I just got this email and while I'm pretty certain it's a scam of some sort (they didn't say when they need the cake, they want to pay by credit card, a reverse email lookup says the person is in Mountan View, CA)
I'm sure it's fake, but after reading Kitagrl's experience and having it turn out to be real...how do you know?? i just emailed them back saying I don't accept credit cards, only cash or cashier's check.
I mean, judging by what they want, it's obviously a fake.....a "Plain" cake?? come on.....I'm guessing because the others are 'iced" this means no icing?? While I have had someone order one of those before (strange), I'm quite certain this is a hoax.
What is this world coming to??
Here is the email:
Hello Owner,
My name is Wxxxx Hxxxxx and i will like to order for some Birthday Cake.. i
will like you to go ahead and get back to me with the price of the following
Birthday Cake
Yellow Cake:
8" iced no filling
8" iced w/filling
10" iced no filling
10" iced w/filling
12" iced no filling
12" iced w/filling
Black Fruit Cake:
6" Plain
6" Iced
8" Plain
8" Iced
10" plain
10" Iced
i will also be Glad if you get back to me with the types and size that you
have for sell if you dont Carry the stock the above sizes.. also get back to
me with information on the ..Major credit card you accept for payment.. I
will wait for your Reply..
Thank You
XXXXX XXXXXX (just in case it's for real....lol)
The grammar is a tip off. And if not, it sounds more like a price search than a order.
The dark brown sugar and the dark rum is what makes it dark - thus they call it Black Fruitcake.
Its the only kind of fruitcake i make - Most popular of all fruitcakes eaten by Australians.
Back on topic -
now thats a scam - next they will be asking for your banking details - because what ever cc you tell them you deal with they will come back with *oh, no have*
That same email has been circulating around Oz for the last 3 months.
Bluehue. 
You know what it is for me? If they can put so much time & effort into coming up with all these various scams, then why not do the same with something legit?
You know what it is for me? If they can put so much time & effort into coming up with all these various scams, then why not do the same with something legit?
You took the words right out of my mouth!
These scams have gotten so out of hand and in these difficult times when people are hoping for real orders to pay real bills for their real families, this just boils your blood. 
Thank you to all who keep us alert of these scams.[/u]
You know what it is for me? If they can put so much time & effort into coming up with all these various scams, then why not do the same with something legit?
You took the words right out of my mouth!
These scams have gotten so out of hand and in these difficult times when people are hoping for real orders to pay real bills for their real families, this just boils your blood.
Thank you to all who keep us alert of these scams.[/u]
Amen Sisters!!!!! I will just NEVER understand any type of thievery and the fact that these people have absolutely NO conscience at all!! Ooooooohhhh, now you guys got me started!! I almost went "all the way" with this guy thinking it was legit. I think I was temporarily blinded by the fact that it was a scam because, at that time, I needed the $$ so bad so I could FEED MY KIDS!! gggrrrrr!!
I get e-mails like this in my non-cake-related business, too. Someone will e-mail us requesting pricing, availability and delivery times for "odd" quantities of merchandise related to our industry (but things we do not sell). For the quantities they are looking for, it sounds like it would be from a business; but the e-mail is signed with a first and last name only. No company name (cannot be determined from e-mail address either). No phone number. No fax number. No physical or mailing address. No indication of where we would be shipping to (like city, state or country). 
These messages get spammed. The times we get them, it's almost the exact same e-mail, but with a different e-mail address and name. For us, if it was a legitimate request and they got our e-mail from our web site or business cards, they would know we do not supply the item or service they are requesting.
Thank you for sharing this with the cake world!
I do not want to sound dumb, but I am sure this question will. What is the purpose of the scam? I have an email similar to this, that is why I am asking. I have not gave it much thought but after reading your post, I am now!
Is the scam for you to make the cake, wasting your time and money and not get paid? Can you insist on a money order/cashiers check before you bake the cake and wait how ever many days for that money order or cashiers check to clear. I am not sure how many days it takes to be sure a check or money order is good before you spend the money. Is paypal an option?
Cakesthatrock,
The scam is they overpay you for your cake, and then ask you to wire the money back to them. Then, their original charge or check bounces, and you are out all the money plus fees, and they have the amount you wired to them.
To add insult to injury, you are ALSO out your time and talent for the cake you have provided.
HTH.
edited to fix typo.
Cakesthatrock,
The scam is they overpay you for your cake, and then ask you to wire the money back to them. Then, their original charge or check bounces, and you are out all the money plus fees, and they have the amount you wired to them.
To add insult to injury, you are ALSO out your time and talent for the cake you have provided.
Thank you!
I am going to forward my email to
http://www.ftc.gov/
I hope more people report their emails, that will help get these Bernie Madoff wantabees were they belong.
On the news last week there was 2 people busted that were involved in a scam that grossed millions of dollars. These 2 people were a husband and wife with children. These people did not look like thieves, but then again what does a thieve look like?
I get e-mails like this in my non-cake-related business, too. Someone will e-mail us requesting pricing, availability and delivery times for "odd" quantities of merchandise related to our industry (but things we do not sell). For the quantities they are looking for, it sounds like it would be from a business; but the e-mail is signed with a first and last name only. No company name (cannot be determined from e-mail address either). No phone number. No fax number. No physical or mailing address. No indication of where we would be shipping to (like city, state or country).
These messages get spammed. The times we get them, it's almost the exact same e-mail, but with a different e-mail address and name. For us, if it was a legitimate request and they got our e-mail from our web site or business cards, they would know we do not supply the item or service they are requesting.
Thank you for sharing this with the cake world!
When I worked for the Sprint Relay service for the deaf and hard of hearing, they used this system to scam people all the time. They'd always call different businesses and ask for 1,000 laptops or cell phones and they would go from business to business using hundreds of different cards. They would want these items shipped to Ghana or Nigeria. Of course we couldn't do anything about it because these were the calls that kept the "numbers" high. So I would "mistakenly" give the wrong credit card number (mix up the last two digits) 
so that the store owner would catch on and hang up. I had a guy (store owner) one time actually sit there and accept card after card.
The tone and grammar scream SCAM to me. Especially if you don't have a "black fruit cake" on your menu. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid. Although there is not much you can do, should you forward it to a fraud department, be sure to include the FULL HEADER of the email. This shows the IP address that it has gone through and it's easier to track them down.
I received the same email today. Definitely a scam. The fruit cake thing was my tip off to delete immediately! It was from w**********[email protected]. Didn't think it was legit, but didn't think it would be a new scam! oy...
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