threaded | unthreaded | newest first

Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

topic posted Fri, May 15, 2009 - 5:17 AM by  Leyla 		Share/Save/Bookmark
Advertisement
I got the following email this morning (3:11 A.M.) and for some reason it isn't sitting well with me.....

"Hi, How are you doing today?I got your information as a belly dance teacher and I want training for my daughter (Sandra) in your studio.Sandra is a 14 year old girl and is ready to learn.Please I want to know your policy with regard to fees, cancellations, and make-up lessons.Also,get back to me with the total fees for six month lessons(two one-hour lessons in a week) starting from June 5th.
In addition,I want to know the studio location and your phone number.Looking forward to hearing from you.
My best regards, John"

What do you think? How should I proceed? I teach out of my home, so my safety and my family's safety is extreme importance....kwim?
:)
posted by:
Leyla
offline Leyla
Columbus
0 friends
join to post
Advertisement
Advertisement
  • Carol
    Carol
    offline 47

    Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

    Fri, May 15, 2009 - 6:21 AM
    Looks like a variation on a scam that was making the rounds of ballroom and country dance teachers a while back. In that case it was a young man, or men, coming to this country from Africa and wanting to set up lessons in advance.

    Best plan with something like that where you have no clue and it sounds totally unrealistic (who ever signs up for that many lessons in advance sight unseen?) is to just put it directly into your Trash file!
    join to post
    • Kisa...
      Kisaya Rayne
      offline 124

      Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

      Fri, May 15, 2009 - 9:06 AM
      While I'm not doubting that this is likely a scam (got to love those scammers...), I did have one student sign up for four months of classes in advance, sight unseen. Unfortunately, she's not really sticking with classes, so that's presented a problem for me. Normally I don't accept students paying that far in advance, and unless I know the person really well, I won't be doing that again in the future!

      Honestly, though, something does sound fishy there, especially if other instructors are saying they got the same e-mail.
      join to post
  • Viv
    Viv
    offline 18

    Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

    Fri, May 15, 2009 - 12:04 PM
    I got that one last night myself, its definately another one of those lovely scam letters. Odds are if you engage them and make them think your interested, they try to pay you upfront with a fake money order/check for more than what you are charging them have you send them the balance or try to get your banking info under the guise of direct depositing the money into your account. Basically the same scam that goes round and round under many guises. I get these all the time. My favorites are when their son turns into their daughter or visa versa halfway through a four sentance email...LOL!

    My advice, just ignore it. Since I teach for parks and rec I usually send these kind of inquiries a standard form letter with class information for the city which mentions city and city government several times. A couple have been persistant but usually give up on the second letter which tells them they can register through the city at the main office, right next to the courthouse...LOL!
    join to post
    • connie
      connie
      offline 17

      Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

      Fri, May 15, 2009 - 12:26 PM
      Hey, nice to know we are all so smart! yes, got the same one too, the verbage was odd and chauvanistic, the daughter's name was also too old for a 14 year old, and.......who would want lessons for only 6 months???

      Seriously, thanks for all the help, sometimes it's hard to determine what is real and not in an email, I wish these people would find honest and productive jobs!
      join to post
  • Oracle
    Oracle
    offline 193

    Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

    Fri, May 22, 2009 - 7:41 AM
    yep, got it too!

    My rule of thumb is: If they don't refer to me by name then I send a standard form letter. If they refer to me by name, then I feel safe to send a more personalized message.
    join to post
    • Sabeya
      Sabeya
      offline 114

      Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

      Fri, May 22, 2009 - 12:41 PM
      I get these on a regular basis.

      The newest version is a guy that says he has a group of people he wants to train for a musical for a church event. The group is in London, England and specifically wants to come to my studio to train the dancers for 4 weeks, yet they don' know the name of the studio nor which part of the world we are in. He also wanted to know the cancellation policy.

      I must say they are getting crafty with these scams. In any case, when I do reply to the ones I am not sure about, I do state that we take only credit card or cash only payments. That pretty much automaticaaly disects legitimate enquiries from the spam.
      join to post
      • Oracle
        Oracle
        offline 193

        Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

        Tue, May 26, 2009 - 9:14 AM
        Sabeya - the CC or Cash only policy is a great idea! I'm going to add it to my form letter.
        join to post
        • A'isha
          A'isha
          offline 20

          Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

          Wed, May 27, 2009 - 8:20 AM
          Dear Dancers,
          I just got a new one from "Gharam, from Al-Cham Syria", living in Dubai and looking for my illustrious adivce about dancing there as he is a dancer. I have not figured out the scam yet, but I bet I am one of the trillion "great expert" dancers who got the same email.
          Regards,
          A'isha
          join to post
        • Ayperi
          Ayperi
          offline 148

          Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

          Wed, May 27, 2009 - 10:14 AM
          Out of curiosity (I know... killed the cat) I responded in a formal manner and told him my cancellation policy AND payment policy (*local* bank check/money order or credit card only). He actually wrote back and said he wanted to book the 6 monoths of lessons for poor "Sandra" and that he would pay by "certified cashier's check". He also added details about how her cousin lives near me (though I didn't specify an address).

          So, yeah, they're totally getting tricky! I didn't respond, and marked it as spam since I don't actually want to try and draw the scammers out... :)

          Heck, here's the transcript...!




          from john moore <j.moore1500@yahoo.com>
          to Ayperi - Belly Dance
          subject Belly Dance Lessons

          Hello,thanks for the message and for you interest to teach my daughter.I would have loved to bring my daughter for "meet and greet" interviews before the lessons which I think is a normal way to book for lessons but am in London right now for a new job appointment.So,it will not be possible for me to come for the meeting.Sandra will be coming for the lessons from my cousin's location which is very close to you.Although,Sandra and my cousin are currently in Europe and will be back before the lessons start.I want to make the arrangement for the lessons before they come back to the states because that was my promise to Sandra before they left for Europe.Sandra has a strong passion for Belly dance and will really love to work hard with you.She is a beginner and has never attended any dance training before.

          As for the payment, I want to pay for the six month lessons upfront which is $3640 and I'm paying through a certified cashier's check.Is this okay with you?I would be more than happy if you can accept Sandra as one of your students and start with her by June 5th.Looking forward to hearing from you again.

          My best regards.

          John Moore.


          From: Ayperi - Belly Dance
          Subject: Re: Belly Dance Lessons
          To: "John Moore" <j.moore1400@gmail.com>
          Date: Friday, May 15, 2009, 3:49 PM

          John,

          Thank you for your inquiry.

          Private lessons in-studio are $70/hour. The total for two 1-hr classes per week for 6 months would be approximately $3,640 (26 weeks at $140/week).

          A 50% deposit is required to book lessons and will be retained in the event of cancellation. I welcome payments via personal check (local banks only), bank check/money order, or credit cards via Paypal.

          I teach at a couple of different studios in Portland. The exact location depends on the requested lesson time.

          Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at all.

          Regards,

          Ayperi
          join to post
  • Nefabit
    Nefabit
    offline 118

    Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

    Fri, May 22, 2009 - 11:25 PM
    I've had the same email. SPAM!
    join to post
    • Sparkle
      Sparkle
      offline 85

      Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

      Mon, May 25, 2009 - 12:42 PM
      Yes, I got the same email and just trashed it. I did not respond.

      I had no idea it was still going on, this was last year sometime.

      Good to share this kind of information with the group.
      join to post
      • Indu
        Indu
        offline 24

        Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

        Wed, June 24, 2009 - 7:22 AM
        I got a strange one and for some reason it made me think it wasn't a woman... see what you ladies think...

        ***

        Hello,
        My name is Daisy, and i have always been interested in learning how to bellydance.
        I was wondering how much private tuition is, and if me and my friends could do it together?
        Many Thanks
        Daisy

        ***

        The reason i thought it was odd, is that its not the usual type of email you get from peopel who are interested - plus she must have seen all my info on my website about current classes. AND she's not replied to my response (even to say she's got no interest). Just thought it was a bit odd and had a strange feeling about it when i got it. Don't know why!
        join to post
  • Para...
    Paradigm East
    offline 173

    Re: Does this sound fishy to anyone else?

    Wed, June 24, 2009 - 11:20 AM
    Here is the latest morph of the letter....

    Hello,

    I'm looking for an experienced choreograph/Dance Instructor that could take about 12 individual for a dance training? What can your establishment offer with regards to the request above?

    I would like to know what is required cost implication and any other thing that will be require for a successful training for at least four weeks between the month of September and October 2009.
    Kindly get back to me if you can offer any tin by a return mail via this email with details.




    I wonder what they are up to.
    join to post

Recent topics in "Belly Dance Instructors"

Topic Author Replies Last Post
student show performance order alison 5 Yesterday, 9:49 AM
Maintaining Students sonia 6 November 4, 2009
Student bored and frustrated offlineLeilani 6 November 3, 2009
X-Post: Forming and managing a student troupe Mahin 7 October 31, 2009