TITLE: The Incredible Shrinking Artwork
SCAMMER NAME: John Boko
SCAMMER LOCATION: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
SCAMBAITER: Shiver Metimbers
A slightly different twist on my now familiar artwork anti-scam.
I manage to secure two pieces of artwork, but unfortunately due
to the temperature and humidity fluctuations between here and West
Africa, as well as rogue rodents, there are problems.
John Boko is a 419 scammer. Initially he sent out a standard
419 scam email under a different name. I gave him my standard Derek
Trotter reply:
Thank you very much for your very interesting email, however I
am afraid that I will be unable to help you at this time. These
next three months are by far the busiest and most profitable period
for my company and I cannot give any time to anything other than
finding new artwork for our galleries especially wooden carvings.
You may already know of me since it was you that contacted me. My
name is Derek Trotter and I am the director of Derek Trotter Fine
Arts & Artist Scholarships. We are dealers in fine art and ethnic
art from all over the world. We run eight art galleries and two
scholarship centres here in the UK. We also offer scholarship donations
to aid up and coming new artists who may otherwise not have the
financial means to be able to produce or improve upon their work.
Our scholarship payments range from between $25,000 and $150,000
depending on the potential of the artist.
I am sorry but I am unable to enter into your business proposition
at this time, however if you have any contacts in your part of the
world who may be artists that you think may benefit from our financial
help then I would be very interested to be put in touch with them.
We are especially very keen on promoting new artists with experience
in wood carving and will be happy to offer a very generous $25,000
to $150,000 scholarship package to young or old artists with good
potential who may benefit from our help.
If you know of an artist who could benefit from our financial help
and who would be prepared to produce work for us to sell or promote
then please do let me know.
Again I am sorry that I am unable to help with your proposition
at this time but I wish you luck in finding somebody to help you.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter
Director
Trotters Fine Arts
Boko never responded to that email, instead he waited a few
days and got back to me under his new name, and strangely enough
knew all about my company even though we don't advertise anywhere!:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 3, 2006
Subject: Special appeal
Sir,
I wish to write you this message after going through your company
profile in the internet. I am a graphic designer and I am currently
working with a group of four young men who are artistic and talented
in art work.
After going through your web, I decided to write to know if your
company could be helpful in the develoment of our career in art
work design.
We are currently working as a team in a small village in Abidjan
Ivory Coast, West Africa. At your demand, we shall be obliged to
send to you some copies of our work.
Thanks and best regard
Mr John
So I make out I don't have a clue who he his and reply as usual:
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 5, 2006
Dear Mr. Boko,
Thank you for your email.
Please note that we are not looking for work that has already been
completed. If you require a donations/scholarship payment then you
need to create a new piece of work to submit to us.
Before we proceed, let me introduce myself and tell you about my
company. You may already have this information but I shall repeat
it to you just in case not:
My name is Derek Trotter and I am the director of Trotter Fine Arts
Dealer and Art Scholarships. We are dealers in fine art and ethnic
art from all over the world and we supply many business and private
customers we are a multimillion dollar company. We also offer scholarship
donations to aid up and coming new artists who may otherwise not
have the financial means to be able to produce or improve their
work. Our scholarship payments range from between $25,000 and $150,000
depending on the potential of the artist.
The way our programme works is that we seek out new or up and coming
artists all over the world who may not otherwise be financially
able to promote or sell their work and then we help them to realise
their full potential. We aid them by presenting them with a scholarship
payment ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 which again is entirely
dependent on their potential, but the minimum payment we award any
artist willing to supply work for us is $25,000. Presently we are
seeking artists who specialise in wooden sculptures.
HOW OUR DONATION/SCHOLARSHIP PROCEDURE WORKS:
1. Before we could make any kind of monetary payment to any artist
we would of course require proof of your abilities. We do not ask
artists to send in prepared samples of their work because of course
there is no way for our foundation to know if the carving is indeed
the artists own work, therefore we would require you to provide
a brand new sample for us to evaluate your abilities.
2. My company will submit to you (by email attachment) a sample
photograph or photographs. This may be of a person, a animal, a
building or other such item. You would then be required to carve
a representation of the image we send to you. Once your have completed
the work it is to be sent to us for evaluation and then a donation
amount would be awarded according to your skill or potential. Our
donation payments range from between a minimum of $25,000 up to
$150,000.
3. On receipt of a satisfactory piece of artwork my four board members
will then gauge the quality and therefore the size of the donation/scholarship
amount to send to you. The payment is sent by whatever means suits
you best and is made within 24 hours of receiving your work.
IMPORTANT: The artwork will have to be shipped to us for
evaluation. Please note that no payments whatsoever can be given
in advance of receiving the artwork. It is very important that you
understand this completely. Your shipping charges WILL be refunded
in full however they will only be refunded once we receive the sample.
I hope that is clear to you, and if you are in agreement to the
terms above please let me know as soon as possible and I will arrange
for a sample picture to be sent to you by email attachment.
Kind regards,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 7, 2006
Subject: Special appeal
Thank very much for your prompt reply and explanations. Actually,
I will like to work with your company if you must remain faithful
to your bond and I promise that I will give out my best as well.
I will be looking forward to receive the sample.
thanks and best regard.
John
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 7, 2006
Dear Mr. John,
Instructions for your or your artist can be found below. Please
let me know if you have any questions.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ARTISTS:
As mentioned on my previous email to you, before we can send you
the donation/scholarship payment, you will have to submit a piece
of work to our requirements. This serves to ensure the work is indeed
your own artists work, and also so that we can gauge the quality
of your artists workmanship.
Please find attached to this email the sample images. We have taken
great care to photograph the sample images from various angles so
that your artist can see the sample from ever possible angle and
know exactly the layout of the object, which in this case is a dog
and a cat sitting on chair. The artist will be required to make
a carving of this piece in the wood of his/her choice. The sample
we send has been specially selected to show off various skills.
Please note the following rules:
1. The carving can be any size you choose but must be a MINIMUM
of 10 inches along the longest length. Obviously you will need to
take into consideration the weight of the carving so that the shipping
cost is not to great for you, however, remember that we will of
course reimburse your shipping costs in full on receipt of the artwork.
As an example to you, the normal LENGTH of this particular carving
along the longest length is 14 inches. You may make your bigger
or smaller but no bigger than 20 inches along the longest length.
2. The carving can be in any type of wood that you choose, and must
NOT be painted. Obviously the quality of the wood, and if possible
a polished smooth finish will increase the chances of your donation
payment being larger. Hard woods such as ebony, mahogany, walnut
or cherry would be preferable woods to use however we are happy
to leave the choice of wood up to your artists.
Attention to detail is important and will help my board members
to judge the skill of the artists. You will see that the attached
picture has many small details. Try to capture as much detail as
possible.
NOTE: An exact duplicate of the sample is not required as
we are presently uncertain of your skills, however the closer your
work is to the supplied sample then the higher the donation payment
is likely to be. We realise of course that to exactly duplicate
the carving would take an artist of exceptional skill, so we do
not expect the carving to be of such detail and quality, however
the closer to the original artwork that your artist can reproduce
the sample in wood, the larger the donation amount will be.
Please bear in mind that the artwork will have to be shipped to
us for inspection before the donation payment is given, so obviously
you must take into consideration the weight of the artwork so that
the shipping cost is not too high for you.
You will need to ship the completed sample to us by a courier such
as FedEx or DHL. All your shipping fees will be refunded in full
but your fees will only be refunded AFTER we receive the completed
sample. It is not our company policy to pay for work that we have
not yet received.
On receipt of satisfactory artwork we will then judge the skill
level of the artist submission and will reward you with a monetary
donation depending on the quality of your work As mentioned previously,
the minimum donation amount per artist is $25,000 but this can rise
up to $150,000 per artist. Note that my board member will usually
pay higher amounts for carvings which have obviously taken great
skill and time to produce. Donation payment are usually given within
24 hours of us receiving the sample artwork.
Should your artists be some skill we would then like to make arrangements
to have some more work produced by you after we have received your
sample. If this is the case we will of course pay your full fees
in advance. As a guideline for good quality carvings we tend to
pay between $8,000 - $15,000 per item, so as you can see if your
work is of sufficient quality you could benefit greatly from our
partnership.
I hope that is of help to you and I look forward to hearing from
you soon. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate
to ask. Please note that once you receive this email and agree to
our terms your artist must have his carving ready to submit to us
within 4 weeks.
Also, please let me know when you expect to have the artwork ready
for shipping. In the meantime, please can you tell me what your
preferred method of payment is?
Kind regards,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
I attach 10 sample pictures of the item I want carving. Three
small example images are below though the pictures I sent to Boko
were very large and detailed.
UK readers will probably recognise the pictures as the animals
from the UK TV series "Creature
Comforts". Meet Trixie and Captain Cuddlepuss. I'm sure
you can work out which is which! This particular piece is from my
personal collection of Creature Comforts collectibles
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 7, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Thank for your quick reply.
I have only but one questions after going through the sample
you gave to me. Could the items on top of the chair be attached
to it when doing the calving or could they be separated from the
chair? Can they be calved saperately?
Thanks
John
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 7, 2006
Dear Mr. John,
Thank you for your email and for checking with me. I see that you
are very thorough with your work, this is most encouraging.
The cat, dog and chair can be carved separately if you so wish.
Kind regards,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
10 days go by without any contact. John then gets in touch.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 17, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I will like to know the shipping address for my sample.
Best regard.
John
I give John the details of my non-existent secretary's address.
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 17, 2006
Dear John,
As you have requested, the address of our head office is below.
Please mark the package for the attention of my secretary Miss.
Paula Jervis. I am usually out of the office most of the say so
Miss Jervis will advise me the moment your package arrives to that
I can see to your case immediately. Note that we have several different
departments in our building so it is very important that you address
the shipment exactly as below:
Miss Paula Jervis
D.T.F.A.
16 xxxxx Street
xxxx
xxxxxxxx
xxx xxxx
England
United Kingdom
Please advise me of the tracking number and carrier so that I will
know when to expect the delivery of the package. Payments usually
require 24 hours notice to process, however if I am aware of the
probably date of arrival I can ensure that your particular payment
is processed as soon as possible.
VERY IMPORTANT: Mark the item value as US $20 and also as
a gift because if not the import tax may be very substantial in
which case we will be unable to collect the package.
Please do take great care in packaging the item. In the past we
have had items delivered to us that have been damaged due to poor
packaging. We are unable to accept damaged goods.
If possible please forward us a photograph of the sample before
you ship it. This is not important, but if you send us a picture
before you ship it then it will help my board members prepare more
efficiently for your donation/scholarship payment.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
Good news. The package is on the way.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 21, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I have been able to package and send the sample today by FedEx with
tracking 8564746XXXXX
I was told by fedex agent here that it ought to arrive by wednesday.
They also said that the tracking will start functioning when the
package has arrived on transit in France. So I believed it will
start tracking before the end of today otherwise the number is ok.
I attached a photo of the sample for your view.
John
John attaches a photo of the carving. Looks promising:
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 20, 2006
Dear John,
Thank you for your email. I shall check the details later this evening
on the Federal Express site. Thank you also for sending the photograph.
The piece does look very nice.
Please can you send me the following information so that we can
start the process of getting any payment ready?:
1. Full name and address of the person that the payment is to be
made to
2. The type of payment you require (bank transfer, check, Western
Union etc.).
Thank you for your work so far.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 21, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
sir,
Thank very much for your quick reply as well. I am sory that the
picture does not appear very well it is poor photographic production.
As you can see, here in Africa, it is rare to get a photographer
with sophiscated camera. Haa!! haa!! africa is still too behind
compare to your technology over there.
Meanwhile, I will prefer to receive my payment through western union
money transfer in the name of
Mr John Boko
Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire
Thanks and best regard
I'll leave John hanging on for a reply.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 23, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Dear sir,
How are you today? I hope you are alright? I'm worried why the sudden
silence since yesterday. Please let me know if you are alright if
so has the package arrived to you? Please send me your phone numer.
Wishing for urgent reply.
John
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 24, 2006
Dear John,
I did send you a message yesterday but it appears that you did not
receive it.
Anyway, the package was delayed at customs yesterday so I did not
receive it. I have checked the FedEx site today and it now seems
that it will be delivered at my location sometime today.
At the moment I am helping with some aerial photographs at Blackpool
Tower and shall not return to my office until later this afternoon.
My secretary will alert me the moment that your package arrives
and then I shall contact you ASAP.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
The package arrives, but there's a problem - well, a problem
for John that is!
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 25, 2006
Dear John,
I think you must be having a problem with your email.
I sent an email to you yesterday to explain in full the problems
but you do not seem to have been receiving my messages. It may help
if you can supply me with a more reliable email address to contact
you on for faster and more secure communications.
Here is the problem.
You will recall in my email to you of 7th March that the MINIMUM
length for the carving must be 10 inches along the longest length.
I quote for the instructions:
1. The carving can be any size you choose but must be a MINIMUM
of 10 inches along the longest length. Obviously you will need to
take into consideration the weight of the carving so that the shipping
cost is not to great for you, however, remember that we will of
course reimburse your shipping costs in full on receipt of the artwork.
As an example to you, the normal LENGTH of this particular carving
along the longest length is 14 inches. You may make your bigger
or smaller but no bigger than 20 inches along the longest length.
When the carving arrived there seemed to be a small amount of damage,
however this is not the problem. During the shipping process something
must have happened to the wood (perhaps the temperature changes?)
because when the carving arrived and I inspected it, the length
of the carving is very small, at only five inches along the longest
length. This is half the minimum site as stated to you on 7th March.
The strange thing is that the box you shipped the carving in seems
to be much bigger than the carving inside, which leads me to think
that there has been some kind of shrinkage due to either the temperature
changes or a combination of this and the type of week used.
I will of course be most happy to supply you with photographs of
the carving to show you exactly what I mean.
I do not know if the board members will be prepared to accept this
however I cannot tell you for certain now until Monday morning (we
do not work over the weekends obviously).
Please let me know if you need any photographs and also let me know
if you have some explanation for what may have happened.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
www.deltrotter.co.uk
Of course the carving didn't shrink at all. It arrived in perfect
condition, but John doesn't know that:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 25, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
I will wait till Monday.
Bye
John
Monday arrives.... And passes without my reply. Now it's Wednesday.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 29, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I hope all is well with you. I am still waiting to hear from you
as you promised in your last email. Do I have any hope as a consideration.
John
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 30, 2006
Dear John,
I have attached photographs of the carving as it arrived with us.
I am sorry but the board members will not accept such a small sample.
As you can see, the item is less than half the minimum size. The
submissions rules are extremely strict and we cannot change them
to suit any individual person as we have to operate under strict
guidelines as a UK registered scholarship centre.
You have two choices. Please let me know which of the two you want:
1. We can return this item back to you and once you have confirmed
receipt of it we can refund your shipping.
2. Your artist can submit a new sample which meets the size guidelines.
I must tell you that had this item been of the required size then
you artist would most definitely have been eligible for a donation
payment. It is obvious that he has good skills but unfortunately
there is nothing I can do unless the submission rules are observed.
If you artists wished to resubmit some work in the correct size
then do let me know. He would have to submit a different carving
though so if he wishes to resubmit then do let me know so that I
can forward you some new images.
As for my contact telephone number I can be reached on (UK) +44
8707 65X XXX
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
I attach three photos showing the "shrinkage". Of
course, the carving is fine but the images are fake. With a bit
of photo manipulation I reduced the apparent size of the carvings
by about three inches in length:
Looks like John is going to submit a new sample. Cool!
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: March 30, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
The sample instruction was misunderstood before my calving.
It was after the shipment that I discoverred that the instruction
reads inches while I had my measurement in cm.
However, I wish that you will still have some considerations
while proper care will be taken in further edition.
I'm glad to read your message. I will prefer taking another
chance. If you can send me another sample, then I will do my best
to give you the required calving.
I will call you later while I expect the new sample.
Thanks and God bless
John
I send more sample images to John to work from. I'm a big fan
of the Commodore 64 computer, so lets see if John can make me one!
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: March 30, 2006
Dear John,
Thank you for your telephone call a short while ago.
I have just had discussions with my art department and they have
decided to, send a more technical sample for your artists. It is
quite obvious even from the small carving that your artist has some
very good skills so they would like to test him on a more technical
type of carving, in this case reproducing as much as possible a
computer keyboard in wood..
We are holding a new art exhibition which were are planning in the
middle of this year. The exhibition theme is "New From Old".
Basically it is a representation of new technology created by old
methods, so for instance we are looking for artists capable of carving
or sculpting copies of modern technology, such as computer keyboards,
computer mice, mobile phones etc. Judging by your artists previous
work we are quite sure that he would be of sufficient skill to reproduce
such work for us.
I shall repeat the previous instructions for you again John, but
this time with a few small changes. Please note that all dimensions
are in INCHES:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ARTISTS:
Please find attached to this email the sample images. In this case
they are photos of a computer/keyboard. You may recognise this machine
as the Commodore 64 computer. This is what we require you to carve
as a sample of your work, We have taken great care to photograph
the sample from various angles so that you know exactly the layout
of the object. The artist will be required to make a carving of
this piece in the wood of his/her choice. The sample we send has
been specially selected to show off various skills. Please note
the following rules:
1. The carving can be any size you choose however the MINIMUM size
must be 10 inches along the longest length. Obviously you will need
to take into consideration the weight of the carving so that the
shipping cost is not to great for you, however, remember that we
will of course reimburse your shipping costs in full on receipt
of the artwork. For your information, the real LENGTH of this object
is 18 inches, the DEPTH is 8 inches, and the HEIGHT at the highest
point is 3 inches.
2. Again the carving can be in any type of wood that you choose,
and must NOT be painted. Obviously the quality of the wood, and
if possible a polished smooth finish will increase the chances of
your donation payment being larger. We recommend a quality hardwood
such as rosewood or similar, but of course we will leave the choice
entirely to you.
3. Notice that there are letters on TOP the keys of the keyboard
as is normal. If possible we would like you to include these letters
on the carving sample, however the letters must be carved into the
wood, not drawn/pained. You may completely ignore the other symbols
that appear near the front edge of the keys however. If you need
a clearer explanation of this please do contact me either by telephone
or email for clarity.
NOTE: As before an exact duplicate of the sample is not required,
however the closer your work is to the supplied sample then the
higher the donation payment is likely to be. We realise of course
that to exactly duplicate the carving would take an artist of exceptional
skill, so we do not expect the carving to be of such detail and
quality, however the closer to the original artwork that your artist
can reproduce the sample in wood, the larger the donation amount
will be.
Please do contact me immediately if any of the above information
is unclear to you.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
I send John a dozen very high resolution pictures of a C64 taken
from various angles. A selection of much smaller versions are below:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 1, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I want to tell you that the work is in progress and immediately
it is finished, I will alert you.
Wishing you happy weekend.
John
I don't bother to reply and decide to let John get on with the
work. A week later I get the expected, "give me some cash"
message.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 8, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
Thanks for your letter. The work is almost finishing. I expect
to ship it before wednesday next week.
If you wouldn't mind, I am presently in poor financial state
as this sample will cost me higher amount due to the size this time
around. as you suggested before this second sample to either send
me the shipping cost of the first sample and to return of it to
me, i will appreciate if you can send me the money so as to help
me in shipping this new sample. I don't think sending the sample
to me will be of any use, rather if you can calculate the cost of
sending it with the shipment expenses which I spent about $150 and
send it to me through western union in the name of John Boko. It
will help me a long well in shipping the new sample to your office.
I will appreciate your kind understanding in this regard.
Thanks and best wishes.
John
Time to frighten John into thinking he may have pushed his luck
too far.
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 8, 2006
Dear John,
Two things:
1. The shipping charge would not be anywhere near $150. The last
item you shipped cost less than $50 according to the Federal Express
receipt I have, so where you are getting the $150 price from I do
not know. Even if the second sample was three times the weight of
the first sample then the shipping charge would be approximately
$72. I have sent and received many many items (approximately 200+
a year) by Federal Express all over the world, so I am well aware
of what the shipping charges are likely to be.
2. Again I must repeat that we do not send any money in advance
of receiving a correct sample.
I am sorry John, but as you appear not to be able to send the new
sample I will have to close your donation case. I shall make arrangement
to have your first sample returned to you by Federal Express on
Monday morning.
Please inform your artist to cease all work on the second sample.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
As expected, John quickly changes his tune at the prospect of
losing thousands of dollars.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 8, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I read your message and understand that you sound bad about my request.
I want to tell you here that I was charged about 56000 cfa while
$100 is about 45000 cfa. I can scan the receipt to you if you wish
to see it. so I did not in anyway lie to you but I asked for only
a favour. remember according to your instruction before I shipped
the item, the worth of the good is understimated to be $10 which
i know you did not base your estimation on that.
I never wished that you will sound so aggressive on this request.
Nevertheless I will send the package as early promised unless you
do not desire that the relationship continues.
John
That's more like it John.
A couple of days later, John lets me know the second sample
is nearly ready for shipping.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 10, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I will update you asap. I never meant to delay it but due to
several other works we are doing for our customers, that was why
it was delayed up to this 11 days. The finishing touches is going
on and by the grace of God I will send it tomorrow.
Thanks and God bless
John
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 10, 2006
Dear John,
Thank you for keeping me updated.
If possible, are you able to let me know the dimensions of the carving?
A photograph before you ship it would be appreciated however this
is not too important.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
John contacts me to let me know the carving is ready to ship.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 11, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
I have completed the sample but was unable to ship it today due
to public holidays here. I don't know if it effected London too.
I have attached a scan photo of the sample from three different
views.
I will make sure it is sent by tomorrow and by the Grace of God
it will reach you before Friday.
Thanks and best regard.
John
The photos look promising, though as an aficionado of the Commodore
64 I am slightly disappointed that the function keys are the same
size as the normal keys!
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 12, 2006
Dear John,
Thank you for sending me the image. The carving looks very impressive
and I am sure the board members will be pleased with the result.
I am sorry I was not able to speak with you on Tuesday as myself
any my colleagues were at a art exhibition and did not return to
the office at all until today.
Thank you for all your efforts so far and I will of course contact
you immediately that the sample arrives.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
John sends me the tracking details.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 14, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
this is the tracking number:85647474XXXX
Please try and let me know when you get it as promised.
regards
John
A quick check on the Federal Express site reveals the package
is indeed on its way and comes in at an impressive 6 Kilos!
The package arrives. There was a slight delay due to the UK
Bank Holiday, but at least it arrived undamaged. John must have
checked the FedEx site to see if it had arrived as I receive the
following email from him at the same time.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 18, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir
How are you today? I hope you had a nice easter holidays.
Please I want to find out if you have received the sample. From
the tracking information, it is ready for clearance.
Pls update me when it is through.
Regard
John
And here's some photos of the carving I received:
(Click to open large image)
The carving weighs just under 6 kilos and is larger than a real
Commodore 64. It's a big beast! Total shipping cost came to UK £121
Time to let john know the package has arrived so that he can
start to make plans for what he is going to spend his money on.
From: Derek Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 19, 2006
Dear John,
Just to let you know that I have no taken possession of the package
which you sent to me and I will be examining it later today along
with my board members. I shall be in touch with you very shortly.
Sincerely,
Derek Trotter - Director
Trotters Fine Arts
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 20, 2006
Subject: Re: Special appeal
Sir,
How are you today? Hope there is no problem. My effort to reach
you on phone was not successful uptil now. Pls update me on the
statue.
Regards
John
I do not bother to reply.
Derek is away on business, so his brother takes over the case.
From: Rodney Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 20, 2006
Dear Mr, Boko,
My name is Rodney Trotter and I am the brother of Derek Trotter.
I am also the head of sales for our company.
My brother is unfortunately unavailable at the moment as he is attending
an art exhibition in Blackpool, Germany and will not return until
the end of next week. My apologies if you have tried to contact
him and received no reply. His attendance was needed at very short
notice. I have been given charge of your application.
I am just letting you know that the board members are currently
examining your work and I hope to be able to report back to you
later today.
Yours faithfully,
Rodney Trotter - Sales
Trotters Fine Art
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 20, 2006
Subject: Re: Introduction
Dear Mr Rodney,
I'm pleased over your message of introduction and update. Actually,
I have tried several times without success to reach Mr Derek; both
on phone and email.
Nevertheless, I'm glad to hear that your company is in the process
of examining my sample. I hope for better and favourable report.
Thanks and best regard as I wish that you will keep me updated until
the return of your brother.
Best Regard
John
From: Rodney Trotter
To: John Boko
Date: April 21, 2006
Dear Mr. Boko,
Thank you for your reply yesterday. I am sorry for the slight delay
in my reply however I have been trying to investigate the latest
"problem" with your submission and I had to make a few
calls.
It appears that your package was infiltrated by a rodent, more
accurately a hamster. We have provisionally named it 'Bert'. Unfortunately
Bert must have been caught inside the packaging during shipping
somewhere between your location and our head office. Initial veterinary
reports point to Bert being an African hamster, so I can only assume
that Bert chewed his way into the packaging shortly after you posted
it.
I am afraid Bert has badly damaged the carving as can be seen in
the attached photographs. Bert has gnawed a hole all the way through
the carving as well as creating many smaller holes around the piece.
Before my brother left for the Blackpool exhibition he and I managed
to capture Bert so that we could take it to the vets to have it
examined to try to find out exactly where he came from.
To my shame I have to admit that I was extremely disappointed and
indeed angry with Bert for the damage that he caused to your impressive
work, and as you can see I was ready to shoot him, however my brother
is a very active animal rights campaigner and would not allow it.
He made me promise to take Bert to out local hamster sanctuary which
is indeed what I have done.
Under normal circumstances items which arrive damaged are usually
disqualified by us, but under these exceptional circumstances the
board members have decided to try to come to some agreement on a
donation payment as soon as possible. I shall contact you again
hopefully later today to let you know the outcome of this meeting.
Sincerely,
Rodney Trotter - Sales
Trotters Fine Art
I attach photos of Bert and the damage he has caused. The damage
is of course faked. No Commodore 64 computer was harmed during this
scambait:
A short and sweet reply from John.
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 21, 2006
Subject: ok
OK!
And later after no reply from Rodney Trotter:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 22, 2006
Subject: Re: ok
Sir,
Still waiting
John
And again:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 23, 2006
Subject: Re: ok
Till date no more comment.
John
Time for some bad news I think.
From: DCI Roy Slater - UK Police
To: John Boko
Date: April 24, 2006
Dear Sir.
Ref. Case No. #1312212/132
According to our information you have recently had dealings with
a person calling himself Derek Trotter and a company called Trotters
Fine Arts. Please can you confirm to me that this is the case?
I am afraid to have to report to you that Mr. Trotter is in fact
not who he says he is. In fact Mr. Trotter's real name is David
Jason, and he is a known art forger and fraudster who we have been
closely watching for nearly seven months. Mr. Jason has been arrested
and is currently in our custody along with three of his accomplices.
We are seeking information on Mr. Jason's recent dealings and also
witnesses who can provide detailed facts and dates which may help
us in a future criminal prosecution against him and his associates.
According to some of the information we have found on Mr. Jason's
computer, you recently communicated with him and send some pieces
of artwork in order to claim a donation payment. I am sorry to say
that the story that Mr. Jason gave to you about providing a scholarship
and donation scheme are entirely false, and items which were sent
to him by artists have been sold on to collectors at vast profits.
For instance the first carving that you sent to him (a cat and a
dog on a chair) was recently sold to an underground dealer for £32,700.
Unfortunately the poor artists who supplied these works are not
receiving a single penny for their work. To date Mr. Jason has defrauded
over 200 artists, none of which have received any payment whatsoever.
As far as we are able to calculate, Mr. Jason has illegally sold
artwork to the total value of £1.7 million pounds.
The address that you were given for Trotter's Fine Arts is in fact
that of a post office. Mr. Jason gave artists this address and then
he collected the items from the post office using false identification.
Trotters Fine Arts does not, and has never existed at any real location.
If you wish to pursue a claim against Mr. Jason then please do get
back to me at this address, quoting the case reference number above.
I can also pass your details onto the criminal compensations department
and possibly have some compensation sent to you.
I am sorry to give you such distressing news however you have my
personal assurance that Mr. Jason and his cohorts will suffer the
full force of the law.
In good faith.
DCI Roy Slater
UK Met Police
A day goes by. John senses he is being played for a fool, and
decided to contact Brian Anthony with a proposition:
From: John Boko
To: Derek Trotter
Date: April 25, 2006
Subject: attn mr derek
Sir,
How are you today? Without doubt you are doing well. I know it will
be difficult for you to reply my last messages. It is really nice
to know that the game was for fast lane. I'm not in any way against
your plight but know that I have known what is involved, why not
make it a win, win game.
Even before I got the strange mail from slatter which I send copy
to you, the game was clear to me. I know he himself has his own
motive which might not be far from gaining his own interest.
I thought of our correspondence and I found that that we can
be useful to each other. Now, you are convinced that I can offer
the product you need and I'm sure you have the moving market for
the product.
Why can't we forget the donation of a thing and when I work
out an art work you will sell and pay me according to price we agreed
on. The amount you make out it should not be my concern but what
covers my expensse with small coin will be surficient and satisfactory.Think
about!
John
DCI Slater did tell John that the Trotters Fine Arts email system
had been shut down....
To: John Boko
Date: April 25, 2006
*** AUTOMATED MESSAGE - PLEASE DO NOT REPLY AS YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE
A REPLY ***
Dear Sir or Madam.
This is the automated mailserver system for: **deltrotter.co.uk**
Please note that this system is now no longer in use. The account
that you are trying to contact has been closed until further notice.
Please do not reply to this automated email because you will not
receive a reply.
A copy of your message has been included below.
Thank you........
*** AUTOMATED MESSAGE - PLEASE DO NOT REPLY AS YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE
A REPLY ***
>mailbot.rev.191221<
To date there has been no reply from John. Game over I think,
but I will keep his file open just in case!
END.
UPDATE - June 2006:
Just to give some additional information on John Boko. As I
write, I have been in contact with "John" posing as a
fellow scammer looking for work. John has just offered me a job
as just one of several of his European representatives to help cash
and transfer payments from scammed victims for him. I was offered
between $2,000 and $3,000 per month just for the simple job of gathering
victim's payments together and forwarding the money into his bank
account.
During our conversations I John told me he was making around
$45,000 a month on average from his various scams, ranging from
standard 419 type scams to cheque and Credit Card fraud. His team
consists of around 20 individuals located in various countries around
the world. I was also able to discover the name and contact details
of John's artist and managed to contact him to confirm he had indeed
been paid for his work, although he wouldn't tell me how much he
was paid!
I'm still in contact with John, who calls himself Tony, who
incidentally just collected a $15,000 payment from one of his "guys"
in Switzerland. Any information I can find will be handed over to
the relevant authorities.
I hope to update this page a little more soon.
If
you enjoyed reading this, please consider supporting out site.
|