He had a heavy accent with a Louisiana phone number and he could have passed for a cajun with a really heavy accent but now I know otherwise.?ÿ
I do not know how to make the entire email exchange visible without you having to save it and view it.
Most definitely a scam.
?ÿ
I've been getting the Microsoft scam calling constantly on my land line home phone. Sometimes 6-10 times a day. They say there is a problem with my computer and I need to call them or I will lose my files and my service will be disconnected. The odd thing is that the phone number they call with is my land line number.?ÿ
He might be out of jail
I like it when they call me for a 0% interest rate for a new credit card, I tell them it doesnt matter what my interest rate is I pay the balance every month, but if you can give me a -2% interest rate I will switch.?ÿ Most of the time they just hang up after that.
I receive half a dozen calls per day about my Google advertisement, which I don't have one.
The numbers are mostly easy to filter as they usually do not have a caller ID or else it is the name of come town or city and sometimes the phone number is local and nonexistent.
It is amazing that with modern technology that it is possible to get an instant acknowledgement that a number is not in service, yet they can not stop calls being made from that number or any number that is not in service and will not put an end to robo calling.
?ÿ
I read something a month or so ago about steps phone companies are making to put an end to this spoofed phone number nonsense. I forget the exact details but it's something along the lines of attaching a digital watermark to phone calls that don't originate from the internet (which is where all these scam calls are coming from). Calls without a watermark can be easily filtered. I haven't heard anything about it since though.
I posted about this exact same thing a couple of weeks ago...I don't think the good reverend was from Louisiana though.
Tell him you have reported him to the authorities; and to have a nice day!
A buddy of mine, a contractor, was suckered into a similar deal. It was a driveway replacement; the check came from New Jersey; written on a bank in Dallas; for more than the job, he was supposed to pass on the rest to someone else...
He ended up loosing $5,000
?ÿ
If ANYONE, EVER asks you if you accept credit cards; before they even tell you what they need done; tell them you only accept cash, up front, for the whole thing.
There have been many things tossed around and nobody has pulled the trigger on any of them as the FCC controls all that
Oh my, that is so unfortunate. I'm gonna guess he did the job without a retainer and once complete he was "desparate" for payment so he took the bait completely.
I was a bit alert and wary with the stilted english but my alarm bells began going off when the scammer asked for a favor and once I discovered the billing address had a different owner I knew it was scam.
This one was a bit more thought out than most others.
1. This person found a vacant lot complete with property address and tax parcel number.
2. He provided a proper address and phone number.
3. Signed my contract.
He went off the rails when he did not follow through with a retainer or name of his architect and then the bullshit at the end.
I got three odd emails referencing surveying last week; one was "offering" me a job, one was some other kinda scam about buying cheap equipment, and one was similar to the OP's post. I deleted the second two as I read the little blurb when they appear across my screen, but I unfortunately opened the "job offer" email cause it looked legit at first.?ÿ
Not sure why theses surveying related scam emails are showing up, maybe we seem like easy marks. There is a lot of grey hairs at the conventions, the scammers might have picked up on that.?ÿ
Okay, I have to ask.?ÿ Do you really get survey jobs from cold call emails??ÿ I ask because that first email was so obviously a scam, I'm wondering why you spent two days and a double digit email exchange trying to secure this job.?ÿ I've never owned my own company, and never will, but that first email would wind up in my junk folder within three seconds.
I'm not trying to be a jerk.?ÿ I'm really curious if you've ever gotten any jobs through an unsolicited email.
Can't speak for the OP, but yes, I've gotten some jobs through emails, they see our mail address on the website.
Basically it's starting to take over the landline phone call.
I picked up several, some people do not like talking on the phone. I had several people just text me. I wouldn't do any work without talking with them first.
I have gotten several jobs from cold call emails and expect it quite frankly. I mean, I'm on Yelp, Google, Bing and several others where my email is listed. Lots of folks just send out an email and that is what they are comfortable doing. Usually the hard part is getting good useful info.?ÿ
You still have to take prequations and get a signed contract and retainer. If someone is trying to scam you it will fall apart with collection of the retainer.
?ÿ
Most of the few joe public jobs I do are via email only.
Pay with card up front, do job, send map.?ÿ
Best way to do business?ÿ
?ÿ
That email reminded me of what a competitor began doing in the 1980s by having his buddies call and get quotes
They were not ready for my wit nor history of the area to fall for their treachery
All in all, there is always a crook near and far willing to enter the dark side to get what they can by breaking the law
Had a call few weeks ago and the woman needed a mile of boundary line marked and she had been quoted $8k. Told her I could do it for $5k. Did not tell her that it would take me half a day snd everyone else would be there at least 3 days. I surveyed all that area 10yrs ago and could setup and direct a dozer over hill and dale, cross two creeks and be home by 3pm. Still have not heard back because somebody will RTK will use my drawing she got a copy from her cousin and trample thru a 20yrs old thicket with 30ft canopy of sweet gum and elm covered in briars for less and who's to tell the line is not straight when the terrain is so up and down no fence pull will be over 400ft
The real deals are the ones that are ready to meet face to face and pass off their papers that have been hid away for years
The wort ones around here are those with big money that won't pay and local law enforcement will not touch and will look the other way
Fair enough!?ÿ Every place I've worked at in my 38 years in this industry has had an established client base with developers, builders, engineers, architects, title companies, corporations, and government entities.?ÿ I honestly can not think of a single job I've ever done that came from John Q. Public, other than the family or church of the boss.
I suppose my natural skepticism would not have worked in my favor had I ever become a business owner.?ÿ Thanks for the responses!
