Sam CA Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 So just like everybody else I get spam from "rich Africans" who want to transfer millions of $ for a small processing fee and so on and so forth. Though Yesterday I received a very personalized and generous offer. Apparently it's an old and successful scam that I had never received before. So 'Chris' said: "Hello, I have a Baby grand piano to give away to someone that can cherish and take good care of it Please let me know if you would be interested or refer someone to me." (2 piano pictures in a house were attached) Just because it was a piano related scam I decided to play along and asked for his location. "Hello Sam, It is a Yamaha Baby Grand (model is DGB1CD). used to be owned and played by my wife who is now deceased. It was last tuned December of last year before she passed on. I'm moving my properties to California and I don't think my wife will be happy if I sold this piano, at the same time I'm settling to a home of lesser space, so I'm hoping to give it out to someone who is a passionate lover of the instrument. I wasn't going to leave it alone in an empty house. It's currently in storage in TN with the movers I employed to move my properties from my house. If you really don't mind making new arrangements with the movers, I can attempt to get in touch with them to reroute it. This should not attract too many charges since the distance can be recovered within a day. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but do let me know if you wish that I talk to the movers. Just so you know, I am not giving out a scrap or a waste. It"s in excellent shape." He then provided a phone number for the piano mover. I didn't call but later on he said the price would be $450 payable through some type of cash apps. I knew he was copying/pasting so to make it harder for him I asked some random short questions. He had to actually type in a brand new long response every time. I could tell he was using Google Translator for all these new responses. After torturing him with stupid questions for a while, he received one last e-mail from me that's too graphic to post. Afterwards I googled his original e-mail, and found out many keyboard and piano forum users have received this e-mail. There's multiple threads about this on Piano World forum. Apparently people actually fall for this, but why? Quote www.youtube.com/c/InTheMixReviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggypants Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Greed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 There's a piano-lesson scam that isn't too dissimilar. I've never followed it through far enough to figure out the angle, but I think it's one of those "overpaid by mistake" scams where you send back the "extra" money they sent and then the payment bounces. I can completely understand why scammers would target us; musicians are traditionally so flush with cash. Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song80s Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 isn't everyone with an expensive keyboard/piano comfortably wealthy by now ? heck, after years of practice, it should have paid off if not, too much money is over -rated. Time is a bigger priority. Quote Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ? My Soundcloud with many originals: [70's Songwriter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Lobo Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 I haven't heard of that one but it's similar to others I have seen before. "Send me the money and I'll tell the movers to send the piano to your house." And yeah, the one about pay in advance for music lessons for my niece/nephew/dog targets music teachers. "I'll send you a check for $10,000 for a years' worth of lessons and you send me back the overpayment of $5000." It takes weeks for the bank to tell you the check is no good ... after the money order for $5000 you sent has been cashed. Quote These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillearning Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 If you haven"t seen this before, it"s a brilliantly funny way to mess with an email scammer. [video:youtube] Quote I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient and I will get to you shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Love that guy. Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76| Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT, Kurzweil PC4 (88) Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyPie Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 This scam has been going around under different scenarios. A friend of my wife was recently looking for a relatively rare (and very expensive) breed of dog. She located one out-of-state in a Craigslist ad, I believe. On contacting the 'seller', she got the same set of instructions, to contact specified "middle man" that will ship the dog for............ you guessed it............. $450.00. Beware! Whatever your wants and interests may be, there is a scammer in the shadows. Quote "You're either WITH me, or you're AGIN' Me!" (Yosemite Sam) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillearning Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 This scam has been going around under different scenarios... Beware! Whatever your wants and interests may be, there is a scammer in the shadows. Yep. Last year I was looking for a decent used backhoe. Found one on CL that looked new and underpriced. Told me he was in the service, was being sent overseas, needed to sell right away, and wanted to ship it 1000 miles, needed shipping money up front. I played along for a bit, then told him to f*** off. Scum. Quote I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient and I will get to you shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Fun fact -- when the yamaha piano scam appeared near me, I fell for it. He (the purported widower) said he lived in Davis. I believed it, because Davis WV is a nearby high-end tourist housing area. I figured I could get it for my local high school. He texted "I can help you arrange shipping." I responded "I live in Philippi, and can borrow a truck to go pick it up." At this point, I had erroneously called his bluff. Suddenly he was claiming to live in Davis, California -- despite the listing showing up on a WV Craig's List -- and it also turns out that there is a Los Angeles area called "Philippi." When I clarified the WV location and said that Davis CA was a little too far for me to drive with a borrowed truck, he disappeared. It was months later that I found out that it was a textbook fraud. Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzpiano88 Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 . Quote J a z z P i a n o 8 8 -- Yamaha C7D Montage M8x | CP300 | CP4 | SK1-73 | OB6 | Seven K8.2 | 3300 | CPSv.3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesilv Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Thanks so much for the "scam piano" post. I just got the same email nearly 2 years later. Almost identical word-for-word. Really appreciate the heads-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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