MMTA News : Missouri Music Teachers Association

MMTA Teachers,

There is a scam going around the internet that targets music teachers.

In almost all cases, it involves someone offering to send their children to you for music lessons while the children are visiting from a foreign country. The parent offers to pay for the lessons **by cashier's check**.

How the scam works is, they pay you by cashier's check which, on some pretext, is larger than your fee. So they ask you to cash the check and send the extra $$$ back.

About a week or 10 days after cashing your check, your bank will discover that the cashier's check is invalid (forged) and then they will charge back the entire amount of the check. So you will be out the amount you have sent the forgers plus, likely, a bunch of bank fees.

If you receive an email with these ingredients (foreign children wanting to study with you out of the blue, wanting to pay for all the lessons at once via cashier's check), it is best to simply ignore the message and delete the email.

I have received more than one of these scam offers myself in recent weeks and I know some other MMTA teachers have received them, too.

So please beware!

Below is a message MTNA sent out last summer with more details on this matter:

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Email Scam Targets Independent Music Teachers

MTNA has become aware of a scam directed toward music teachers. As many of you are likely aware, there has been a marked increase in the efforts of individuals performing acts of fraud via the Internet. Until recently these acts were not specifically targeted to independent music teachers, however, over the past few weeks many music teachers have received e-mails inquiring about having international students study with them. The person sending the e-mail poses as a parent interested in having their child or children study with them. The music teacher is offered prepayment for a certain amount of lessons, and once a cashier's check is sent and in the bank (still uncleared) the teacher is asked to refund a large portion of the check because of some emergency or to pay for the fees the "parent" incurred in transferring the money and obtaining the check. The cashier's check is an elaborate counterfeit and it takes the bank longer than usual to discover the fake. Some samples of the e-mail correspondence sent to teachers are below.

* * * * * * *
From: ireland_auto@yahoo.com
Subject: my kids need a music teacher
Date: 7/14/2005 7:35:04 PM

Good Day,
Iam Dr oliver from holland.iam intrested in bring my 2 kids to your location for you to teach them i will like to know how much you charge for a month. and your location Regard`s Dr oliver

* * * * * * *
From: mrsloraa@5fm.za.com
Subject: my 2 kids need a music teacher
Date: 7/14/2005 8:59:09 PM
Good Day,
Iam Dr oliver from holland.iam intrested in bring my 2 kids to your location for you to teach them i will like to know how much you charge for a month. and your location Regard`s Mrs lora

* * * * * * *
(This is a reply to a teacher who responded to one of the above e-mails)
i want my kids to be leactured for 4 weeks which will be $2000.
I am okay with your charges($2000 )for both children. I will arrange for their home stay, guardian and visas to come over to the States for the classes.

As regards payment, this is what I am going to do,I will instruct attorney in the canadian to issue a U.S certified check in your name. Although the value of the check is more than your charges I think, I should be able to trust you with the remaining balance.The reason why I am doing this is that it would take check sent from over here 60 days to clear over there, whereas a check sent from canadina to U.S would clear tops within 48 hrs. So I will expect that you send my balance to my Personal assistant immediately you recieve payment for your tuition so that my he can be able to arrange for their travelling documents come to the states and accomodation for the programe. So if my terms are acceptable to you, I would like you to give me your full name,contact address and your phone numbers so that I can instruct my attorney to make out the certified check to you. Pls get back to me as soon as youget this mail so that I can know my stand.
Have a great day.

Thanks again for your consideration!

* * * * * * *
From: ken_nny01@yahoo.com
Subject: music teacher needed
Date: 7/1/2005 9:40:13 PM
Hello,
I`m Mr Kennedy Dave and i came accross your advert as a music teacher. I mail to confirm if my 16years old son can join you in your music tutor so that you can help me teach him how to play Guiter. Note that my son once had a tutor who lost his wife sometimes in May and decided to stop teaching inorder to take proper care of his family after we might have paid him for 6months tutor. So i want to know the cost of the tutor for 3months as i will like the tutor to hold 4 times in a week and last for 2 hours daily.

Regards and hope to hear from you soon.

* * * * * * *

If you receive an e-mail similar to one of those above do not respond to them. Due to the high number of these scams, it is impossible to investigate each e-mail. If you or someone you know have lost funds because of this type of fraud, please contact your local field office of the Secret Service. A list of field offices is available at http:// www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml. For more information about common types of Internet fraud, visit the FBI website at http:// www.fbi.gov/cyber/cysweep/cysweep1.htm.

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posted by Brent Hugh at 12/06/2005 12:14:00 PM
permanent link to article: Scam targets music teachers

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