Description

I was forwarded an email from a friend that had the email address - [email protected] - and read: Hello, I hope this message finds you well. I am looking for a new home for my late husband's Yamaha baby grand piano and would love to place it with someone who will truly appreciate and care for this beautiful instrument. If you or someone you know would be interested in giving it a loving home, please feel free to reach out to me via [email protected]. Warm regards, Mary Murgia After an email exchange with 'Mary' at the above email, I received the contact for her 'movers': [email protected]. I reached out and received the following email: Thank you for reaching out. We acknowledge the reference code MET68TIGDT7 from Mrs. Mary Murgia and are pleased to assist with the piano delivery to: XXXX Here are the delivery options: Standard 6-Day Delivery: $950 Express 3-Day Delivery: $1,300 Our service includes disassembly (if required), transportation, and reassembly at the destination. Payment Options: Wire Transfer, Zelle, PayPal, Venmo Please confirm your preferred delivery option and payment method so we can proceed with the necessary arrangements. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. Looking forward to your response. Best regards, John Smith Chief Operating Officer T (718) 618-5501 M (718) 618-5501 E [email protected] The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future. After sharing a preference for delivery, I got the following email: Thank you for confirming the standard 6-day delivery. I have attached the Venmo details below for your payment: Venmo Tag: @hpremo333433 Once the payment is made, kindly send us a screenshot of the confirmation for our records. Regarding the delivery schedule, please let us know your preferred date and time for arrival so we can coordinate accordingly. I then realized I didn't have any paper work, invoice, terms of transfer, damage in transit, etc. Then I started digging and found a nearly identical exchange here on BBB. The tip offs were: The original email from "Mary" is very unusual and did not match the "Mary" information in the rest of that email; there was no documentation or client agreement from the mover; there was no invoice for the payment; they wanted me to send them 'a screenshot' of the Venmo confirmation; the Venmo handle is registered to "Heather Zemaitis," not the company; the phone number area code is 718, which NYC, not Washington, DC, which is the physical address on the website; the website is one dimensional with stock photos; the physical address is a strip mall, not a moving company. Lots of little bread crumbs... I hope this helps someone not lose $1000!