Piano scam hits unsuspecting recipients

Getting the same email every few weeks – from a widow using the exact same wording to offer a music lover a free Yamaha baby grand piano – raises the question of whether there is an entrepreneur out there selling franchises to criminals.

This time, writing under the name of Magret van Deventer, the crook had the familiar proposal: “The Yamaha Baby Grand Piano GC1 model used to be owned and played by my husband who passed away last year, the dimension is 151cm by 146cm.

“It was last tuned sometime last year before he passed. She’s about 3 years old and in an impeccable condition.

“I’m moving my properties to another place and I don’t think my husband will be happy if I sell this piano, at the same time, I am settling for a home with less space, so I’m hoping to give it out to someone who is a passionate lover of the instrument. I wasn’t going to leave it alone in an empty house.

“The piano is currently in storage with the movers I employed to move my properties from my house. The movers can deliver anywhere.”

The money line came next. “However, the beneficiary has to pay moving costs. You need to contact the movers and make an arrangement as regards the moving process,” she says.

Stolen picture of piano

The person included a picture of a white Yamaha baby grand, but a reverse search on Google Images quickly revealed that the photo was stolen from an advertisement for a piano in the US.

The piano pictured was actually offered for sale a few months ago by Stilwell Pianos, a dealer located in Mesa, Arizona.

However, the crooks – con artists with a sense of humour, it seems – pretended the piano was stored at Conex Movers in Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape.

Baiting the hook with the willingness to pay the transport cost, the crooks were on the line within minutes.

Jacqualine Beetha, saying she represents the clearance and delivery department of Conex Moving and Storage, offered three delivery options.

The lucky recipient only had to pay R16 550 for next-day delivery, R9 250 for delivery within four days, and R7 580 when delivery was scheduled for 10 days later.

“You are required to get back to us with your preferred chosen plan to enable us prepare your moving invoice. Please note we do not do COD and indicate the date you are making the payment so that we can email you the banking details.

“Please take note of instructions from Mrs Margret van Deventer that the first person that will make a payment for the cost of delivery will be the right person that will be handed over the baby piano to and any other payments will be refunded to the second person and note for now no one has made payment yet,” Beetha replied in an email.

She was adamant about knowing from which bank the payment would be made and specified that Conex wouldn’t deal with banks that could not immediately clear the payment.

Presumably, they wanted the payment to clear immediately as a few days’ delay would increase the risk of getting caught.

Conex Movers

An invoice from Conex Moving & Storage, complete with a company registration number and bank account details, arrived within minutes, followed immediately by a telephone call asking when payment could be expected.

Not surprisingly, an online search for Conex Movers – as well as a Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) website search for Conex Moving & Storage and the company registration number – shows that the company probably does not exist.

Searching the street address in Port Nolloth led us to a mining supply company’s warehouse.

The fixed-line telephone number had a Cape Town dialling code and went unanswered. The website noted in the email address does not exist.

TymeBank

The company that probably does not exist and promises to deliver a piano that probably does not exist asked for payment to be made to a TymeBank account.

TymeBank confirmed that the account exists but said it does not belong to Conex Movers or Conex Moving & Storage and that the address does not match that given on the invoice.

It said the account was opened following the correct procedure, and the account holder was biometrically verified.

It added that the account does not look suspicious based on the account activity. “But since we have now seen that the name and address provided by you on the invoice does not match our records, it does look suspicious. Since we have been alerted about suspected fraudulent activity on the account, it will be monitored very closely.

“Unfortunately, to comply with POPIA [Protection of Personal Information Act], TymeBank cannot share personal details related to the account.

“TymeBank encourages consumers who are paying for a product or service to protect themselves by doing their due diligence before making any payments. As the bank is not directly involved in the transaction, it’s important that the consumer checks that the service provider is a legitimate one.

“It is important to seek reviews from past buyers and not to pay (especially in full) for a service not yet rendered or until goods are received and are according to what was promised,” TymeBank said in response to queries.

A second round

The people behind Conex did not respond to an email when confronted with the allegations and stopped answering their phones. They sent a last email saying that someone else had paid for the storage and transport of the piano, and it is no longer available.

However, the game was back on – because it takes only a minute to register another Gmail account.

Van Deventer replied immediately, and we played a second round of the game.

“Conex Movers” responded with a new invoice within hours, complete with a new TymeBank account number. It also seems that opening an online bank account takes only a few minutes.

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here