Nigerian Music Student?

I'd planned to come back a lot sooner. But, they say that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. I know that John Lennon is usually given the credit for that phrase. And he did use it in the song "Beautiful Boy" which was on the Double Fantasy album. For those who were not alive at the time, this came out in 1980, months before Lennon was shot. But, I had the quote in my Quotation File Box, compiled for speech class when I was in 8th grade, which would have been somewhere in 1974-75. The point is that while Lennon sang it, the quote existed before he used it. Explanation over. There will be a test at the end.

While I was busy making other plans, I got this e-mail from a person named Steve Robert. (I always feel a little sorry for people with no last name. Steve and Robert are both first names. But, I won't poke fun. Perhaps his parents couldn't afford a last name.)

Hi
How are you doing today?I want a private  lessons for my daughter,Mary. Mary is a 13 year old girl, home schooled and she is ready to learn. I would like the lessons to be in your home/studio. Please I want to know your policy with regard to the fees,cancellations, and make-up lessons. Also,get back to me with the total fees for three months worth of lessons(one-hour lesson in a
week)starting from May 23th . Looking forward to hearing from you.

My best regards,

I include the e-mail in all it's glory, complete with bizarre spacing, and syntax issues. But, I get oddly worded e-mails from prospective students every so often, and really didn't think much of it at the time.

I responded with my usual follow-up, and gave him the information he wanted. I said nothing about a meet and greet appointment. Just so you know, it will come up again, but not on the test.

He then sent me this:

Hello Annette ,

Thanks for writing back.  I'm a single parent who  always want the best for my daughter and I would be more than happy if  you can handle Mary very well for me. I would have loved to bring Mary  for "meet and greet"interviews before the lessons commence, which I  think is a normal way to book for lessons but am in Honolulu,Hawaii  right now for a new job appointment. So,it will not be possible for me  to come for the meeting. Mary will be coming for the lessons from my  cousin's location which is very close to you. Although,Mary and my  cousin are currently in the UK and I want to finalize the arrangement  for the lessons before they come back to the United States because that  was my promise to Mary before they left for the UK. Mary is a beginner  but has a strong passion for Piano lesson and will really love to work  hard with you.

As for the payment, I want to pay for the three  month lessons upfront which is $500 and I'm paying through a certified  cashier's check.Hope this is okay with you?I would be more than happy if  you can accept Mary as one of your students and start with her on  Thursday ,May 23 . Looking forward to hearing from you again.

My best regard
Steve

The font difference between the "Hello" and "Annette" I noticed right off. Some people send out multiple inquiries, and this could have been his follow-up letter. In that case, he might not have noticed the difference. I do get some odd, perfectly serious letters sometimes.

Once again, the syntax problems came out. I had discussed voice lessons, and now he's talking piano. I do teach a little piano, and this also tells me that he got my e-mail address from the Music Teachers National Association.

And then I got to the certified cashier's check. That set off a bunch of warning alarms in my head. I read all the exchanges to the Nameless Cynic and our son, the Wookiee. When we were done laughing, I sent out another e-mail to him, discussing what books he would need to purchase, and giving him the links to Amazon for ordering. Who knows? this still could have been a serious inquiry. Although things were getting fishier and fishier.

Steve's final e-mail to me was this one:

Thanks for your message.    My cousin will get in touch with you for the final lessons arrangement immediately they are back from the UK. I will want you to handle Mary very well for me because she is all I have left ever since her mother's death four years ago. Being a single parent, It's not easy but I believe God is on my side.

With regards to the payment, It will be made upfront like I promised. Like I told you in my previous e-mail,am not currently in town but I have contacted a financier who has been supporting me ever since I lost my wife and has promised to make the payment on my behalf . I also want to let you know that the payment will be more than the cost for the three month lessons. So, as soon as you receive the check, I will like you to deduct the money that accrues to the cost of the lessons and you will assist me to send the rest balance to my cousin. This remaining balance is meant for Mary and my cousin's flight expenses down to the USA, and also to buy the necessary materials needed for the lessons. I think,I should be able to trust you with this money?
  I'll like you to provide me with your full name to be written on the check,mailing address and your cell phone number.Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you again.

Regards,
Steve

Wow. Just how gullible did he think I was? In my response, (Yes, I did respond. I also sent the exchanges to the G-mail police and the MTNA - the aforementioned Music Teachers National Association.) I told him that I would be happy to accept the check for more than what we had discussed, but I would not be sending anything to the cousin, as I would count anything over the amount as a tip.

I never heard back from Steve. Or the G-mail police or MTNA, for that matter. The latter had sent out an e-mail a few years ago warning of this scam, or others like it.

The odd thing is that this scam does work. It's called the Nigerian 419 Scam. The 419 refers to the article in Nigerian law dealing with scams. And it's not always Nigerian, that's just the nationality that has come to be associated most often with this con. And it's not new. Variations of it date back to the 18th century. (That's the 1700's.)

By making this something that only the most gullible would believe, the con artist (I need another word. I don't like calling them artists. I'm an artist. And I have very little in common with these people.) allows those people to pick themselves out for the con. Thousands of e-mails can be sent out and only the most gullible respond. By answering as often as I did, they no doubt thought that I was pretty stupid. I was so sorry to disappoint Steve. And that poor little motherless child. Yeah, right. 

Maybe I was scam-baiting. Keeping them working on me, and giving them less time to work on more profitable marks. According to Wikipedia: "One particularly notable case of scam baiting involved an American who identified himself to a Nigerian scammer as James T. Kirk. When the scammer – who apparently never heard of the television series – asked for his passport details, he sent a copy of a fake passport with a photo of Star Trek's Captain Kirk, hoping that the scammer would attempt to use it and get arrested." I wonder if it worked?

It's hard to tell how much money is lost each year to these scams. Some people are no doubt too embarrassed to go to the police. But, in 2006 it's extimated that $198.4 million was lost in the US alone to the Nigerian 419 scam and its many variants.

As for me, I felt somehow violated. However many others he sent these e-mails to, he targeted me personally, because I'm a music teacher. He knew that I teach out of my home. My contact information has to be out there, or I don't get new students. That makes me vulnerable. Also, I teach out of my home. I don't have many male students, and that may be a good thing. Not that men are the only ones out there capable of violence, but 90% of the murders in this country are committed by men. So, there have been a few times when I was glad that the Wookiee is still living at home. No one has ever been violent, or at all objectionable, but I don't know that until they are in my living room, singing within easy arm's reach of me.

I couldn't find any information on how many music teachers are attacked in the course of a lesson. Not that I looked very hard. This is information that I really don't want to have. I will continue to have my name out there. And I will probably get more of these e-mails in the future. But, it does make me wonder ~ how safe are we?

Test: Did the phrase, Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans, originate with John Lennon? (Ha! You thought I'd forgotten didn't you?)