Dear “Joan Barnett,”

Thank you so much for contacting me regarding the revision and editing work you need done. I occasionally get emails from people I’ve never interacted with before, inquiring about my services. It’s always a nice surprise to meet a prospective new client this way, and this, in itself, isn’t particularly odd or suspicious. When I saw your subject line, WRITER/EDITOR NEEDED, I thought, “Hey, that’s me!” And you certainly need help with your informative pamphlet for teens about the dangers of STDs. It looks like you’re trying to do some good work here.

I can’t wait to dive into it. I’m not sure why your sponsor has already sent a check. I haven’t really done anything yet, except exchange a few emails with you to discuss the details of this very important and completely genuine project. I’m also quite sorry to hear that, in his haste, he wrote it for some unspecified amount more than what he should have. Since I never specified an amount, either, can we really be sure he wrote it out for the wrong amount? I mean, all I’ve provided is an hourly rate and an estimate of how long the project will take. Did I mention that I haven’t actually performed any work yet? I appreciate your eagerness, but I’ll invoice you, don’t worry.

In any case, that “extra fund is needed to provide shelter and drug for less privilege kids and organize seminar about the STD/AIDS program.” I’m not sure about that. I hope you mean “medicine” rather than “drug.” I mean, I have my doubts about the whole “drug war” thing, but I don’t want to be involved in anything nefarious. Anyway, the simplest solution would be to cancel the check, all of which is overpayment at this point, after all. I’ll happily mail it back to you or shred it. But if you’d rather I deposit the check and then let you know I’ve done so, I suppose that’s reasonable enough. Then you’ll let me know where to send the excess amount (don’t forget to also let me know what that excess amount is). Again, that all seems needlessly complicated, and I’d hate for anything to go horribly, horribly wrong somewhere in the transaction. I hate to think of those kids not getting the shelter, unspecified pharmaceuticals, and informative seminars they need (be sure to distribute that pamphlet to them as soon as I’ve finished it for you).

Sincerely,
Christopher Smith Adair

So, it’ll come as no surprise to anyone who waded through the above that this is all a scam, a phishing attempt targeting writers and editors. I wasn’t aware such a particular variation existed until earlier this morning. Nanci Hamilton writes about her own experiences with this type of fraud here: http://www.hamiltonpdx.com/blogs/index.php/email-scam-detailed. The emails she received are quite similar to the ones I did. Mine were less elaborate and didn’t provide any Youtube links. Either the person or persons involved are trying a variety of approaches or they’ve developed them over time. In any case, I’m glad I figured it out early enough. I’ve filed a complaint with the FTC, and, once the bogus check arrives, I’ll alert USPS. In the meantime, I have some actual work to do.