Something Smells Really Fishey in Lichtenstein - Artists Scam Uncovered!

It is sad but true like P.T. Barnum said "There is a sucker born every minute" now I'm not calling artists suckers but if the shoe fits wear it, and if something smells fishy in Denmark then it probably is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is......................................................................................the rest of the story.

Since my last rant about Frank Henderson I decided to bring this to some kind of conclusion, so I sent him another e-mail apologizing for making it hard for him to transact business saying things are difficult in the USA and saying my art is boxed and ready to go (it was). But UPS is only $150.00 and Mayor Delivery in the UK is $1,300.00 I could save him over 1,000.00 bucks!

Frank gets back in touch with me and says for less stress he prefers the delivery service.

I say ok and run two separate visa card numbers for the price of the artwork $2,500.00 and the cost of shipping 1,300.00. Equal amounts of each card.
Mayor Delivery send me an official looking invoice and say; due to their web  site being upgraded it is currently down  blah blah blah Mayor Delivery can only take wire money transfers. So I start to think............ hummmmmm that could be the SCAM put a large amount on a stolen credit card and then get the seller (me) to wire transfer to an account that could be anywhere and in any name. Frank Henderson gets $1,300 deposited by me and I get left holding the bag with the credit card company. I cannot find Mayor Delivery on Google and the phone numbers in the e-mail do not work.

My super investigating skills provide the VISA cards were issued in Belgium. VISA in Belgium tells me the card has a lot of high charges on it and asks if I know anything about them! The card is not even issued to a Frank Henderson. Now it's being investigated by the credit card fraud division. I'm trying to string him along so they can finish their investigation. Here are the last two e-mails, notice how he is trying to bully me.

Frank,

As I said before, I will wait 2 weeks before I ship the art.
This for my own piece of mind.
Please understand I do not know you.
You have been very patient with me and I appreciate it.
I will feel much better if we could speak on the telephone.
Judy
907 355-

No i cannot accept that i have been shopping over the internet and it is not like this therefore it is unacceptable i have paid you and should have my order shipped so it can meet up with my purpose.

As a fact i want you to arrange with  the courier mayor delivery now so they can ship and deliver to me over the weekend.
Looking forward to hearing from you asap
Best
Frank

As soon as I hear from VISA in Belgium I will be refunding the money. It is sad but artists and old people seem to be the target of thieves and con men, perhaps because we are optimists and want to believe in the good in the world. At least I do. Another rule I live by is to treat others the way I would like to be treated.

Liechtenstein? or Am I Being Scammed?

This is a series of correspondence with a man in Liechtenstein. Hope springs eternal but this seems somehow fishey. If you have the patience to read it tell me your opinion.
Hello,
I am emailing to inquire about availability of artwork for sale in your
gallery, if you can ship international and also if you are able to process
Electronically Visa and Master Card Number/Expiry date/Cvv as payment. Let
me know so that i can communicate with you on the artworks that interest
me,you can also indicate to me which of the arts are sold and which are
available on your website.>I will be looking forward to reading from you.
Hello Frank,
Thank you for contacting me. Yes I can ship internationally and I can accept
Visa and Master Card either through my Pay Pal account or with my gallery
could handle the transaction. The artworks that are sold have a
red sold button on the bottom of the picture. However, I can recreate
anything you want in a short time. Here is my phone number if you want to
talk to me ......
I am pleased you found me and want some of my artwork.
Hello,
Good to hear from you,I have tried to purchase the arts online but my URL would not allow me
complete any transaction with online payment and paypal so I can only give
you my credit card number,expiry date and cvv to run manually if you have a
processing machine or means to run it. Below are the arts i have interest in............
Hi Frank,
Thank you for your interest in buying my art!
All the original artwork you have choosen is available and YES, I do have
means to run your credit card.
According to policy I will wait 2 weeks after receiving your funds before I
actually ship the artworks.
 The total cost will be $2,545.00 plus the cost of shipping and handling.
Since I do not know how much shipping costs will be, after the art is boxed
and ready and I know exactly how much the shipping costs are. Then I will
contact you again and let you authorize me to charge that in addition.
If this is acceptable then please send me your
1. credit card number
2. expiry date
3. cvv
4. address
5. phone number
6. copy of drivers license or country ID
Oh i am so sorry i found your emails in my junk and and regarding the
transaction i have never given out all the information regarding my credit
card because i am purchasing on net not to talk of my ID that is ridiculous.
I only give my credit card number,expiry date and cvv out for any purchase i
make so you can let me know how to proceed also on the shipping one will
have to pay additional fee at the delivery point here in Liechtenstein
because they will never bring to ones house. courier like Fedex, UPS are not
worth it here especially USPS all of them are not rendering good service
here probably because they already known very well.
You can contact this courier Mayor Delivery  (mayordelivery@hotmail.com) as
well with the weight and cost of the artwork for the shipping and insurance
to my 
address because they ship and deliver safely without one paying any other
money before collecting the goods unlike some other courier where it will
not be 
delivered to your address rather you will have to go to their office to pick
it up and when you get there you will be told to pay other money before
collecting it.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you asap.
Thanks
Shipping Address
2 Triesen Ave
Fürstentum 9225 Liechtenstein
I am not clear about the shipping? Let me understand, after I pack the art,
I contact "Mayor Delivery" with the weight and insurance costs then all the
shipping costs will be taken care of through them?
Please then get back to me with your CC#, expy date and cv v.
I am so happy you like my artwork and look foreward to hearing from you
again.
 Sincerely,
Hi Judy,
Thank you for keeping in touch i will be happy if you can get the Spring
Trees - $595.00 shipped to me later after you have shipped the other ones
but i will be happy to make a down payment for it when i am paying for the
other ones.
Regarding the shipping what i meant was that you should contact the Mayor
Delivery  (mayordelivery@hotmail.com) with the weight,size and the cost of
the arts so they can let know what it will cost for them to ship it to me
and then you can add it to the cost of the artwork which you will process on
the credit card.
I hope you can understand me better now i will be looking forward to hearing
from you asap
Best
Frank
Dear Frank,
Everything is packed and ready to mail, Spring Trees is in West Hollywood, CA and they will be sending it to me in about 2 weeks.
As you stated you are willing to make a down payment on this painting. I will take half which is $300.00 Please note below the two that are not framed. The frames are not very expensive and add extra weight if that is ok with you I will adjust the price and mail them unframed.
The Shipping box is Length 30.5" Width 19" Height is 10.5 inches and 21.9 pounds.
Or in metric Length 774.69 mm Width 482.59 mm Height 266.7 mm and weight 9.48 kilo.
Mayor Delivery has been notified of the size and weight of the box. I assume you can take care of the shipping with Mayor Delivery.
I can take VISA, Master Card, American Express or Discover cards.
 Your name as it appears on the card
 your expiration date
 your c v v number
 your address and country zip or area code asociated with the card  your phone number so we can talk and you can authorize me to run your card without you being available to sign.
I hope this is acceptable to you, this is the first time I have done a transaction without Pay Pal and the first time I've done business with anyone in Liechtenstein.
Thank you for being patient. Here is my address and phone number.
Next I get an invoice from Mayor Delivery for 820GBP around $1,000 bucks us currency!!! I forwarded the bill to him to pay. ?
Am I being screwed?