Hello fellow Cake makers. I received an email yesterday and wonder whether I should take it as legit or not. I've received other scam type emails and am curious what your thoughts are and how you might respond if you received this email. See below and thanks for your input.
Hi, based on my own experiences I would never accept or book an order until a deposit has been paid some time ahead, and then the rest of the payment before the order is picked up. For such a large order, I definitely wouldn't risk it.
I had a rough experience (although a good lesson) a few months ago where I ended up buying (so silly in hindsight) the ingredients and equipment after an order was made. And then it was cancelled a few days before the date it was due for. I hadn't demanded a non-refundable deposit either, so I was left with a whole bunch of stuff I didn't really need. From then on, I always ask for a deposit either in cash or bank transfer. Hope that helps and let us know what you end up doing!
Hey Pat, Just me, but I was immediately suspicious by how little information he gave you in contrast with the information he needed from you.
And I know my grammar isn't always perfect, but his fell apart in the second paragraph. Also he didn't inquire how they would be delivered. Since he asked for your shop location he obviously doesn't know where you are located. Gosh a million questions are bubbling up in my brain. How did he get your email address, etc.
Those are my thoughts for what they are worth.
jean Della Vecchia
it sounds like the typical scam -- i mean it could be legit but it most likely is not -- and i've never asked a merchant for their # so i can text them -- nor for their full name -- momzo is right on the information grab -- this is phony imo -- run
Hi Jean! Those are the exact things running through my head. Especially wanting my contact information and shop location, which is listed on my website. So I"m not sure where he got my email from. Thanks!
Thank you Itsabakerlife and K8Memphis! I was thinking the same but the hubby was thinking it might be legit. I've seen a few of these kinds of "potential" orders. Glad to hear others sense something fishy here too!
Also, cupcakes with sprinkles?!# I could do that-yours are always masterpieces. Foot is finally getting better- we must do lunch sometime.
Would love to get together soon. Maybe after the new year when you're back to doing cartwheels!
Yep, the grammar errors are red flags for me, as is needing to know that much info, which they should have researched ahead of time, and asking someone who does custom work for something so simple that they could get from anyone. My bet is that they'd then ask to pay you extra on their charge card (likely fake or stolen) and have you pay another vendor.
Total scam... Check out the "fun with email scammers" page on my blog. http://acaketorememberva.blogspot.com/
Got the same exact email word for word. We responded and then got something back about a private courier that would need all of this information from us. Total scam.
This is an apparent scam. Look at the dialog, it is an attempt at British English. They call it a family reunion party,in the USA we simply say family reunion.
Thank you so much for posting this! I got a similar email and answered it, requesting specifics. When they got back with me, the order was WAY too big for us and WAY too soon. I actually felt bad for having to tell them we couldn't do it, given that she was deaf. Then I got the next email. Same exact text with a different date pasted in. Yeah.
WOW! I just got a text message the other day that was almost the same verbatim. Except the guy said his name was David & wanted a pick up by 3pm. He asked if I was the owner or manager. I told him owner. The information he asked for is on my Facebook page and/or registered with my LLC in my state. I gave him the info and estimate and he never go back to me. I thought it was an odd text message, due to the lack of sentence structure and grammar. My husband pointed out that we live in a part of the country where that type of message is common. The education system here isn't great and you see that kind of written text often. I'm wasn't planning on texting him back but now I am going to report his number. The number was 716-427-3033 for future reference.
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