Santa Barbara Weddings and Portraits

It’s amazing as a wedding photographer in Santa Barbara how many scammers contact me to exploit my services. I think at least two or three times a week I receive an email from a “bride” from out of state/country who wants to over pay me by a few thousand dollars and wants me to send the extra money on to her “coordinator.”

Fortunately, I learned about this scam many moons ago…

But, I had to laugh when a “bride” contacted me earlier this year and booked her wedding date, February 31, 2006.

So… today’s lesson… this works even if you are not a wedding photographer - I know a friend who learned this lesson the hard way selling stuff on craigslist.

If someone contacts you and wants to send you a check (and even more suspicious if it’s a cashier’s check) and they are going to send you “extra” money that you need to give to someone else (ie: the shipping company, their rep in the states and so on….) this is a scam. You will lose money if you play along… do not fall for it.

Now, if you’d like to have some fun, play along for a while and waste their time. Scam the scammer. You can learn more about “scambaiting” by visiting 419eater.com