If you are reading this from my journal, I would please ask you to re-post on your own journal in order to spread awareness and help other artists avoid falling prey to a scam. Thank you, and please protect yourself in these difficult times.

Link to doc of my detailed notes, if interested:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1W.....QOloJ2ZuN9QN8A

The TL;DR:
I was recently targeted in a scam involving a fake cashier’s check to purchase some of my artwork. In the end, I lost $2150 because of how the other person sucked me into the situation.

I am posting this journal as a way to not only have a record of the events, but also as a way to process this experience. This tale is something right out of a TV show or movie, and you may ask yourself while reading “Why did you go along with it?” Well, that is the question that will continue to haunt me for a long while. Now I see how people get preyed upon and suckered in. I should have listened to the instinct that was telling me there was something not right about the situation.

I was recently targeted in a scam. I’m writing these notes and this account of the ordeal to hopefully bring awareness to other artists out there (and other consumers) that there are people that do this all the time and you could be the next person they target. I am NOT writing this journal as an “aw, poor me” story, because there were signs that I should have listened to but I dismissed them. Please use my situation as a learning experience so you can avoid this happening to you.

I lost a substantial amount of money ($2150). That’s nearly a full month’s worth of rent. Thankfully, at this moment I was in a position to weather the storm of my poor decisions. Had this been another other time I would be in serious financial trouble.

So how did all this start? First a little context. I’m an artist, creating liquid pouring artwork. I’ve made numerous sales at sidewalk art fairs, and a couple of commissions for the past two years. However, I’ve never made a “big” sale.
Then I received this email on 4/15/20:

“Hi my name is Eldrick from Maryland, I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work. I'm also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to purchase one of your piece as a surprise to my wife on our anniversary. kindly send pictures and prices of some of your art which are ready for immediate sale within price range $400- $3500.i hope to hear a lot more about any available piece in your inventory ready for immediate sale.

Thanks and best regards.
Mr. Eldrick “

Wow, cool, someone wants to buy some of my art for his wife! What artist wouldn’t be excited for the opportunity? The email, introduction and setup all seem harmless enough. I immediately replied:

“Hello Eldrick,
Thank you so much for reaching out to me!
Can you let me know which website you are referring to that you were viewing my art pieces? This would help me in figuring out which pieces are still available.
I have quite a variety of pieces available immediately, but it would also help if you had an idea of what size you were most interested in. Do you want something large that you can hang in a living room or office? Or would something smaller that you can put on a desk be better?
The largest pieces I have are 24" x 36" (2ft by 3ft) all the way down to smaller 6" x 6" squares.
Another question would be do you know if there was a particular style your wife liked (if you have an example of a piece that she really liked would help)?
Also, I could make a custom piece if you are perhaps interested in that.

Lastly, how soon is your anniversary? If you purchase a piece I want to make sure I can get it to you in time for the surprise. :)
Hope to hear from you soon.
Cheers,
Elton Glover”

It didn’t take long for the buyer to respond back to me. He informed me he was away from home and if I could send him photos of the artwork with prices. I put together a showcase of pieces I had selected, from small to large with varying price ranges. He responded the following morning, 4/16/20:

“Thanks for the message, I must tell you I intend to give my wife a surprise with the immediate purchase of the piece i want this piece( Transition” 3 panel collection - each panel 12”x36” $1200 and “Primary” 24”x36” $700 ) If you'd like to know, I'm relocating to the Canada soon and our anniversary is fast approaching. So I'm trying to gather some good stuff to make this event a surprise. Kindly email me the asking price asap.

As regarding payment, I would like to inform you, that my wife handles the family credit card/bank, CashApp, Zelle and Paypal transaction. So i would authorize a check to you for the payment as soon as i have your full name and contact address (preferably for USPS delivery or P.O box)phone number also, as soon as you receive the check have it deposited and it will not take more than 1 to 2 business day to clear according to my bank, my shipping agent who is also moving my personal effect will contact you to arrange shipping/pick up of the piece from you (this is to avoid my wife receiving it, if been shipped directly to my address which would ruin the surprise for this event). You both have to sign a proof of pick up at the most.

I would have handled this much differently if I'd been at home but i am actually going offshore and won't be back for another 9-12 days, and do not have access to a lot of cash over here to expedite this transaction... trying to kill two birds with a stone.

Best regards!

Mr. Eldrick”

This is the point at which I started to get that little voice whispering in the back of my head. But the other voice shouting about someone wanting to buy my art drowned that out quite easily. Also, this email has numerous little signs that it could be a scam. However, like all scams, it’s plausible just enough that it’s easy to dismiss the possibility you’re being deceived.

The guy wants the art to be a surprise for his “wife” and does not want to use his main accounts to send money. Okay, sure I can accept that. As soon as I get the check and deposit it, his shipping agent will contact me to arrange pick up. Okay, yeah I can see that happening since these are large pieces and need to be handled carefully. Lastly, he is traveling and will have limited access to cash to keep things running smoothly. Again, sure I can believe that.

I replied back with my contact info for him to send me the check. The amount I quoted for the two pieces was $1900. Before the end of the day, he sent one more response:

“Thanks for the details which I've noted down, i sincerely appreciate your efforts and support towards my anniversary. My shipping agent is due in the U.S sometime this week. So I will contact a client of mine to issue out a check which will include my shipping agent fees to you right away. This is done to avoid delay or any inconvenience that may arise from his part and to allow check to clear before pick up. My shipping agent will arrange pick up with you as soon as the check as clear in your account. Please let me know if i can trust you with this, because keeping this present a total surprise is my largest concern. I will get back to you with the tracking details for the check soon.

Thanks and blessings,
Eldrick”

Now this message is where I should have put the brakes on the whole thing. I actually missed the intent of the message the first time I saw it, and as I’ll detail soon, and would have to come back to this and read it more carefully. The buyer states that he “will contact a client of mine to issue out a check which will include my shipping agent fees.” This meant he was going to send ME the fee to pay his AGENT with, in order to “avoid delay.” The added wordage of asking me if he can trust me with this in order to keep the present a surprise is just the hook for me to believe what he’s trying to do.

I sent a quick response asking if I needed to package up the artwork, but the buyer replied stating that the shipping agent would take care of it.

On 4/22/20 (this was a Thursday), I sent a message letting the buyer know I had not received the check yet. He replied with the tracking number of the USPS delivery, assuring me I would receive it very soon. I’m glad USPS now has tracking numbers, but anyone who has used the service knows the system is woefully slow with updates. The tracking number did not show an update until after I had already received the delivery.

I actually ended up receiving the check by the end of the day. My wife informed me the check was for nearly double the amount agreed upon ($3750). I sent an email to confirm if that was correct, and he sent me a duplicate of the email above stating that he intended to include the agent’s fee along with my payment.

Now up to this point I had not questioned the motive or intent of the buyer. On a side note, I was not even aware that cashier’s checks can be forged. The one I received had a watermark and everything. I proceeded to deposit the check at my local branch bank. However, due to the shelter in place, that branch was not open (it was after operating hours anyway). I used the ATM.

I checked my account throughout the following day, and informed the buyer I had the check deposited. When Friday, 4/23/20 came, the funds showed available in my account. That is when the real fun began. I contacted the buyer that morning. Things moved to text messaging in order to communicate faster.

I informed the buyer I was ready to send payment to his shipping agent. [Again, at this point things still seemed just plausible enough that I was still no listening to my instinct that this situation did not feel right.]
He gave me the payment info to use the Quickpay with Zelle app through Chase (my bank), and asked I send him a screenshot of the confirmation.
“Zelle details:
Name: Marjorie Jones
Marjoriejns97@gmail.com”

I sent a payment in the amount of $1850 to the above contact info, and then sent the confirmation. [That money is now GONE! I would not be getting it back.]
After this I was told to wait until he could contact his shipping agent and make arrangements for pickup. Maybe only thirty minutes the following exchange happened.

“Eldrick - Hi Elton I just got off phone with my shipping handler there’s a little mixed up from my end he’s helping me move and pick up other properties you are aware we are relocating to Canada
Please I will have my client (Rodney Cannon) to issue anothering payment from (Bank of Kremlin) which if clear within 24 hours after deposit and send it through his personal assistant (James Gaines) in the amount of $1600 and overnight it via FedEx or UPS so that you can receive it tomorrow please I will need you to Zelle $1500 to my handler and I’m adding $100 for you as a compensation for your honesty and understanding please send it to the same Zelle details and send confirmation once done I alrady email my client to inform him and he said he will today before the end of the day please do that now.”

“Elton - Ok, so if I understand you, you would like me to do the following:
Send an additional $1500 to Marjorie Jones, right away.
Your client Rodney Cannon will issue another check for $1600, to be overnighted to me.
And it will be sent by James Gaines (same as the previous check)”

“Eldrick - yes that is correct please have $1500 sent to the same Zelle information Marjorie Jones now and send me the screenshot of the confirmation okay”

Okay, so let’s take a look at what happened. The buyer stated there was a mix up on his end, and he authorized the payment I just sent to be used for moving his other “property” for his relocation to Canada. So now he states he is going to overnight me an additional check to cover his “mistake.” At this point, the skeptic voice in my head was getting louder by the minute, but it was still just plausible enough that he kept me on the hook. He pleaded with me to make the additional payment so as not to delay the shipment and spoil the surprise, etc etc.

So I attempted to make an additional $1500 payment.

I KNOW!! Why the hell did I do that?? Thankfully, a little bit of a safeguard kicked in and Zelle informed me that the payment was declined. Zelle has a transaction limit of $2000 per day, so my attempted payment exceeded that. I informed the buyer and he begged me to use the CashApp by Square to transfer money. I reluctantly installed the app, after doing a few minutes research to confirm that the app was legit. Square uses the app just like Venmo or G-pay, so I thought it was fine (the app).

After a little more back and forth with the buyer, he pressured me into attempting a smaller payment of $300 to make sure it would go through. He sent me the following CashApp contact.

“CashApp ID:
$MajorJones18
Name: Marjorie Jones”

By this point I was getting a text about every five minutes of him begging me to make the rest of the payment (amount of $1500) in $300 increments. I actually did attempt a second installment, but once again the fates intervened and the payment was declined.

When that second transaction failed, another exchange followed:

“Eldrick - Okay and do you have any Walmart or MoneyGram location near you”

“Elton - Probably, I’ll have to look it up”

“Eldrick - Please look it up now and get back to me so that I can send you details because I’m trying to work with my shipping handler and Rodney okay”

“Elton - Hey Eldrick, I am not comfortable proceeding on until I receive the additional check and have it deposited.”

WHAT?!?! The instant the mention of “WalMart” or “MoneyGram” entered the conversation, I should have pulled the parachute and blocked the guys texts. However, I kept letting him message while I tried to logically figure out why this was going in such a crazy direction. The buyer suggest I try sending a different payment to the shipping agent’s “secretary” at the following contact:

“CashApp ID:
$andreaoro5
Name: Adrea Orozco”

Then we had this exchange:

“Elton - What is the reason the agent needs these additional payments: I already sent a total of $2150 today?”

“Eldrick - I mixed things up from my end I’m sorry about that the first payment you sent I told him to use it on my other property to settle my unpaid properties he’s picking up from me and shipping to Canada the fault is from me so the $1500 is for him to pick up from you and make arrangements for the surprise etc and shipping cost and his service please try to understand I will send you payment tracking once I get it from Rodney so try to CashApp $500 to the new CashApp info I sent to you and send me confirmation please okay
CashApp Id: $andreaoro5 Name: Andrea Orozco”

“Elton - I’m sorry Eldrick, please understand from my perspective. I don’t want to continue sending money until I get the additional check. Can I just pay the agent when they arrive to pick up the pieces?”

“Eldrick - That’s the point he needs money to get some paperwork and other stuffs to enable him register the pick up and contact you for the pick schedule I’m sorry for my mix up please Rodney just send me tracking details
9305 5513 2543 2476 4235 60 of the payment via usps overnight please I don’t want to ruin my surprise to my wife please Elton okay”

“Elton - I’m going to wait until I can deposit the check tomorrow before trying the transfer again. This has already taken up a great deal of my time today. I’m sorry, but I need to get some work done. I hope you can understand my position. I will let you know when I receive the check and am able to get it deposited.”

“Eldrick - I’m sorry about that but try to make just $500 to him I already told him bout this so you can hold until you receive the payment tomorrow so please make only $500 to the new CashApp details I sent to you and send me confirmation please Elton so he can proceed with the registration of the pick up please okay I’m pleading with you I don’t want any delay from both side please Elton okay”

FINALLY, at this point I decided to stop what I was doing and take a serious look at the situation. I informed the buyer that I would not make any further attempts to send money transactions until I received his additional check. I had a feeling things were about to turn ugly, but I was just trying to give myself more time to deal with the situation.

The buyer sent numerous messages about how I was going to ruin his anniversary surprise, and pleaded with me to send the rest of the payment so his shipping agent could set up a pickup. At this point I asked the buyer for his agent to get in contact with me. I had a feeling that it would not be a legitimate person, but I was starting to grasp for anything to give me a handle on the situation.

After a short interaction with the so-called agent, I got the terrible sinking feeling that I just got scammed. Again, I know. Only just now I felt that way?? Yes, it took up to this point for reality to kick me in the head and make me realize how deep I had dug myself into the situation. The additional details I got from the “agent” were the last couple of straws.

I asked for the agent’s company (“Pinnacle Shipping Express”). This was almost believable since there is a Pinnacle Freight company that actually does ship items across country. There is also a Pinnacle Express, Inc. shipping company. However, when I asked the agent if they had a website, his convenient excuse was it was “unavailable” and they were “working on it while the company prepares to re-open.” Also, the agent’s text style and grammar were suspiciously close to that of the buyer.

I started doing some online research about how to spot a scam, and spent the better part of an hour reading all sorts of articles about the different ploys people use to snare you. Two things immediately stood out that I should have recognized. The first more obvious one is that the buyer sent a payment for a substantial amount more than what was discussed or agreed upon. That red flag alone should have stopped this in it’s tracks. The second was that the cashier’s check I received did not have a phone number on it of the branch that issued it. Reading up on this fact, no bank will (should) ever issue a cashier’s check without this piece of information as a way to verify it.

I honestly had no idea that cashier’s checks could be faked or forged. But from now on, I will be only using a verified means of payment to protect myself from this kind of thing in the future (such as using PayPal to conduct transactions when receiving or sending payment).

So back to the situation at hand. It was midday when I finally stopped participating in the mess I got pulled into. I consulted with a friend who deals with this as a support agent and they confirmed that, indeed, I had almost certainly been scammed and there was probably nothing I could do about the money I sent. It was inevitable that the cashier’s check sent to me was going to get reversed/canceled (essentially a bounced check).

Unbelievably, the buyer actually tried calling me. I did not want to speak with him, so my wife answered the phone. They inquired why I was not responding to their messages. My wife explained that I would not be making any further transactions until we could confirm that his additional check would arrive (which we all knew was not going to happen).

I put together a log of all emails and texts (the link at the beginning) I received with the individual describing the events that took place. I filed a fraud complaint with the FTC with the limited information I had. I spent three hours on the phone with Chase support trying to figure out if there was anything I could do to stop the payments I had made earlier that day. I also spoke with the claims department to see if there was anyway to recover the money.

Support informed me there was nothing they could do about it. No action would be taken by the bank, and I even received letters in my account stating that. I contacted a local Chase branch to speak with a branch manager, and they also informed me that there was very little they could do about what took place. I was able to confirm that my account was not compromised (thankfully), so I did not need to close my checking/savings and open a new account or replace my debit card.

Unbelievably again, but I guess not at all surprising, I received this message from the buyer on Sunday 4/26/20 morning:

“Eldrick - Good Morning Elton i here by cancel this purchase and request for the full payment of $1600 being paid to be refunded within 24hours, or else i will contact my lawyer,and aslo my brother in FBI to file a case against this transaction. I will provide the account to receive the refund payment as soon as I hear from you. I await your swift response.”

I recognized this as a last ditch attempt to bully or frighten me into going through with that additional payment for the funds that I “kept” from the buyer. I received three emails with the exact same message.

When Monday 4/27/20 rolled around, I promptly got a notification at 6am that the check I deposited was flagged as fraudulent and the funds were removed from my account (which put me in overdrawn status). The other shoe had finally dropped, and I was faced with the blaring and harsh reality that the money I sent to this person was truly gone.

So many emotions rage inside me.
I am hurt that this individual preyed upon my excitement that someone was interested in my artwork.
I am angry that I got taken advantage of, and angry that I did not realize what was happening until I had already gone through with those transactions.
I am depressed that I did not listen to those instincts that the situation felt off and something was not right.
I am stressed for having to deal with the aftermath that the situation has left me in, and it is directly affecting my ability to rest and get sleep.
I am also now paranoid and will likely be skeptical of anything having to do with art or people contacting me expressing interest in anything I do.

I have not included any of the many, MANY, expletives roaring in my head that I want to shout at this person. Or the scathing things I berate myself with on being suckered by this person. I know that it would just be wasted energy to wallow in self-pity.

The last thing on my to-do list is contact the local police department (within the next day or two) and file a report just on the off chance they may be able to investigate the situation. Afterwards, it will be pretty much out of my hands for better or worse.