Warning for Artists!

This post is a fraud warning for the artists who read this blog. Today, I received an email from somebody named Charles Phey from Hawaii. He inquired about two of my paintings in very broken English and wanted to send a certified cashiers check and a shipper to pick up the work. So, he wanted my address and phone number as well. I have had this happen before so my internal alarm went off.

The first time it happened was from a famous English soccer player (Wayne Rooney) who also wrote with broken English. Obviously something seemed off. Wayne Rooney speaks perfect English. I didn't answer the email, but the check showed up anyway FedEx Saturday Ovenight delivery. I took it to see if it was ok thinking 'Hey, what if?' and stood there while the teller and manager both looked at me like I was a criminal. I explained that I wanted to make sure it was cashable and somebody was using it to purchase my artwork. Needless to say, it was a learning experience.

I am not sure why people are targeting artists, but here is a link to the blog of another artist whom this recently happened to - Mark Johnson. You'll see on his blog there are a couple of other artists that have heard from the alleged Charles Phey today as well. I wonder if we'll all receive checks via Fed Ex tomorrow?
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