Attention Bands : Theres a new scam going around BEWARE!

Mistress_DB · Post by **Mistress_DB** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

This scam has been going on for a few years now. Usually it was the phone calls claiming you had won a large some in a lottery. I've heard of many old people loosing large quantities of money from it. I hope nobody here was dumb enough to fall for it.

ZappasXWife · Post by **ZappasXWife** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

Here at PSU we get the Nigerian sob stories all the time sent to our e-mail accounts. Or they are posing as Americans...one thing to look for is the grammar is always a little bit 'off', also they always call you Friend. There is always an accident or tragic illness.
Some of the best ones we have gotten recently were from the IRS telling us there is more money to be refunded to us, they made a mistake. They even have all these official IRS symbols and everything and the grammar is very good except for maybe one mistake...there is always at least one that may be so hard to spot that even Capt Grammar might miss it.
Spam/scams are rampant here, why just this morning I noticed when I opened my e-mail my computer was made a spam-bot AGAIN.
~200 replies from random people that they are 'out of the office' or undelivered mail replies. This is a PSU computer on our own server with a supposed fire wall and all kinds of e-mail filters.
The BEST thing is we are talking about this, so everyone is fore-warned.

DirtySanchez · Post by **DirtySanchez** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

Jason_of_soundrive wrote:.... when that failed he just tried to intimadate me into it. Very weird.

HAHA! Just picturing someone over the phone doing this. haha!

Jason_of_soundrive · Post by **Jason_of_soundrive** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

DirtySanchez wrote:
Jason_of_soundrive wrote:.... when that failed he just tried to intimadate me into it. Very weird.
HAHA! Just picturing someone over the phone doing this. haha!

Yeah... I don't know. It wasn't very convincing and just kind of weird. He told me he worked for the Black Eyed Peas and yelled at me that I wasn't being serious enough about my career or some nonsense.

DrumAndDestroy · Post by **DrumAndDestroy** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

Jason_of_soundrive wrote:
DirtySanchez wrote:
Jason_of_soundrive wrote:.... when that failed he just tried to intimadate me into it. Very weird.
HAHA! Just picturing someone over the phone doing this. haha!
Yeah... I don't know. It wasn't very convincing and just kind of weird. He told me he worked for the Black Eyed Peas and yelled at me that I wasn't being serious enough about my career or some nonsense.

that is hilarious

felix'apprentice · Post by **felix'apprentice** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

DrumAndDestroy wrote:
Jason_of_soundrive wrote:
DirtySanchez wrote: HAHA! Just picturing someone over the phone doing this. haha!
Yeah... I don't know. It wasn't very convincing and just kind of weird. He told me he worked for the Black Eyed Peas and yelled at me that I wasn't being serious enough about my career or some nonsense.
that is hilarious

omg thats so freakin funny. hahahahhaha

witchhunt · Post by **witchhunt** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

I'll bet Rod looks just like Babu on Seinfeld.

bassman · Post by **bassman** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

we got the same e-mail to about two weeks ago . this guy is persistant non the less

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

Doubt he would be persistant if it didn't work a few times out of a hundred...

nitekast · Post by **nitekast** » Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

I got to the bank as soon as it opened this morning to alert them about the situation. The first thing i said to the bank guy was "I believe i am part of an internet scam and I deposited fradulant drafts at your bank." He just looked at me for a moment and said "what". I then preceded to fill him in on the whole story. He was able to pull up the copys of the money orders on his PC and got the name and address that was listed on them. That was a mistake I made, not photo copying them or writing down the guys info that was listed on them. He seemed oblivious to all these internet scam things and was asking me about what I knew of them. I had taken 2 papers with me one i printed from western unions website and one from that link that someone posted earlier outlining the scam. He read over these and made copies for himself. He said he was going to contact the head office to alert the security department or something like that and assured me that everything would be ok with my account. The worst thing that might happen is that i could get a $12-$36 fee for the money orders being bad but he assured me he would try to get this fee waved since i brought this to his attention. So hopefully everything is cool now.

Rod has called me and left 1 message since i started this post basically stating the same shit he's always saying. He also sent me 2 emails that i havent responded to. I wonder if he has read this thread and realized that we figured his scheme out?

Has anyone tried to contact that venue in Newton that the shows were to be at and let them know of this?

Atomic Jim · Post by **Atomic Jim** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

I've run into this scam before, actually based in the U.S.

1. THERE IS NO MONEY. PERIOD.

2. THE MONEY ORDER(S) ARE COUNTERFEIT, PROBABLY DRAWN ON A BANK THAT DOESN'T EXIST, OR DRAWN ON A REAL BANK, BUT STILL COUNTERFEIT. I GUARANTEE THEY WILL COME BOUNCING BACK. CONTACT YOUR BANK.

3. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MONEY, NOT YOUR BANK. IF THEY ARE COUNTERFEIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO REIMBURSE THE BANK, AND YOU EVEN FACE THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ARRESTED FOR FRAUD.

sunsetbass · Post by **sunsetbass** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

onegunguitar wrote:Did it look like this? When I got this I was like"what the hell,we're not a tribute band",haha.It looked kinda "wrong" so I just ignored it.

From: Rod Hooper <rod21239>
Subject: PA GIG!
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 11:59 AM

Hello

I am writing to invite you to my wedding as a band, the party is going to be hold in Newtown, PA.

The date of the party is 01/31/09, and you will be performing in the presence of 150 guests. And after then, I’ll be celebrating my birthday on 02/07/09, and I’ll like to know if your band is available to come and perform on those days.

The gig will be an indoor event, and it’s going to be in the evening, the gig will start at 7:PM and your band will start to perform as from 7:30PM, if your band know of any comedian or magician around, I’ll like you to come with one, and include his performance fee.

Less I forget, I’ll like to know the amount it’s going to cost to have your band on that day, I was told about your band by a friend of mine, he’ll be at the venue on the show day, and you’ll be able to thank him for spreading good news about your band.

This is just what I think I should let you know about the gig, and feel free to ask me any other question you may have

I’ll wait to read from you as soon as you receive this mail, so that we’ll proceed with what to do next.

Here’s the venue address,

861 Newtown-Yardley Road
Newtown, PA

Do include your phone numbers in the next mail, and the amount it’s going to cost me to have your band on that day.

Happy New Year in Advance,

Rod.

Post Script: I am aware you are a tribute band, and that’s what I want for my wedding.

it's a bunch of bull shit. i got the exact same email. i thought it was legit at first because we are a tribute band. the got everyones email from here on rockpage. i answered a post on here for some nyc promoter looking for bands for a new venue opening up. so i pm'd it with my info. we are already booked for those dates already anyway.

YankeeRose · Post by **YankeeRose** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

I doubt the address where the supposed gig is, is even legit. There have to be quite a few Newtowns in PA. As a matter of fact, there is the small village of Newtown in Schuylkill County, between Branchdale and Tremont.

sunsetbass · Post by **sunsetbass** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

YankeeRose wrote:I doubt the address where the supposed gig is, is even legit. There have to be quite a few Newtowns in PA. As a matter of fact, there is the small village of Newtown in Schuylkill County, between Branchdale and Tremont.

i think thats the one he was talking about

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

todd17063 wrote:we got the same e-mail for a gig in Newtown. we caught on after recieving 3 times the amount we wanted. So i googled his email address and found out it was a scam. I proceded to email him back saying we weren't available and that i would be turning the checks over to the police. I also to the rat bastard to keep looking over his shoulder for any musician with a ball bat ready to beat his skull in.

We got the same Newtown letter Dick passed it around to our gang. This is a scarm contact the police right away. Debbie

cryssie · Post by **cryssie** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

yep...we got the exact same thing too. i deleted it immediately after reading it. i'm thinking a call to the police might be in order, man.

moxham123 · Post by **moxham123** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

This is the banquet facility (Oepn Aire Affairs) that is at the address listed in the emails. They might not even be aware their location is being used in this scam since they are a legitimate event company that does weddings and the scammers might be using this banquet location so they look like the wedding is for real.

http://www.partyspace.com/facilitypages ... reaffairs/

Post by **Jim Price** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

YankeeRose wrote:

I doubt the address where the supposed gig is, is even legit. There have to be quite a few Newtowns in PA. As a matter of fact, there is the small village of Newtown in Schuylkill County, between Branchdale and Tremont.

There is a Newtown outside of Philadelphia as well, just to the east.

I posted a blog about this on the Altoona Mirror's website, to alert readers and any browsing musicians who might not frequent Rockpage.

Post by **Ron** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

Everyone has to realize that this is happening everywhere and will only get worse. It can happen to anyone in any type of business. Con artists have been around since the dawn of man. They rely on ignorance and false hope to pull their scams.

Three friends of mine were scam baited through their facebook accounts. The person pretended to be an old friend of theirs, said he was in trouble and tried to get them to send him money via Western Union to London. The friend whom the con artist was impersonating was hacked because his password to his facebook account was "mypassword".

Calling the police isn't going to help because most of the time these scams fall under federal or international jurisdiction.

The only thing you can do is be smart, watch what you are doing and be suspicious of anyone you do business with. The only other alternative is to not have a band or business, or stop promoting it... which will also culminate in it's demise.

Remember the old adage... "If it seems to good to be true, it probably is".

YankeeRose · Post by **YankeeRose** » Wednesday Jan 21, 2009

sunsetbass wrote:i think thats the one he was talking about

Highly unlikely. The area code there is 570. Go the speed limit, blink once and you've driven through that Newtown, although there MIGHT be a small Fire Hall.

bsaller · Post by **bsaller** » Saturday Jan 24, 2009

We got Rod's email also. I notice that nobody has mentioned a contract. I believe in PA any services rendered over $500.00 cannot be a verbal agreement.
Anyway,when I asked Rod for his contact info I never got a good answer. He wanted me to send him a contract via email. I told him I do NOT do business transactions via email unless I have confirmed contact info. He emailed my an address that ended up being the bookstore at UMBC. Also sent a phone number that is dis-connectted due to him being on the road. He kept bugging me and I kept telling him no. Then the postal money orders came 4 of them each for $975.00 wich is about the max for a PMO. I emailed him and asked him for an address to send the money orders back. His reply was" put them in your bank and I'll get the money when I get back in the country.
I emailed him back and told him he was fucking crazy and would take them to the Post Office. Never heard from Rod again.

PanzerFaust · Post by **PanzerFaust** » Saturday Jan 24, 2009

Ron wrote: The friend whom the con artist was impersonating was hacked because his password to his facebook account was "mypassword".

"MYpassword"? What an idiot....

That's why mine is always just plain "password" No one will figure that out....

f.sciarrillo · Post by **f.sciarrillo** » Saturday Jan 24, 2009

I usually get these things saying I won a lottery. It is kinda funny because for a while I was getting the same email with different peoples name on it. I even got one from a some one saying that it was a Microsoft lottery and that Bill Gates himself would be handing me the check lol ...

DrumAndDestroy · Post by **DrumAndDestroy** » Sunday Jan 25, 2009

did anyone play the newton show? how did it turn out?

nitekast · Post by **nitekast** » Sunday Jan 25, 2009

Its not until next weekend lol.