I don't know why ANY of else go through the trouble of considering orders from people overseas off the internet, and then wondering if it's a scam. It's always a scam. I have yet for someone to come on here and say,"Yeah, I got this $2500 order off the internet from someone in Africa. It was great!" I'm assuming the scammers are gonna get smarter, getting more info., trying to sound more legit once people start questioning them more often on their orders. And even on the lottery chance that it isn't a scam, I would rather play it safe, then sorry and deal with my client in person.

You don't have to lie, you could just say, "Due to the prevalence of international credit card fraud, I must have the money sent Western Union by 10/8/09 to book your cake."

Most people would be a little leery to be emailing their credit card #. Email is so not secured.

True....

I have, however, had genuine brides arrange a wedding cake from several states away....

But yes, overseas, with a credit card number offered up front...I won't write back I guess.

Yes, Western Union has been used for fraud.

You could always just send her an email and ask her straight up if this is a legitimate order that it is quite unusual and you need cash wired to you since it's an international request. If she's genuine, you'll get your cash. If you don't hear back from her you'll have your answer quickly.

OR...tell you you don't accept credit cards

Then to double check, find out where the wedding is going to be, give the facility a call and express your concerns after asking for verification of date, time, etc.

Ok. I wrote her back saying I don't work internationally due to the prevalence of credit card fraud, and said if the bride would like to contact me personally and pay the balance in cash, as well as establish the cake and delivery details, that would be great...and thanked her.

We'll see! Thanks for all your input!

Cash up front or cashier's check. Sounds fishy. Sadly many of the scams I've encountered come from African countries and the West Indies.

The biggest red flag is that she offered the cc number in an email.
I live overseas, and do an incredible amount of purchasing (both goods and services) on the internet. However, I would never give my cc number in an unsecured environment (nor would any other ex-pat I know).

Ok, you can actually test her to see if it's legit and get paid if it is. AmEx has a wire transfer program. She would have to initiate the transfer and you could confirm payment. Or you can have funds wired directly to your account. Here is a site with info on it:
http://www212.americanexpress.com/dsmlive/dsm/int/fxip/fxinternationalpayments/foreignpaymentsolutions.do?vgnextoid=ffc32027eaafc110VgnVCM200000d0faad94RCRD

Are you getting a contract signed for this cake?

Kitagrl, you definitely did the right thing. If she is a legit customer she will completely understand your concern, and she will also respect that you are looking out for HER. How would she feel if someone stole HER credit card and you charged hundreds of dollars on it without batting an eyelash? As a consumer she will appreciate your interest in making sure it's all legit. It cracks me up when *after the fact* people are like, "Did it NOT make you suspicious when she emailed a complete stranger her credit card number like it was nothing? WHY would you trust that??!!" At least you have the presence of mind to be concerned!!

And if she's not legit, who give a rats fanny, right? Hehehe.

And you know, my impulse reaction if I had already said I had that date open would be to write her back and go, "OMG, I misread that, I thought you were booking for NEXT year! I have THAT date open, but not THIS year. That's only a few weeks away, etc. etc. blah blah blah." I'd have played *stooopid* to the Nth degree! I'm cool like that!

Google the credit card number.

I did a Yahoo People Search and did actually come up with that name at that address:

**edited**

Her email is her name @ norsac.com. Oh...but when I hit reply, its "zenyak.com"

I guess its *possible* its for real...but as someone mentioned, it could also be a very good scam.

I did find on that .gov site that there are diplomats that live at the street address of the country they visit...or so it seemed...

If she is real she will understand, like someone above said, and try to work this out.

Ya know, I had on idea, it sounded good, since I am the Queen of Google, I figured why not? Maybe there is a list of fake numbers out there?

This is an interesting thread, but as I'm reading it my first thought is that if this is indeed a real person and a legitimate order, you probably shouldn't have posted her real name and address on here.

Maybe you should have a moderator delete this one just to be sure.


Oh and Jamie is the Google Queen, if it stays still long enough, she'll Google it!

Check this out: http://www.rimmkaufman.com/rkgblog/2007/11/09/credit-card-test-numbers/

I didn't put any of her personal information on this thread. Oh except the yahoo link, which I will delete now.

There were several of her names on the people search, so other than the yahoo link I have been careful to keep it private, including her email.

BTW she has not replied....but I'll give her more time since time difference.

have you talked on the phone? scammers are not fond of talking on the phone.

it sounds a lot like the scammer who contacted me....

it starts getting more and more complicated.....

sorry this happened it really sux.

PM sent!

you can do a reverse lookup for the phone # and see who's name it's under.

Okay I got two emails today.

One from the customer sent from her iphone saying she understood and wondering if she could send an electronic check from her bank, which is "USAA". She just needs my name and address for that. I don't know anything about e-checks....does that show her as valid?

Also got an email from the gov't worker I emailed...he said he knew a lady by that first name but not the last name...he wondered if it was a maiden name...but said the lady he knew moved to Congo. So I guess its not the same one.

I'm just not sure what to do....

who is picking the cake up?...or are you supposed to deliver it?

the scam usually is overpayment, and they want you to pay someone back, westrn union.

this is so sad, because of all the scams, it's hard to tell.

i wonder why she is planning someones wedding from africa?...it just seems odd.

did she say where the reception will be? is it local? usually the reception of scammers is far away, and they need someone to pick it up...of course the shipper never comes, thats after you send them the balance ove the overpayment back to them, western union.

my scammer balked sending me anything western union.