Does This Email Sound Fishy To You?
Business By Irish245 Updated 8 Sep 2010 , 2:43pm by cakeythings1961
Did anyone else get an email like this? It sounds a bit fishy to me....
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Hello,
I just got your contactt email now and i will like to place an order for wedding and birthday cake.
Kindly send me your brochure by email if you have one or send me different photos of wedding and birthday cakes.
Get back to me soon and also advice me if you accept Visa and Master Credit cards for payments.
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signed with a very common name......last name is a name of a color (brown, black, white, etc. we know are used as last names) and not capitalized
just wondering, for the people that replied scam, what type of scam would it be if all they are asking for is photos and info?
most scammers will ask about credit cards, and it gets into this whole big "oh I over paid, can you pay this muc hto this person" ect.
But we could always be wrong
If you look at the wording of the email, it's asking to place an order for "wedding and birthday cake". How many people order both a wedding and a birthday cake at the same time?
The sender of this email probably indexed a number of different small business web sites and populated a database with the key items they sell, then sent out mass emails with the key items plugged in. Notice how you can take out the two "wedding and birthday cake" phrases from the email and pop in just about any other product and it would still work.
just wondering, for the people that replied scam, what type of scam would it be if all they are asking for is photos and info?
You send them pictures, they reply that they would like to order a cake from you and have it shipped. When you say that's fine, they say they're going to overpay you and then you can pay the shippers out of the difference, plus keep a little extra for your trouble (usually). Then they send you a check that's no good, or use a stolen credit card number to pay you. Thinking the payment is good, you pay the shippers as agreed...and that's the money the scammer makes.
Iris245, this is the check scam explanation:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/checkoverpayment.shtm
Just like Texas_Rose said, they would send you an overpayment, then ask for money back, then their check bounces, but you're already out of your money that you've sent back to them.
Yup, its a scam! That happened to me on some items I listed in craigslist. The same thing that everyone is saying. They send you a fake check and tell you to pay the shipping company. Really crazy that this goes on, BUT IT DOES!!
Yeah, I got a weird email this week too. The strange thing is it was to my personal email, not my business email. Asking for a 'bridall shower' cake for my daughter in March 2012! Then she sends pics of her daughter's 'race car' (looks like a demo derby car to me) that she wants recreated in cake. I don't know if it's a scam or not, I did reply but my initial reaction was that it was wierd. Spelling was all wrong, & really, planning the bridal shower for 2012 already and a car cake?? I might be wrong but it just struck me as odd. We'll see what kind of response I get.
i was lol when i read the reply cuz i realized i wonder if people think my emails r scams cuz i cant spell to save my life wellll maybe to save my life i never use periods my sentences go on and on my friends say i write the way i talk hmmmmm i think now they wer insulting me lol and i never capitalize my name lol on another note i actually hav clients always claiming to want mor then one cake at the begining thinking they will get a discount i learned that one the hard way lol as far as payment i never wld agree to pay shipping on anything that jus screams weird bigtime 
)))
i was lol when i read the reply cuz i realized i wonder if people think my emails r scams cuz i cant spell to save my life wellll maybe to save my life i never use periods my sentences go on and on my friends say i write the way i talk hmmmmm i think now they wer insulting me lol and i never capitalize my name lol on another note i actually hav clients always claiming to want mor then one cake at the begining thinking they will get a discount i learned that one the hard way lol as far as payment i never wld agree to pay shipping on anything that jus screams weird bigtime
)))
This is a joke right??
Beautiful cakes, but you don't write like that to customers do you?
Hi, I thouht about it and I guess I do and I don't I usually perfer to call them if they don't leave a # on the email I answer short and sweet if I use my blackberry it does spell check for me but on my computer which I hate to b on it doesn't or I guess I don't use it to be exact I am horrible with technology hate it and usually apologize to them lol and actually cakecentral has helped me get a little over my fear cuz I luv this site so much.... I was jus trying to say sometimes bad grammar is jus bad grammar and I'm guilty of it bigtime )))
lol. thesweetlifestore... I am a stickler for grammar, good spelling and all that, but your post is so charming I might want to start writing like that!
This is a joke right??
Beautiful cakes, but you don't write like that to customers do you?
I thought the same thing...if I was buying something from a vendor who wrote like that, I would probably find another vendor. This is especially true for products where attention to detail is required.
There are many resources available for people who want to improve their writing skills, check your local community college or municipal/county adult education courses.
At the very least, look at every email or forum post as an opportunity to practice your English composition skills. Improving your written communication skills pays dividends in the business world.
I'm not in the food industry; but I get e-mails like this in my business. I'll get one, then a little while (could be several weeks) later, I'll get another almost identical e-mail with a different person's name on it. There's never a phone number to call them back, or an address, or any indication of where they're from (city, state, or country). Even the subject heading is "odd". I do not reply back to them. For my business, I can tell it's a scam because of the generality of their inquiry (having nothing to do with the spelling/grammar). I just *know* that anyone interested in the company would not ask the kinds of questions they are asking. The OP's e-mail does indeed sound questionable. Best of luck & be careful everyone!
ok I didn't mean to sound mean!!!
I just mean for YOUR benefit that I hope you can work on it.
have you maybe tried (again not to be mean) a kids program?? To help with that kind of thing?
Hi, I thouht about it and I guess I do and I don't I usually perfer to call them if they don't leave a # on the email I answer short and sweet if I use my blackberry it does spell check for me but on my computer which I hate to b on it doesn't or I guess I don't use it to be exact I am horrible with technology hate it and usually apologize to them lol and actually cakecentral has helped me get a little over my fear cuz I luv this site so much.... I was jus trying to say sometimes bad grammar is jus bad grammar and I'm guilty of it bigtime
)))
I see you know how to find the period on your blackberry (you used ellipses) so I think you should definitely start using periods in your communication with customers. Don't be lazy. 
It's professional and not a chat with your girlfriend, right?
Text abbreviations drive me insane, especially if you are typing on a full keyboard on a computer. Of course, I understand abbreviating on a phone keyboard, but I don't understand you saying you aren't good with technology when you can post to forums on your blackberry, etc. 
This is a joke right??
Beautiful cakes, but you don't write like that to customers do you?
I thought the same thing...if I was buying something from a vendor who wrote like that, I would probably find another vendor. This is especially true for products where attention to detail is required.
There are many resources available for people who want to improve their writing skills, check your local community college or municipal/county adult education courses.
At the very least, look at every email or forum post as an opportunity to practice your English composition skills. Improving your written communication skills pays dividends in the business world.
I have to agree. I try not to be a grammar snob, and everybody makes occasional typos, but poor grammar, usage, spelling & punctuation in business communications give the impression of being careless, at best. I'd be afraid that the message on my cake would be misspelled or a deadline would be missed.
I'm always correcting my kids' grammar & spelling, and they roll their eyes, but someday they'll thank me!!
The wording of the email tells you this is definitely a scam.
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