Today I received an odd message in my email. I received the same exact message in my spam email yesterday:

"Dear Performer,

Good morning to you. I want to know the types of program you have for Children, your nature of performance and how long you have been in performance. Also I would love to know your location, your rate for 2 hours performance. It’s a birthday party for my wife and we want the kids to have a separate section and enjoy themselves. May I know the dates you have available in the month of November? I hope to hear from you soon, thank you.

Regards

Kate"

It seems like it is coming from a burglar in my local area. I bet that burglar is sending the same message to other performers. I have a strong feeling they got my email from FaceBook. I bet he wants to know my schedule so he will find out a good time to break in my office. That is why he wants my location too.

I also heard on the news media those type of thieves are checking out when you post you will go to an event on FaceBook so they can break in your home because no one is there.

And crime does get big in November because Christmas is around the corner.

I was thinking about sending an email back mentioning my wife and I will be on a cruise ship throughout November and December. I do not know if I should mention my real address or a fake one. If I give my real address, it will help me catch that person because I will be aware.

I bet that person sends the same email to a lot of performers, that is why it arrived in my spam email yesterday. Most prospects would not be eager enough to type back after they received no response within 24 hours.

What would you do?

Ummm yea the Face Book thingie.

So when someone contacts you about a date what do you tell them?

Have an alarm system? Those help tremendously and can be deducted from an office tax return.

Seems like a pretty long way round the barn for a burgler if you ask me, but cautious is always best.

I got the same email and I'm in a different state than you. It's some sort of weird scam but I doubt it's burglary. I haven't figured out what it's about but I did not respond.

Sounds like the over payment scam thing that has been going around to magicians lately.
They mail you a check asking you to return a part of it, then the check bounces. Etc.

Tom

I should email them back with the name and address of a police commander in Detroit. If the commander receives the scam, he might take care of it the legal way. If I made a complaint about it, I bet they will not be eager to do anything. Another idea is to give the scam artist a news media person's name with their address. I bet the news media reporter will be glad to hunt down the suspect so it will be on television.

I would not try to be a cop, just respond the email as if it was a legit work offer. Don't give any of your info, just ask for an exact date and tell them you only accept payment for the show through PayPal.

Tell them it is more convenient for them to give you a date for the show, and an alternative if they desire.

If they respond, be as insistent as they are on your terms and method of payment. That way if it is a legit show inquiry, you are covered.

The law will not do anything regarding these emails, so don't forward to them, as it may only get you in touble.

DO you REALLY think a burgler/scam artist will fall for this? They send out THOUSANDS of these hoping to get one to work. They are not going to follow bogus leads and stuff like that. It just does not work that way. You forward it to the commander and what exactlty will he do about it? No crime has been commited and in Detroit they have enough time consumed with actual crime that involves blood.

Please - this is Detroit! You would be surprised at the lengths to which people would go around here, or not (no disrespect to the city of Detroit, by the way). Yet again, Detroit was just named the most dangerous city in the country. This is unfortunate because there are a lot of great opportunities out there for her.

I do realize that this probably happens all over the country, but it seems to me that if someone is doing enough research to find you and contact you, they would already know your name and would address you as such, rather than "Dear Performer." This applies, burglar or not. If I were you Mike, I would do just as mentioned before - ask them for a date and tell them you require advanced deposit, and final payment the day of, via Paypal only. Was this one of the scams recently mentioned by Karen Drew on Channel 4? It sounds somewhat familiar to me.

Wait a minute! You mean I'm not going to get to keep the $4,500? And what about the remaining $5,500 I sent to a caterer when I deposited the check in my bank?

I received the same message....

It smelled funny so I said that I needed to speak with them over the phone regarding details.

I will proceed with caution!!!

I got the same email, and I'm in Minneapolis. I didn't respond, mainly because I wasn't interested in babysitting, oh wait, I mean 'entertaining' the little ones for two hours.

You are right about that Dr. Now the Detroit Police are no longer responding to burglar alarms. They stopped that because they mentioned over 90 percent of the calls were false alarms. I did receive a notice from my alarm company there is going to be an extra $7 per month on my bill for sending their own guard.

I think Bill had a sound approach. Will be interesed to see what shakes out. I haven't gotten one of these emails. Should I be insulted by that?

Jim

I received the same email yesterday, and I'm in Las Vegas. 2 hours - they need to get real! I deleted the message and figured it was a scam.

Bill

Add me to the list of magicians who recieved this email. Though I suspect a scam, I emailed them back as I would anyone who contacts me and got the following reply.

"Thank you for the reply. The city is Abbeville, SC. The distance is not a problem for me as I would gladly take care of your flight to and fro from where you are. Will November 19th be alright? Just want to ensure you are okay with the date before I go ahead and have the invitation printed




Regards




Kate"

So a burglary ring is probably out of the question right?

I don't know Danny...I'm wondering if Copperfield got this same email and that's how his King of Magic Award got stolen.

I don't believe its local burglars; I believe it’s a payment scam.

If they are going to gladly take care of your flight to and fro from where you are, shortly, they will ask for a bank account number to transfer funds so you can purchase a ticket and any extras you will need.

They want the account number

Email them that you will need a deposit made to your PayPal account in care of your email address before any further commitments can be made, or invitation printed

In all of my personal history of having people fly me to locations to provide services (which includes SCUBA training, magic performances and professional catering services) there was never a need for me to purchase the tickets with money they had sent me. They paid for the ticket themselves in advance, and then I would pick it up at the airport - that way no personal information beyond my e-mail address was ever given out, but then again, I was never called out of the blue for those occasions either...

As for the deposit thing? Paypal is the answer to that.

Got the same email and after and couple email exchanges I decided it was a scam and spam blocked her.

Gil Scott