This just came thru my wedding wire:
Message:
Hello, My name is Tracy Cole,i live in Miami garden,Florida (USA).I am presently in canada but probably will be moving back home soon and i'll be getting married shortly after my arrival in the states to my fiance Denise Smith. We will need a wedding Planner/wedding cake.We will like to find out what your plans are for Saturday,November 24th,2012. This is the date of our wedding so kindly let us know your availability for this day.We'll take responsibility for your expenses regarding our plans.we might not be able to meet you soon as planned,due to our unavailability in the states but,we are willing to retain the date, that's to make deposit for booking prior to our arrival to be sure we are interested in your service,if you are really interested. Please you can give me a text 3213287602 or email me Waiting to get your response
sounds Fishy to me...
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It may or may not be a scam, but once you request a cash or certified check for a nonrefundable deposit to hold the date you should know for sure.
Why do you think it sounds fishy? They are in Canada but planning to get married there in Florida in November and want you to make their cake, is what I am getting from the email. They want you to let them know, via text or email, if you are available for their date. They are willing to make a deposit to retain the date. If I was available, I would email back and see what they say. Since wedding cakes are normally paid in full in advance of the wedding, not sure how they could be trying to hoax you as long as you get the money first. But you never know.
Probably a scam.
And if it isn't, it is so darn confusing, I would be worried about understanding this person!
Yes, it's a scam. The names and dates and places may be different, but it's been sent out a thousand times before.
Why do you think it sounds fishy? They are in Canada but planning to get married there in Florida in November and want you to make their cake, is what I am getting from the email. They want you to let them know, via text or email, if you are available for their date. They are willing to make a deposit to retain the date. If I was available, I would email back and see what they say. Since wedding cakes are normally paid in full in advance of the wedding, not sure how they could be trying to hoax you as long as you get the money first. But you never know.
I agree. As long as it's a straightforward deposit (exactly what you require--no more, no less) and it's supplied in the manner YOU require (credit card, Paypal, personal check drawn on a US bank that can be verified for sufficient funds), I don't see the problem.
As a matter of fact, since that's a holiday weekend ( 2 days after Thanksgiving) AND it's only 5 weeks away, I'd be requiring payment in full and I'd require ALL details to be settled by 10/24/12.
I can't see any harm to you for playing it out. You can walk away any time that you feel that the tide has turned toward a scam.
I have to say, that if it is a scam, it's one of the better ones because the scenario provided actually makes perfect sense. It's certainly not in the lowly "Happy Married Life" scam category.....
JMHO
Rae
I'd e-mail or text them
I have to say, that if it is a scam, it's one of the better ones because the scenario provided actually makes perfect sense. It's certainly not in the lowly "Happy Married Life" scam category.....
Agreed, especially considering the area code is correct.
There are so many spelling and punctuation errors that I wouldn't assume that this is a legitimate order. Especially the "fiance Denise" bit because they would need to get married in Canada and not the USA...
Especially the "fiance Denise" bit because they would need to get married in Canada and not the USA...
Not if the fiance is Canadian and wants to be a US citizen.
Hmmm, I would usually say it's a scam, since the city in FL is Miami Gardens, not Garden...the spelling and broken grammar could be a warning sign. And why on earth would you put (USA) after the state? Who does that? And if Tracy is a woman, I don't think same-sex marriage is legal in FL. However, if Tracy is a man, it's odd that the woman isn't handling some of the cake details. I don't want to sound sexist, but usually the woman has quite a bit of say in these matters. Just follow your gut and tread carefully.
I vote scam. Too many red flags to be legit.
The only way to find out is to write back and ask for money to hold the date. If they balk or ask you to accept a check for more than your services or mention an independant carrier for delivery then yes... it's a scam.
It doesn't scream scam to me, but I would be curious.
Not necessarily a scam. You could proceed by making some pointed queries via email (send them a form to fill out including names, addresses, phone numbers, venue for wedding, time of wedding reception, name of reception contact ets etc...stuff youc an check), then accept a nice sized deposit to hold the date. No money = no order. There is nothing for you to lose here, except that the hassle of dealing with a client with poor grammar and English (they could be in French-speaking Canada) might make your job a bit more difficult, and/or may prove to be a fruitless endeavour. Like any job.
If you think that's all a bit too hard, then just say no!
All you need to do is write back and tell them you need payment in full in advance, cash only, and no overages or extra payments. If it's a scam they won't write back, or they'll write back and say something totally non-related to what you wrote to them. Scammers use form letters a lot of the time, they don't even read what you write.
No money = no order.
Universally understood.
There is nothing for you to lose here, except that the hassle of dealing with a client with poor grammar and English (they could be in French-speaking Canada)
Dat OP no soun' like franglais, eh, dat soun' like chinglish
No money = no order.
Universally understood.
There is nothing for you to lose here, except that the hassle of dealing with a client with poor grammar and English (they could be in French-speaking Canada)
Dat OP no soun' like franglais, eh, dat soun' like chinglish[/quote]
Huh? And this is helpful in exactly what way? 
My take on the original message is that it was sent from a phone, easily explaining some of the misspellings and grammar errors, but really WHO CARES? The errors are not nearly as glaring as those in the well known cake/cupcake scams......
Rae
Well I for one think those silly little buggers that people stick into their texts are a big pain you-know-where. So I may be sarcastic but I don't feel the need to flag it.
But somebody else recently posted what is clearly a hoax, with a new form of wording. If real life forms are involved in perpetrating these scams then we have to assume that they also can evolve. I look at the subject lines in my scam box the same way that I look at the mold growing on food in the fridge...you can clearly see that there is a new infection of style every few months.
Well I for one think those silly little buggers that people stick into their texts are a big pain you-know-where. So I may be sarcastic but I don't feel the need to flag it.
But somebody else recently posted what is clearly a hoax, with a new form of wording. If real life forms are involved in perpetrating these scams then we have to assume that they also can evolve. I look at the subject lines in my scam box the same way that I look at the mold growing on food in the fridge...you can clearly see that there is a new infection of style every few months.
Again, huh?
Here's the link ot my messing with scammers fun page on my blog. There's an explanation of how it works at the top. http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/p/fun-with-email-scammers.html
Thank you all!
I went with my gut feeling and just erased the Mail. I dont think any single cake it's worth possibly getting scammed.
And Also, Hoax is with an H! sorry about that!
Thank you all!
I went with my gut feeling and just erased the Mail. I don�t think any single cake it's worth possibly getting scammed.
That's too bad, you may have passed up a perfectly legitimate order. It wouldn't have cost you anything to find out more information.
Here's the link ot my messing with scammers fun page on my blog. There's an explanation of how it works at the top. http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/p/fun-with-email-scammers.html
"The cake I'd make for you would be mighty mighty, lettin' it all hang out."
Bwahahahahahahaaha! That was awesome! 
Here's the link ot my messing with scammers fun page on my blog. There's an explanation of how it works at the top. http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/p/fun-with-email-scammers.html
"The cake I'd make for you would be mighty mighty, lettin' it all hang out."
Bwahahahahahahaaha! That was awesome!
That was the best scammer email of all time... A mighty cake? What?
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