I don't know if this means I've reached a professional, albeit annoying, milestone or if I've just made it onto their grid but I was hit with my first "cake scam" this weekend. Fortunately I had read about them in another blog but I think I would have figured it out anyway simply because they are so obvious.
They tracked me through a professional on-line wedding vendor site which is not much different than the way any other spammer/scammer gets their information. Once you reply and they give their return email that's when you know it is completely fake. There must be a written script that all of these people use; broken English, (really) bad grammar and structure and impossible to believe sums of money and numbers. The dates were contradictory and best yet it was for two weeks from today!
I decided a semi-professional email was in order this time, with some slightly unrealistic demands on my part, but I also made sure that I went back through the original website and marked this item as spam. I do not know if this will help or not but there's not much else I feel I can do.
The moral of this story: knowledge is power! No, really. Keeping yourself current in your chosen field is a must but that means on the wackier side of things too. Double check, check back and run with your gut feeling.
Oh, well, I guess I'll have to wait a for a legitimate $4000 wedding cake order to come my way *sigh.*
About Me
- Veronica
- Durham, NC, United States
- My name is Veronica and I own Southern Gold Leaf Cakes. I opened my home-based business in 2008. I am a licensed and inspected home bakery specializing in custom cakes. Since all cakes are made to order there are no frozen cakes here, only fresh and only home made. I am a self-taught baker but I have a strong art background with years of baking experience. It is the most rewarding feeling in the world when you can apply your skills to do something you love. To see my cake creations and view our yummy menu visit us at www.southerngoldleafcakes.com!
Hi Veronica,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this info! I've had my blog up for only a couple of weeks now, but I'm getting comments like you described EVERY day! I've never replied to one. Luckily, Word Press allows me to "Allow" the comment or mark it as Spam before it's shown. I always mark them as spam when the grammar/English just doesn't sound right.
Lacie
Couture Cake Jewelry, Owner
p.s. love your blog = )
I'm glad that I could be helpful. Your site and blog are really awesome to look at. I love the pieces. I hope to keep in contact with you (a lot) in the future!
ReplyDelete