UKAWP - THE LEADING INDUSTRY BODY FOR THE UK WEDDING PLANNING MARKET

Archive for the ‘Scams’ Category

Postal Hoax Email

Friday, November 4th, 2011

This week I was sent an email by one of my suppliers informing me of a potential postal scam, on further investigation this email itself is the scam. So I thought it beneficial to post said email below so you are aware of it.

Can you circulate this around especially as Xmas is fast approaching - it has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).

DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize .

If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

By going onto the Crimestoppers website I have found information relating to this email chain.

 1. The chain email refers to a service (operating on 0906 661 1911) that was shut down by PhonepayPlus (then ICSTIS) in December 2005. PhonepayPlus subsequently fined the company that was operating the service, Studio Telecom (based in Belize), £10,000.

2. The service is NO LONGER running and has NOT been running since December 2005.

3. You do NOT need to contact PhonepayPlus, or the Royal Mail, about this service as it was stopped almost six years ago.

4. If you receive a copy of the email warning you about the alleged scam, please do NOT forward it to others. Instead, please forward this statement from PhonepayPlus.  

5. If you receive a delivery card through your letterbox which you do not believe is genuine and which asks you to dial a premium rate number, you can contact PhonepayPlus on 0800 500 212 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) for further guidance.

Scam Emails

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Regular visitors to our blog will know we try and feature as many scams as we can to try and help the battle against these despicable people. This category is so popular and has helped many businesses across the world. We recently received an email from Amanda all the way in Ontaria, Canada. Amanda runs a wedding planning company called Envy Events.

Amanda said “I came across your blog/website while searching for info on wedding planning scams, after receiving an odd inquiry via email the other day.  I was quite weary about the request, which prompted me to start an online search while trying to obtain further details from this mystery person…

I’ve included both emails for you below… the first email at the very bottom of this string was the note I received inquiring about services… I sent some additional questions as the request had struck me as a bit “off the wall”…the 2nd email just below is the response.  After searching your “scams” section, I found an email that was almost word for word - which led me to confirm for myself that his was indeed a scam. I hope the following information helps you in your quest to put an end to these ridiculous ploys..!  and I must say how disgusted I am that people are able to somehow justify this type of behavior…  You’ll notice that the information below is a bit more detailed than perhaps what has been seen in the past… so a word of caution to all new planners out there who might take this as a real opportunity - do your research and trust your gut!”

Email 1

Hello,

I am Ramson Taylor, from London England. I am writing to get more information on wedding/ reception venues and also so in need of the services of a wedding planner.

Kimberly and I are planning to have a wedding in 0ctober 2011 (any date in October will be fine) and will require more information on this as we plan also to have the wedding in your region We are looking for venue and a planner to help us plan our wedding/reception.

So far, we have not made any arrangement. 30 to 40 guests are expected to attend. We are considering a budget of $40, 000 USD but will allow a few extra if necessary. I will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card once you confirm availability.

Please note that you (wedding planner) are to arrange for a Videography, Music Entertainment, Photography, Officiant, cake and flowers.

Please do confirm this date and get back to me.

Thanks for your anticipated response

Best regards,

Ramson.

Email 2

I am really  glad to hear from you. It is the wish of my finance to get married in your area and I have to give in to her wish and due to the fact that I do not have any one there, you will be responsible for all arrangements.

My Fiancé (Kimberly Reeds) and I will be arriving 7 days before the wedding and I need you to also make arrangement for our accommodation. I’ll need you to book 2 double rooms for us for 7 nights and one honeymoon suite for the night of the wedding 15th October 2011 (wedding date is flexible).

We have a budget of about $40,000 USD which includes payment for your fees, all the other vendors you will be working with and that of our logistic agent aside us, I am also expecting about 20 other guest from UK, USA and Asia

Below are other requirements we’ll need.

My fiancé decided that the colour for the wedding should be white and gold.

For flowers, majority of pink and red roses. She loves red roses and we’ll want lots of them at the wedding. Please feel free to introduce any nice flower of your choice to make the venue more beautiful.

For music, a DJ or live band
Food, a buffet will be perfect.
3 or 4 tier fruit cake
Drinks: open bar
Wedding is a civil wedding
Civil marriage celebrant
Videographer for 3-4 hours
Photographer for 3-4 hours
Venue: out door or indoor
Bridal party: 2 bridesmaid and 2 groomsmen.
Flowers for bridal party
Accommodation for out of town guest (18 single or 13 doubles from for the wedding night only)

Wedding time: 4pm to 9pm.
Both the wedding and reception will be in same venue.

I need you to get back to me with a total estimate that will cover this arrangement so that I can make a deposit payment to enable you start arrangements as time is not on our side.

I’m presently in Iran for a world health organization program which will last for another month or two and the only means of payment that will be possible for me from here will be via my Credit card. I hope this will not pose any problem to you.

Get back to me as soon as you have the estimate so that we can start of all preparation for my wedding.

Scams

Friday, May 20th, 2011

The scammers have been a little quiet recently, but here is one a number of us received.  New planners in particular, do be careful not to mistake these fraudsters for real clients. If in doubt, have a look at our scam section here for further examples.

 Good day,

 

My name is Robert Packer,i am a drilling Engineer by profession.My lovely

daughter found her heartthrob late last year, and they are going to wed on

the 16th of July 2011. For the love i have for my daughter,i have decided to

carter for the wedding as a surprise package for her and her fiance.

 

I want you to handle the wedding arrangements on their behalf as my would-be

in law is a citizen of your country and as a result, he wants the wedding in

his country.kindly get back to me with any of the following services which

you can provide as regards the wedding arrangements,

 

.Wedding Gown for bride

.Gowns for Bride’s maids

.Wedding cakes and decorations

.Tuxedo Suits for the groom and best man

.location for the wedding and reception.

.Transportation for both the bride and the groom

.Shoes and accessories for both

 

Also include other services you can render which are not mentioned above.

the wedding Budget is at the range of ($70,000.00) for now. It could be

reviewed to be increased or reduced latter depending on the outcome of the

arrangements process.

 

Kindly email me with details on the whole processes,and your deposit so  i

can send you my credit card details for proceeds.also advise on the services

you can provide as regards the wedding arrangements.please note that all

estimates and calculations should be based on the quoted budget. I expect

your prompt response.

 

Regards,

 

Robert Packer.

mail2robertpk@yahoo.ie

More hoax/scam emails

Friday, November 12th, 2010

We want to thank everyone that sends us details on new scams/hoax emails, we know all our readers find this very helpful. Indeed we have emails from across the world proving the scams are the same whether in the UK, Canada or the US. If our blog stops just one person from being conned then it is all worthwhile. Our thanks to Pat Moser for forwarding the following scam onto us.

  <macainbriggs2@gmail.com> wrote:
 Greetings
My Name is Engr. Briggs Macain,I am looking for an experienced wedding
planner who will handle my wedding and arrange dinner for a group of
people who will be attending the wedding ceremony. Seven guests will
 arrive few days before the wedding day. The wedding is to hold on
 the18th December 2010 and 30 to 40 guests are expected to attend. You
 are to arrange for Videography, Music Entertainment,
Photography,Officiant / Priest & Church, cake, flowers and hall. If
 there is any ofthese items that you cannot handle, you let us know so
that another company can handle it. As i do not know what the guests
might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a pre payment as
 initial deposit for this booking via my credit card once availability
 is confirmed by you. All checks and balances will be made with you on
18th december which is the final day of the booking, Get back to me
 with your response as we don’t have much time left so that we can
process our accommodation also within the region more convenient for
 you and us.
Best Regards,
 Engr. Briggs Macain,
Address:Unit 25Hooley Bridge Industrial EstateHeywood,OL104A

More scam emails

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

We would like to thank all our readers for passing on any suspected scam emails, this really helps ensure newer planners dont fall for any such frauds. Please keep them coming! As always you can view all past scams by checking the scam category.


From: Mirian Charity [mailto:miriancharity@yahoo.com]
Sent: 31 August 2010 00:25
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: REQUEST FOR WEDDING PLAN

Hello,
The daughter of my boss will be wedded on 9th of October 2010.
I was directed to look for a competent “WEDDING PLANNER”, to plan the wedding for them.
I want the wedding to be very fantastic.
Please check if you can do it then give me the estimate so that we can proceed any payment that is involve.
Do get back to me as soon as possible.
Best Regards,

Mrs Mirian Charity Smith. 

New potential scam 070 mobile numbers

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Kelly Chandler from The Bespoke Wedding Company & our marketing/finance director has kindly informed us of a new potential scam asking planners to call them on a 070 phone number, the actual message is below.

Kelly was suspicious of the email tone so did a quick search on the internet and found out that 070 phone numbers are premium rate redirected numbers. More information can be found via yahoo answers.

If ever you are unsure on a particular email we always advise you conduct a search of that persons name, email address, postal address or telephone number. If it is a scam it will invariably have been reported online somewhere!

—–Original Message—–
From:
peter.t.mansfield@gmail.com [mailto:peter.t.mansfield@gmail.com]
Sent: 12 August 2010 13:06
To:
weddings@thebespokeweddingco.com
Subject: Wedding

Hi

I need to get an organiser for my wedding. Can you give me a call?

Thanks

Peter Mansfield
07031964948

Scams, tricks and hoaxes

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

No matter what the weather, the financial scammers keep on coming to wedding planners. Here is a recent one to watch out for if you’re a new planner and not familar with these scams.

Am Robb Stephen, I am writing to get informations on wedding/reception venues and also so in need of the services of a wedding planner. Christine and I are planning to have a wedding in August 2010 (any date in August will be fine) and will require more informations on this as we plan also to have the wedding in your region.

 

      We are looking for a venue and planner to help us plan our wedding/reception. 50 guests are expected to attend. Please advise on weather conditions of the area. Also note that you (wedding planner) is to arrange for a food, Videography, Music Entertainment, Photography, Officiant, cake and flowers, decoration etc. Please do confirm this date and get back to me.

Thanks for your anticipated response

Best regards,

Robb Stephen

 

 

Seeing double

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Life as a successful wedding planner is never an easy one, despite the well-documented (and false) image of glamour.  Sadly, to add to our already demanding workload it is a requirement to check that you’re not being plagiarised by a ‘wannabe’. We hope that by posting here to planners, we can make everyone more aware and start to rid the industry of this practice. 

For clarification a simple definition of plagiarism is as follows:  a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else and is presented as being your own work

 Sadly week in week out we are hearing and seeing blatant plagiarism going on of wedding planners work.  We are talking about word for word copying of company names, images, and most commonly text from a planner’s website. Anyone who runs a successful planning business knows that it takes A LOT more than copying somebody’s work to make a successful business; it takes years and years of slog, effort, dedication and talent and good planners think long and hard about their website and promotional materials writing them in their words and their style to reflect their brand; it’s vital that we each do our best to protect our work and come down hard on individuals who think they only have to whip up a website and ‘wow’ they have a business!  

 How can you protect yourself?

A great website where you can check for copies of your company website (or large chunks of text copied) is www.copyscape.com - put your web address into it and it’ll quickly pull up copies - make a note to do this once monthly to make sure that your site is not being plagiarised.

 How to react if you have been plagiarised?

Contact the company owner directly (by email or letter preferably) informing them of the plagiarism (and demonstrating it with copies of your text and their text) and asking them to remove the offending text within 7 days. If that does not succeed then legal advice should be sought - naturally take copies of the offending website pages as it could be taken off-line at any moment. None of us want costly legal bills but we must stand up to thieves and stamp it out of our industry. UKAWP and the individual companies of its Directors have all sadly encountered plagiarism both here in the UK and from overseas and have a very strong policy towards it.

 What do you think? Have you encountered this yourself?

Scam emails

Monday, February 15th, 2010

A new year and new set of scams, heres one that is doing the rounds.

Hello ,
How are you doing? Thriving!!!
My name is Dr Melvin Hughes , from Enfield in middlesex UK (England ). I will be coming to your area after my shopping trip with my Fiancee Micheal Green who’s French by nature to start his new work with the Coca-cola Co. And just before then we will be getting married on the 30th of march, 2010. We need a good wedding planner to take care of our wedding both reception and ceremony. We require the best for the best memories for us & our children in future and as a matter of fact we have budgeted 25000$ for this special event.
Also, the ceremony and reception event will be taking place in a location and we are expecting at most 50 guests on the day of our occasion because most of our families in Europe and in the United Kingdom will be present for the occasion .
Also, we would like you to know the reception and ceremony will be taking place @ 1 location which the ceremony event would be in a garden location or outdoor while the reception takes place indoors, we are still about to make reservation though but we are making progress with that.
Please let us know if you’re able to help.
Sincerely,
Dr Melvin Hughes

More scams

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Sadly we hear every week about more and more false enquiries/scams being sent to wedding planners. Here are a selection of recent ones to watch out for.

Hello,

 I am ALEXANDER MAHONE, from London England. I am writing to get information on wedding/reception venues and also so in need of the services of a wedding planner.

 Mary and I are planning to have a wedding in January 2009 (any date in January will be fine) and will require more information on this as weplan also to have the wedding in your region. We are looking for a venue and planner to help us plan our wedding/reception. 40 to 50 guests are expected to attend. Please advise on weather conditions and the possibilities of rain.

 Please note that you (wedding planner) is to arrange for a food, Videography, Music Entertainment, Photography, Officiant, cake and flowers, decoration etc.Payment for all booking would be made with my credit card.

 Please do confirm this date and get back to me.

 Thanks for your anticipated response    

 Best regards,

ALEXANDER MAHONE.

 

Hello,

 

My Name is Michael Sandler i need an experienced wedding planner who will handle my wedding and arrange the reception dinner for a group of people who will be attending the wedding ceremony.

The wedding is expected to hold on the 16th of Febuary 2010 and 50 to 70 guests are expected to attend. As i do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks, i will make a prepayment as initial deposit for this booking via credit card once availability is confirmed by you. You are to arrange for a a venue for the wedding  a place for the reception ,Videography, Music Entertainment,Photography,cake and flowers.

If there is any these items that is beyond your capability, you let us know so that another company can handle it. Get back to me with your response as we don’t have much time with us so that we can process our accommodation within the region more convenient for you and us.

Pleas get back to me via my personal email which is michaelsandlermail@ymail.com

Best Regards,

Michael Sandler

michaelsandlermails@ymail.com

 

Hello Mark,
Thanks for your email. Am aware that A wedding of such high quality with minimum of 25 and maximum of 30 guests would normally cost a lot of money to be planned successfully, but I am convinced that your facility would be conducive for my wedding reception as recommended  by a friend  who had visited your facility. I have discussed with my Dad business associates ( my sponsors) and they will be provide you with their credit cards details which you are going to make  the charges from regarding your deposit  for 3 course menu & drink,Reception venue charges and other services that you might render to enhance smooth success of my wedding.

Here is our details
Groom Names: Eric Lichtenheld
Groom ages: 34 years
Groom address:111 Fountains Crescent London UK
Nationality:British

Bride Names:Donna Thomas
Bride ages:26years
Nationality:Philippine

Am presently in  Afghanistan for Military assignment and duel to be disengaged on 10th of January. We have have budgeted 50,000.00Pouds(GBP)
for this wedding.  We have made arrangements with a Logistic Consultant  who will be in charges of my guest  transportation & flight promptings and other associated Wedding needs such as cake, DJ, Décor and accommodations.

Kindly get back to me as soon as possible so that we can proceed as soon as possible.

Regards,
Eric and Donna