dec 12, 2006 10:11:16 GMT -6
Sorry, I'm running a bit behind these days. I usually post things like the letter both here and on the rogue site but it was late when I finished updating the rogue site last night.
Here's Kim's letter:
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Fencers,
Warnings about things like scams and viruses are off-topic for this list but since this one is going after fencers in particular I thought I would share it with everybody. As this is a one-time announcement, please follow up with me privately, not to the entire list.
Recently I received an email from somebody claiming that their son was coming to the U.S. and wanted fencing instruction. I was suspicious from the beginning because all they asked about was the name of my business, my address, and how much I charged; they failed to include details about dates, locations, or fencing experience.
When I emailed them back to ask for these details, they ignored my questions and again asked for my rates and address.
Just the other day another fencer (in this case a fencing master) halfway across the country forwarded me a very similar email that they had received, which makes it even more clear that not only is this obviously a scam, but it's very likely targeting anyone offering fencing instruction anywhere in the U.S., and quite possibly the rest of the world.
So, what's the actual scam? In a nutshell, the scammer offers to send you your fee in advance. They will send a check or money order for *more* than your fee, and will ask you to cash it and send them back the difference. The problem is that the check or money order they sent you was stolen or forged, and by the time your bank figures it out and reverses the charges you will have long since sent your money back to the scammer. Not only will you have lost your money, but you may be charged with fraud (even though you were the unwitting victim).
Beware of this type of offer and if you receive such an email, please forward it to me so I can keep track of them.
Again, this is a one-time announcement. If you wish to discuss this further, please email me privately (don't email the entire list) or take the discussion to one of the numerous anti-scammer mailing lists that exist on the Internet.
Oh, and happy holidays!
-- Kim Moser, List Administrator Classical Fencing Mailing List
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Post by Prudence on Dec 18, 2006 7:23:00 GMT -6
This kind of thing happens all the time, and can happen to anyone. I even had someone try to do this to me last summer when I was looking for a job as a nanny. Luckly I am intelligent (like most fencers) and I figured out what they were trying to do. Just don't take money from anyone in advance. Period.
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