I was just the target of a scam. My scammer was a bit of an idiot, but he still managed to screw me up. He booked my trio for New Year’s Eve. He sends his deposit check as a bank check because he is out of the country in Spain. The check comes for more than what he owes me. Then he calls and wants me to send him the extra money back. Of course his bank check is a fraud and he hopes I send him money before I find out his check is no good.
It’s a common scam, this check thing. Unfortunately I didn’t catch on until he screwed up my New Year’s Eve and took away the chance for me and my band to perform a real gig that night. It’s hard enough to get by as a musician without people screwing around with your livelihood. At least I never sent him any cash (like I had any to send the moron!)
So in case you run into something like this, I hope you can spot it before you get taken. And if you ever hear from a guy calling himself Ted Baltimore… kick him in the balls for me.
This info will probably not out him, but here is some contact information he used when trying to scam me; he used an IM under Mark Anderson, a sat phone with the number 011.2348024028612, and an email address of colossus21239@yahoo.co.uk.
Here is a copy of the email I just sent to my buddy Ted. I thought I could get someone to catch him but couldn’t make it work….
I know it must not matter to you what kind of shit you churn up in people’s lives. It probably wouldn’t be worth my time to explain how hard it is to make an honest dollar and how little money a musician actually makes. New Year’s Eve is one night when a musician can expect to get some decent pay.
So your little scam effects more than just the couple of thousand dollars you’re trying to take from me. I lost two good nights worth of work and had to explain to my band why they weren’t going to be working.
I thought I would string you on a little longer because I would like someone to catch you. But the reality is you aren’t worth my energy. I’m not sending you money. I won’t be calling your sat phone. Maybe someday you’ll wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and realize how much of a disappointment your life is. Maybe you just spend the rest of your life on the take, and the best I can hope for is that somebody you screw with is near enough to you to give you good swift kick in the nuts.
Will you have any trouble sleeping on New Year’s Eve? Oh, and my wife wants me to tell you she thinks you’re a scumbag. I still don’t think you’re worth it.