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I think I'm being scammed....

post #1 of 105
6/6/11 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 
A few weeks ago I recieve this email:

SUBJECT: Tiered cake for Sept 18th

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Kerr.I am looking for a six tiered cake for
200 people.These are the cake flavors I am interested in:




real mandarin oranges, mango puree and flavored with tangerine and
pineapple pound cake
rum-walnut mascarpone buttercream filling



Dark chocolate cake
Burgundy Milk Chocolate Cordial Cherries truffle filling
( this is the candy I would like the filling made with
http://www.queenannecandy.com/go/?product/C80004/TreeKey=QUEUE&Ordinal=1)


Dark chocolate butter cake
Belgian Chocolate truffle ganache filling with hazelnut praline
frangelico buttercream filling




Strawberry cake marbled with white chocolate cake
fresh strawberry in gran marnier mousse



vanilla cake filled with a pomegranate-lime buttercream, painted with
pomegranate vodka,and almond buttercream

Ginger cake with lemon syrup
gingersnap-lemon buttercream filling

This is the plate I would like the cake to be design like I would
ruffles on the edges painted with gold and I would like the pink
flowers painted on them and would like fresh pink flowers.
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/grannymares/iteml/GM-001226#pic1
My phone 845-452-4735.My budget is $1025

Now this is the largest cake order I have recieved, so I was excited, I've talked with her on the phone a small handful of times, but she sounds like she is either slightly deaf, or drunk... In any case she says she is sending me a $200 deposit via money order. All the while I have not been able to get out of her how she found me or details of the event.

Yesterday I recieved this email:

SUBJECT: tiered for Aug 4

Hi, my name is Angela Jordan.I am looking for price quote on this cake;




almond pound cake
cherry-almond filling
cannoli filling with large chocolate chips

tangerine cake
apricot levkar
almond Swiss meringue buttercream filling


yellow buttermilk cake
with mango passion fruit curd
with seedless raspberry preserves

banana cake
peanut butter ganache filling


strawberry yogurt cake
strawberries preserve
lemon curd


please call me at 845-380-2056.

She then called me right away and left a voicemail (from the same # I had for the previous customer, Elizabeth Kerr) same speech impediment, but saying she is a different woman. Red flags went up everywhere. I told her that I didnt have the date open and she replied asking me when my first available date was...

Any thoughts on what is going on or what I should do?
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post #2 of 105
6/6/11 at 7:43am
That sounds incredibly suspicious! I think you may be right, and this is a scam!
~*Make your next event special*~
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~*Make your next event special*~
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post #3 of 105
6/6/11 at 7:44am
Bells are ringing, ding ding ding ding!!! Don't take either order!!! Sounds super crazy, both of them!! Good luck to you!
Dina
Miami, FL

www.dinab.com
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Dina
Miami, FL

www.dinab.com
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post #4 of 105
6/6/11 at 7:49am
Something is wrong with this! I'd wait and see if the money order will ever show up, I doubt it. Keep us posted, I'm curious how this goes!
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post #5 of 105
6/6/11 at 7:49am
Strange, but could be family members? I would proceed wih caution, not spend too much time on them until you get some money and it clears the bank. Let them know you can only pencil them in until you receive the deposit and anyone else can still take the date if they put down a deposit first. That way if you don't receive a deposit right away and things get too wierd, you can just tell them someone else booked the date and paid the deposit so you won't be able to help them after all.
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post #6 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:00am
sounds like the weirdos who "wanted" to buy my wedding dress. An excuse for everything and wanting to mail a money order... thumbsdown.gif
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post #7 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 
also, I forgot to mention the the first couple of times the original woman called, it was from an CA phone #, I googled it out of curiosity (Since I am from PA and she is supposedly from NY) and a bunch of articles popped up about people making harrassing calls from the #
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post #8 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:24am
If you have any doubts, insist on a cash deposit. Requiring cash up front will scare off any potential scam artist.
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My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
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My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
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post #9 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:30am
Run, dont walk!! I goggled the number to, not to good. I do that on a regular bases at my regular job when we are doing work with someone new and have found out some very interesting things.
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post #10 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:45am
Oh please, people, that's such as obvious scam. And now that you've talked with her, your name is being circulated among the scammers as a "live one."
Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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Answers to the most often asked questions re: SPS. SPS instructions are on Page 15 of the Sticky at the top of the Cake Decorating Forum. Supplies can be ordered from Oasis Supply, Global or BakeryCrafts.
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post #11 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:46am
I guess I am kinda gullible, but seriously, what are these people trying to accomplish? Is it possible to get money from a scam like this? crazy!
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post #12 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
that's what I don't understand...what's the point??
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post #13 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:47am
Sounds like they're price hunting. Those are very specific flavors and designs. Open up a Paypal account and have them send the deposit money there. And have a deadline for the deposit. I wouldn't hold my breath on this one. In fact I'd probably run from it.
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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A closed mouth gathers no feet.
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post #14 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:53am
Sounds like one of the scams where they will soon ask about delivery and YOU having to wire money and stuff...I'd report the numbers then block them from being able to contact you and consider yourself lucky to have not been taken for anything. JMO. Be careful and best of luck.

Bakery avoids fake order scam



Prescott police continue to investigate a suspected fraud reported by a local bakery owner at 3:30 p.m. on Monday that was similar to a scam that targeted a local restaurant last year, a police spokesman said.

At 12:30 p.m. Thursday, the owner of Pangaea Bakery in the 200 block of West Goodwin Street told police an unknown person called her bakery and asked for her e-mail address, saying someone who was deaf wanted to contact her and could only use e-mail.

A bakery employee received the call and gave that person the e-mail address, she said. Just a half hour later, the bakery owner received an e-mail stating that the suspect had some of her baked goods at a previous event and wanted her to supply cupcakes for an upcoming wedding in Canada, according to the police report.

The bakery owner told police that the suspect gave her two credit card numbers and asked her to charge $1,053 to each to cover the $2,106 cost for 350 cupcakes.

The bakery owner told police the $780 shipping cost to get the cupcakes from Prescott to Canada would be paid in cash to a person who came to pick up the cupcakes at a later date.

On Monday, the bakery owner told police she received a call from Chase Bank in Indianapolis asking why she had charged one of their customers $1,053.

The bakery owner then suspected it was a fraud and reversed the charges on both the credit cards and contacted police, said Andy Reinhardt, spokesman for the Prescott Police Department.

If the alleged scam had run its course, the bakery owner would have fraudulently charged two credit cards and a suspect would have taken the goods and the cash for shipping costs, leaving the bakery owner, the banks and the owners of the credit cards with losses, Reinhardt said.

An Asian food restaurant in town was hurt by this scam last year, said Andy Reinhardt, spokesman for the Prescott Police Department.

"The scammers call up the restaurant and place a large order of food to be delivered out of state or out of the country," Reinhardt said. "Then the scammer asks the restaurant owner to call a specific shipping company, which is a fake, to pay the shipping charge."

The scammer will tell the restaurant owner they can bill the charges for the goods and the shipping charges to one or more credit cards, Reinhardt said.

Then they'll ask the restaurant owner to go to Western Union and send cash for the shipping charge, Reinhardt said.

"If you are asked to send cash through Western Union or ship a large order out of state or out of the county, we encourage you to look into the people and businesses further before doing it," Reinhardt said.


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post #15 of 105
6/6/11 at 8:55am
'''''''''''''''Open up a Paypal account and have them send the deposit money there. And have a deadline for the deposit. I wouldn't hold my breath on this one''''''''''''''''

Dittoicon_smile.gif I so agree w/this advice.
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