[Woodcarver] Scam Alert

[Marcia Berkall]

Wow, Ron!!  Good thing you were on the alert!  Thanks for the heads 
up.  We have to be so careful!!
Marcia (aka Mush)
At 11:56 AM 6/6/2010,Ron wrote:

>I want to warn other carvers about a scam that was attempted on 

>me.  I received a request for a custom order for two carved doors 

>along with a request for the price including shipping to a specific 

>zip code in Georgia.  The scammer specified the specific doors they 

>wanted to order from photos on my website.  I replied with my normal 

>reply requesting size and swing of the doors.  They replied to me 

>with sizes and swing.  I spent a couple of hours contacting the 

>stained glass artist, door maker and shipping company to get prices 

>on the costs and then adding in my time to get a final price.  I 

>take a 50% deposit on custom orders which came to $8850. The 

>"customer" agreed to send the deposit check.  Everything up to this 

>point was normal procedure for this type of order.  I then received 

>a check via USPS Express Mail for $10,000.  Receiving a check for 

>more than the requested amount is unusual but has happened 

>before.  The check was drawn on the account of The American 

>University in Bulgaria.  This along with the amount of the check 

>raised a red flag with me and I had my bank check the validity of 

>the account. My bank verified it as a valid account.  An internet 

>search showed The American University in Bulgaria to be a real 

>university.  At that point I thought that the order was probably 

>legitimate.   With trepidation I deposited the check with the 

>intention that I would not start any work until the check 

>cleared.  Two days later I got an email from the scammer saying that 

>the extra amount had been a mistake and they needed $1500 back to 

>pay the installer for the doors and to send it Western Union 

>immediately.  At that point I knew it was a scam and sure enough the 

>next day my bank notified me that the check was a forgery.

>Ron Ramsey

><http://www.carvedbyramsey.com/>http://www.carvedbyramsey.com


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