Strange email…

[Nicolas Claris]

Yesterday I received the hereunder email…
Unusual to me (I'm not a wedding photog), I don't know where the guy got my email...
I feel strange with this as I don't think it is a spam but I don't "believe" in it.
Of course I googled the name of the Hotel, seems not very luxury enough to organise a wedding there whith a staff of 3 coming from abroad for a full week. So what's the trick?

If some wedding photog from Europe wish to answer, PM me and I'll forwar name and email :-)

Hello.

I'm Sxxxxx Nxxxxx an event planner i want to make an inquiry for a photography service at a client wedding that will be held at the Banquet Hall of the Airways Hotel London, UK. Date: xx/xx/200x.

So could you quote me for 8hrs service photograph for 40 guests at the event and as for your traveling & accommodations you don't have to worry about that as i will be taken care of your traveling needs like traveling visas and tickets and there is a traveling agent that will be working on that and also your accommodations will be booked for one week at the same hotel and you have the chances of coming with up to three other crew that will be working with you at the event.

Kindly let me know if you can handle the contract and let me know of your interest immediately to start working on your arrangement and bookings ASAP.

Regards

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Yesterday I received the hereunder email…
Unusual to me (I'm not a wedding photog), I don't know where the guy got my email...

Very strange. Maybe you should ask why they sent you the email at that e-mail address?

I feel strange with this as I don't think it is a spam but I don't "believe" in it.

I wouldn't either, unless they have an adequate answer to the above question. It might be useful to analyse the e-mail header for its origin before you react at all.

Bart

[Duke Beattie]

Very similar to this one---------- ??
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1014&message=24889651

[Don Lashier]

It's a common current variation of the Nigerian scam. Ignore it.

- DL

[Will Thompson]

Hi Nicolas.

What was the domain of the sending eMail address?

[Kathy Rappaport]

If you fall for it they have your bank account information. They claim that they will wire you money but the reality is that they will tap out your bank account with fraudlent transactions.

It's been all over the wedding photographer board...

[Nicolas Claris]

Huho…

Thanks Kathy, but as I'm not a wedding photog, I don't follow the wedding photographer boards…

Do you know if any photogs get caught by them? (I mean had their bank account emptied?)

Anyway, another warning for those ou still trust junk mails…

After some investigation with Bart, this mail comes apparently from Nigeria…

[Kathy Rappaport]

It's starts out pretty legitimate sounding and so I can see where someone can fall for some of it.

No one I know has been greedy enough to answer this.

A good reason to not accept payment from a stranger by wire to a bank account.