Gone Phishing

Tough to believe, but there are scam emails targeting artists.

Sometimes they're downright goofy, and sometimes they're a wee bit creepy:

HELLO WELLS,

I AM VERY INTERESTING IN BUYING YOUR (Elizabeth Brewer Wells oil on linen)IN WHICH I SAW ON THE INTERNETS.

I WILL WANT YOU TO LET ME KNOW ITS LAST PRICE,,,,SO THAT I CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HOW THE PAYMENT WILL BE MADE TO YOUR BANKING ACCOUNT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

EXPECT YOUR FASTEST RESPOND OF YOU SO I WILL ARRANGE TO SEND MY PEOPLE TO PICK UP ARTWORKS AT YOUR LOCATION.

SIR RAY,TERRY.

ESQUIRE

Send "his people" to my studio? Eeeeew, I don't think so!

However temptimg it might be to sell the portrait of my husband's Grandmother (above) for "last price" big bucks - I smelled a rat and passed on "Sir Ray, Terry Esquire's" generous offer.

The funniest scam-thing I ever read on the Internet was "The Porcine Princess Chronicles" by Brad Christensen. I found his post on the Cyber Museum of Scams and Frauds.

These photos above are from Brad Christensen's hilarious exchange with a scam artist claiming to be a filthy rich and pretty twenty-seven year old Princess named Maria Ojo Ofem of the Ogoni Kingdom in Nigeria. She emailed him "because she wants to invest $23,560,000.oo with him.....and he manages to drive "her" nuts.

Like the rest of us, Brad Christensen has been deluged with every type of "URGENT" offer imaginable from scam artists.

But unlike the rest of us, he decided to fight back by conning the con men.

With humor and imagination as his weapons, Christensen preyed on the scammers' abundant supply of both greed and ignorance.

Check it out. And have a good laugh.

Seriously, please don't ever fall for these art scams. Some are more sophisticated than others but they all have the same general flavor. I figure I get about three art scams per week.

Here's today's toxic tome that just popped into my inbox:

Good day to you.

I am so excited that I came across of your work on internet search,I am interested in purchasing these creative artworks from you.....................

Apples,Hopeful sky,Cherries,Meadowlands #4 and Pear still life

Let me know their various prices.and how much discounts are you going to give?I will be happy to have these selected artworks hanged in our new home in South Africa. As well, I want you to take out the shipping cost.I have been in touch with a shipping firm that will be shipping other house decoratives.

We are traveling from our Dallas home to our new apartment as soon as possible.On Paying for the artworks,I will be glad to pay you with a Money Order or Cashier`s check in US funds that can be easily cashed at your local bank,please let me know on how to proceed for the payment of the creative artworks.

I will await your advise on how to proceed.Have a wonderful day.

Take care,
Joan Morgan

Sometimes these email art scams are so unintentionally funny that I laugh 'till I cry. And I'm sorry I didn't save any of the howlers to post here.

Just hit the delete button when they arrive. Times are tough all over and I can only imagine how desperate the economy is where these scams originate.