Clown Internet Scam - An Internet Scam is Currently Targeting Clowns and Other Entertainers

I am the victim of an internet scam. It is very hard to write that sentence, but it's necessary in order to warn my fellow clowns, magicians and other entertainers, and to prevent them from being taken for $2,800.00 like I was. Here is what happened to me, and how you can avoid it.

I run the clown-ministry.com web site, and I perform as a clown at both ministry and secular events. Due to the popularity of the clown-ministry.com web site (do a search on Google .com for 'clown' and it's the 7th site listed, for example) I'm easily found by people -- for both good and bad reasons. For instance, last year my wife Ellen and I taught clowning for a week at the Seventh Day Adventists' national Camporee -- we're not Adventists, and don't know many people who are, but we were found by them & hired primarily due to the popularity of the web site. We've been invited to perform in clown at a conference in Canada, performed at company picnics, etc. well out of our neck of the wood, and so on. Please understand that this isn't bragging; it's setting the stage for what happened in the scam.

We were contacted via e-mail by someone purportedly from Cincinnati, Ohio, who wanted to fly my wife & I to Cincinnati to perform at a birthday party. Since we'd had similar things happen in the past, that didn't set off any alarms in my head. In addition, I knew that there are entertainers such as Jennifer Lopez who will sing "Happy Birthday" at your party, for a fee of $50,000.00; I'm no J Lo, and my singing is atrocious, but I charge a lot less as well :)

I did an internet search on that person (I'm not using the name he gave, since there's a criminal investigation as well as FBI investigation going on -- no joke), and found someone by that name in Cincinnati, Ohio, a "regional celebrity" so to speak. So, it didn't seem incredulous that he would have the money to hire us as well as pay round trip air fare. It's now obvious that it was merely someone using that person's name to "hook" us.

At that point, my wife & I were still inclined to think of this as a prank, but even so we replied to the email with a quotation for our services, politely and professionally. We were joking with each other that this had to be a prank; after all, why would someone hire us when there are hundreds of clowns in the Cincinnati area? Unless it was someone with money to burn who wanted to buy "bragging rights," it made no sense. So we forgot about it, until the person replied back, hiring us.

We still considered it a joke, until we received a check in the mail, for $2,800.00. MUCH more that we had quoted our services for! We thought that, maybe, the excess was to pay for round trip air fare and accommodations, but even so that was far too much. We e-mailed the person back, explaining that we had received $2,800.00 via check. His response is what should have tipped us off to the scam.

He replied that, since he was out of the country on a business trip, he had his personal assistant send the checks out for the party, and the assistant had made a mistake, combining with our check one for $2,300.00 for the photographer from the United Kingdom that he was flying in to photograph the party. Would we be so kind as to send him those funds via Western Union?

Like an idiot, I said "yes." The check had been deposited and cleared (I thought), and I didn't want to hold onto money that didn't belong to me. So, I went to the local Western Union office and sent $2,300.00 to an individual in the United Kingdom. This didn't set off any red flags (although it should have) since it seemed like the type of silly mistake I've seen people do before. What happened next, though, set off every red flag in my head, and then some.

Days later, I received another email from the man supposedly from Cincinnati. According to him, his mother had an advanced form of lung cancer, and needed an immediate operation. He wanted me to send the remaining money to his mother's doctor in Nigeria and he would reschedule the party later. When I heard the word 'Nigeria' I had icicles running up and down my spine. Nigeria is famous, in the internet world, for being home to the most prolific scam of all time. You've likely received spam email about it. In a nutshell, it involves the widow of some minister or rich person, who is trying to smuggle their immense fortune out of the country before it's seized by her dead husband's adversaries; in exchange for letting them use your bank account, they will give you (various amounts of money, if not enough to make you filthy rich, at least enough to make you dingy). Of course, no money comes out, but these people proceed to rob your bank account of every penny.

So, when I heard that, fear clutched at my heart. Besides, why would someone rich enough to hire me (and fly a photographer in from the UK) need my money? The answer is, he didn't; he was just trying to bilk me of more money before his ruse was exposed.

You see, when I initially deposited the $2,800.00 check, it appeared to clear; it was then several more days before he requested the $2,300 to his photographer, and nearly a week (from the time I deposited the check) until I complied with that. 11 days after the check was initially deposited, it came back 'funds denied.' The bank then debited $2,800.00 from my checking account -- which didn't contain that much, of course. So, I'm out $2,800.00, the crook (or his accomplice in the UK) received $2,300.00. What's the moral of the story?

The purpose of this is two-fold: to warn my fellow clowns, and to point out the red flags that I should have seen, and what I should have done.

  • Bogus email address: there are many 'free' email sites available, where anyone can set up a free email account. Spammers, and many others use these to hide behind. Never trust information coming from a 'free' account.
  • Depositing the check: I should have deposited the check, and then waited 2 weeks to ensure that it had cleared. I had seen people selling items on ebay.com who warn people paying by personal check that they would not ship items until 2 weeks after the check was deposited, just to prevent this problem. In my case, they used an internet service (qchex.com) instead of a personal check, but the same time period applies.
  • Sending money back: I should have offered to send the money back to the original person after 2 weeks, or destroyed the check and asked them to re-send the correct amount.
  • Nigeria!: need I say more? Sending money to Nigeria is a Bad Idea.

    So, that's where it lies. I'm out $2,800.00, and in danger of losing my house due to the actions of this criminal. Jesus Christ orders His followers to "pray for those who despitefully use you" (Matthew 5:44). It's difficult, but I'm praying. Thank you for listening -- be sure to protect yourself and your loved ones.

    Tom Raymond, aka. Raynbow the magic clown, is a professional clown and underemployed computer geek, webmaster of http://www.clown-ministry.com/ the largest clown resource site on the web. His personal site can be found at http://www.clown-ministry.com/raynbow/

    In The News:

    • pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Watch Out For That Scam

    The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) received over 200,000 complaint... Read More

    Technology and Techniques Used in Industrial Espionage

    Industrial Espionage. These methodologies are being used on a daily... Read More

    The Risk Of Electronic Fraud & Identity Theft

    Electronic Fraud and Identity Theft Human beings are pretty... Read More

    Detect Spyware Online

    You can detect spyware online using free spyware cleaners and... Read More

    Top Spyware Removers Considerations

    Only the top spyware removers are successful at detecting and... Read More

    Dialing Up a Scam: Avoiding the Auto-Dialer Virus

    For many, the daily walk to the mailbox evokes mixed... Read More

    Top Ten Spyware and Adware Threats Identified

    On December 8, 2004 Webroot, an award winning anti-spyware solution... Read More

    Is Adware - Spyware Putting Your Privacy at Risk

    Do you sometimes notice your computer running slower. Is your... Read More

    What Can Be Done About Spyware And Adware

    Having a good Spyware eliminator on your computer is vital... Read More

    Be Aware of Phishing Scams!

    If you use emails actively in your communication, you must... Read More

    How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm

    By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer... Read More

    New CipherSend Online Security Service Thwarts Email Address Theft And Soothes Password Fatigue

    In 1997, I decided after 15 years as a practicing... Read More

    Fishing for Fortunes. Scam!

    Spelt phishing, but pronounced as above, this despicable act is... Read More

    How to Get Rid of New Sobig.F Virus?

    As you know, this time the virus under the name... Read More

    Why Corporations Need to Worry About Phishing

    Phishing is a relatively new form of online fraud that... Read More

    Web Browsing - Collected Information

    You may not realize it, but as you are surfing... Read More

    Spyware Protection Software

    Spyware protection software is the easiest way of removing spyware... Read More

    Do You Know What your Kids Are Doing Online?

    It's a sad statistic, but hundreds of unsuspecting kids are... Read More

    7 Ways to Spot a PayPal Scam E-Mail

    Paypal is a great site and is used by many... Read More

    Is Your Email Private? Part 1 of 3

    In a word, no - an email message has always... Read More

    Anti-Spyware Protection: Behind How-To Tips

    There is no doubt that "how-to articles" have become a... Read More

    Dont Allow Hackers to Take Out Money from Your Bank Account

    If you know what is the 'Fishing' then it's very... Read More

    Internet Shopping - How Safe Is It?

    Millions of people make purchases online, but many people are... Read More

    Delete Cookies: New-Age Diet or Common Sense Internet Security?

    No, this article isn't about some new, lose-20-pounds-in-a-week, certified-by-some-tan-Southern-California-doctor diet.... Read More

    The Importance of Protecting Your PC from Viruses and Spam

    Today the internet is a mine field of malicious code... Read More

    DOS Attacks: Instigation and Mitigation

    During the release of a new software product specialized to... Read More

    Can I Guess Your Password?

    We all know that it's dangerous to use the same... Read More

    Dont Miss Information Because of Misinformation

    It has been said that with the wealth of information,... Read More

    Securities

    NETWORK SECURITIES: IMPORTANCE OF SECURITIESComputers and securities must form a... Read More

    Top Five Online Scams

    The top five online scams on the Internet hit nearly... Read More

    Everything You Need To Know About Spyware and Malware

    You are at your computer, checking out software on EBay.... Read More

    Email Hoaxes, Urban Legends, Scams, Spams, And Other CyberJunk

    The trash folder in my main inbox hit 4000 today.... Read More

    Phishing - Learn To Identify It

    Phishing: (fish'ing) (n.)This is when someone sends you an email... Read More