Scamming piano teachers is a lucrative business. If it didn’t work, scammers would stop. The emails and phishing are getting more difficult to spot every year.
Now that we’re adding AI (Artificial Intelligence) into the mix, it’s getting really complicated for trusting folks.
Don’t be a victim of piano teacher scams! You don’t even owe scammers a polite response. They are attempting to swindle you of money! Simply delete!
But there’s likely a tiny voice inside of you that worries–what if it’s not a scam? Would you risk turning away a potential real student? Would it be unprofessional to delete a message that might be real?
Here’s a laundry list of telltale signs. The only way to protect yourself from scams is to be informed.
UPDATE: Beyond protecting yourself, please share this blog post with your fellow piano teachers, church groups, not-for-profit organizations and people you care about. You may not fall for a scam, but others you care about might.
Scam quick reference guide
- The RCM email look-alike
- Child coming to “your city” for six months
- Giving away a grand piano (variations on a dead spouse)
- Free grand piano scam – using piano teacher to forward
- Order receipt scam
- Scammer impersonating a piano group president
- Celebrity impersonators on YouTube
- Scammer posing as a photographer
- Scams through texts and Facebook Messenger
- Scammers joining Piano Teacher groups on Facebook
- Deep fake scams on Instagram
- Instagram ‘partner’ scams
- Scammers offering help after you’ve been scammed
- Scammers attempting to comment on this post
Are you here because you suspect you’ve been scammed? Maybe you had regular contact with someone who offered you something, but now there’s a strange silence after you sent money.
When you confirm that you’ve been scammed, how will you feel? Shame? Embarrassed? Please know that while it is upsetting to be scammed, it’s not a reflection on you. We live in a confusing world.
Learn from it. Going forward, use caution when dealing with any person online through email, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or even on the phone. With every new online or phone interaction, take a step back. Take a break and check with others you know. Don’t be scammed again.
1. The RCM email look-alike
This is a tricky scam to spot. The wording is very similar to the suggested wording in the contact section of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s teacher directory. Parents searching for a piano teacher through the RCM can send a pre-written message to potential teachers.
The RCM contact wording: “Hello. I’d like to learn more about signing up for music lessons with you. Could you please tell me how much lessons cost and how they are scheduled? Thank you.”
The scam email: “I’d like to learn more about signing up for Piano lessons with you. I need a Piano Teacher for my child. Could you please tell me your area of specification and how much lessons cost and how they are scheduled? Thank you. Shira Morehouse”
Because I wasn’t sure about this, I searched for the name on Facebook. There was a Shira Morehouse who lived somewhere in the United States. So, I did reply with a brief message.
“Hi, Shira, Thanks for contacting me about piano lessons! May I ask where you live?”
That’s when the plot thickened, with the scammer’s reply detailed in part two, as follows.
2. Child coming to “your city” for six months
The reply I received to the above exchange was your standard run-of-the-mill scam email script, one that piano teachers have been receiving for more than a decade:
The scam email: “Dear Rebekah,I have been searching for a tutor that would help me teach my son (Richard) during his stay in Canada. I found your advert and it is very okay to me since you specialize in the area, I’m seeking for him. My son will be coming to your city this coming week for a period of 6 months with his friend, I’ll like to know if you can help in taking him for the lesson? Just to keep him busy with his previous learning in school. Richard is 12 years old, So kindly let me know your charges per hour/lesson in order for me to arrange for his payment before he travels down to your city from New York.Please Reply back on:(1). Your charges per 1 hour (2 times a week for 1 Months):(2) Total Cost For 8 class/8 hours lessons in 1 month:(3). The Day and time you will be available to teach him during the week:I’ll be very happy to see you as my son’s tutor, concerning your years of Experience there is no problem about the lessons, my caregiver lives very close to the area.There’s no problem for the lesson at your place or online, my caregiver will be bringing him to your location for the lessons and you can teach him ,if that is OK by you. so, I’d like you to teach my son the best of you whenever he arrives for the lessons.I’ll like you to email me with your schedule for the lessons:Name on the cheques:Full Mailing Address with postal code: (where the cheque will be mailed)Home and Cell phone number:My financial department will be responsible for all his travel expenses and I would like to make payment before his arrival. They will be paying you advance payment in Canadian funds for the whole month.Awaiting your response.Thank you.”
This email has all of the hallmarks of a scam: Looking for two hour-long lessons per week, the child coming and staying in the piano teacher’s area for six months, wanting to pay for all of the lessons ahead of time in one lump sum (which would be quite a sum of money). It’s polite but riddled with grammatical and punctuation errors.
Here’s how they attempt to get money from you: The scammers will “send” you cheques or a transfer. Then, before the lessons take place, they’ll suddenly change their minds about needing the lessons. They’ll ask for a refund. Only, they’re hoping that you don’t notice that their money has never actually arrived and that you will “refund” them real money.
I replied as briefly as possible, with a satisfying kick about it being a scam.
“Hi, Sorry, my studio is full and I’m unable to teach a student on that timetable. Good luck with your search.
P.S. Most emails asking for piano lessons in this way are by people looking to make weird back and forth money transfers to scam piano teachers. I’d recommend not typing these kinds of questions if you are truly looking for piano lessons.”
How to avoid this scam: Never refund money.
3. Giving away a grand piano (variations on a dead spouse)
Scammers have found out that passionate instrument lovers are easy targets. Don’t be scammed. It is a scam. Every single time. Do not forward the scammer’s email to a church or community group, or fall for the scam yourself. Instead, spread awareness to your piano teacher association and church to warn them of the scam.
Scam email: “I hope this email finds you well. My name is Denia, and I am reaching out to you today concerning a heartfelt matter. Recently, my late husband, a passionate lover of music, left us with his cherished possession – a beautiful Kawai E 300 Piano. As we navigate through our grieving process, we have come to a decision that we believe would honor his memory in the most meaningful way possible.With great joy and a deep sense of fulfillment, we would like to donate this magnificent instrument to any church, music school or loving home. If you think our piano would be a valuable addition to your organization or if you know of a deserving individual or family who would greatly benefit from having this piano in their home, we would be thrilled to donate it to your cause.. Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your reply. Warm Regards.”
Scammers are now using AI (artificial intelligence) to help them with their grammar. The email above has reached a new level of English language proficiency.
In fact, this genre of piano scam email has gone from ridiculous and riddled with grammatical errors to the other extreme of flowery language that no current English speaker ever uses. Ever. It’s like they asked the AI to write in the style of Jane Austen. It’s like their English is on romance steroids.
Scam email: “I have a Steinway piano to give away. I can send you the pictures if you’re interested. Thanks”
There are several variations on the “free piano” scam. Some claim to be giving away an estate piano or a “late husband’s” grand piano.
Scam email: “Hello, How are you doing today? I am looking to give away my late husband’s Yamaha baby grand piano to a passionate instrument lover, Please let me know if you will take it or have someone who will care for it. Regards, Elysha.”
A couple of months after Elysha’s email arrived (above), her name changed to Maria but the wording remained mostly the same:
Scam email: “Hello, How are you doing? I am looking to give away my late husband’s Yamaha baby grand piano to a passionate instrument lover, so please let me know if you will take it or have someone who will care for it. Regards, Maria.”
After another six weeks passed, the scammer had another name change:
Scam email: “Hello, Hope this message finds you well. I am looking to give away my late husband’s Yamaha baby grand piano to a passionate instrument lover, so please let me know if you will take it or have someone who will care for it. yours, Susan.”
After another couple of months, Elysha Jerry resurfaced, with the same email and a different IP address.
Some scammers claim to value the piano and want a good home for it where it will be played and appreciated.
Scam email: “I hope you’re having a great day Dorothy Jones [name has been changed] I am looking to give away my late husband’s Yamaha baby grand piano to a passionate instrument lover. I checked online and saw you’re a Owner/teacher. I’m moving and discarding a lot of things but this means a lot to him, so, I’m giving it to someone who will respect and care for it. Please let me know if you will take it or have someone who will care for it. If you reply, I will send you some pictures of it. PS: I did a random search online for a music teacher, but ignore if the search engine made a mistake. Regards, Marjorie”
The email sometimes gives the make and model of the piano. For example, the email I received claimed to be giving away a Steinway piano. Some scammers say they want to give it to a piano teacher, music school or a church.
Plot twist…now there’s a dead wife…
Scam email: “Hi there, I hope this email finds you well. My name is Lawrence Cameron, and I recently lost my beloved wife, who was an avid music lover and a talented pianist. In the spirit of honoring her memory and her passion for music, I would like to donate her charished baby grand piano (YAMAHA GC-1 BABY GRAND PIANO) to you. The piano is in excellent condition and has been well-maintained over the years. If you are interested in accepting this generous donation, please let me know. Thank you for considering this donation. Best regards, Lawrence Cameron.”
Here’s how they attempt to get money from you: They’ll exchange emails back and forth, perhaps providing photos. The piano will be free, but you’ll have to pay to have it moved. Once they get your money to move it, you’ll never hear from them again.
How to avoid this scam: Before you ever put money into an instrument or into moving it, always–always–have a piano tuner look at it. If a piano tuner looks at a piano that you want to buy or take possession of for free, you will be assured that the piano does exist and that it’s in working order, playable and can be tuned.
Then to move the piano, hire movers through a reputable music store, not through the person giving it to you.
4. Free piano scam – using piano teacher to forward
The scammers are learning how to leverage YOU, the community piano teacher.
Not only do scammers want to scam you with the free piano, they want you to act as a trusted third party to a family member, church or music school. When you forward the scammer’s email to people who trust you, you legitimize it. Those who read your forwarded email will trust that it is real because of you.
Also, scammers are taking advantage of the way you and others trust ‘Godly’ people — if they bless you, you’ll lower your guard and trust them. This is really low.
Scam email: “I am giving away my late husband’s Yamaha Baby Grand Piano GC1 to a passionate instrument lover or church. Please help me share with friends who might be interested in it. Thanks for sharing God bless. Regards, Lisa Gallun”
Scam email: “Greetings, I want to give away my late husband’s Yamaha Baby Grand GC1 to a passionate instrument lover. If you have any family or church in mind who will cherish it, share this message with them. God bless you. Regards, Jennifer”
Scam email: “Hello, I hope this finds you well. I’m a widow whose husband had a passion for music but never went pro. I have a Yamaha Grand Piano belonging to my late husband for adoption. I’m looking to give away my late hustand’s grand piano to a loving home, music school or church. Let me know if you would like to have the piano or know anyone who would appreciate the instrument. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind Regards, Sarah Smith.”
Plot twist…now there’s a dead husband’s trumpet…
Scam email: “Hello, I am giving away my late husband’s Yamaha YTR-8335IIRS Xeno Trumpet Artist Model to a passionate music lover. If you know of a fellow trumpeters, school teacher, student, family, organization or church that might be interested, please forward this email to them. Sincerely, Camila Herrada.”
In my screenshots above, I included the scammer’s IP addresses on purpose. These reveal the exact computer and location of the scammer. It’s like an online fingerprint. Police are able to use this type of information in investigations.
Here’s how they attempt to get money from your church, music school or loved one: They’ll exchange emails back and forth with the trusting party, perhaps providing photos. The piano will be free, but the church or music school will have to pay to have it moved. Once the scammers get their money to move it, they’ll never be heard from again.
How to avoid this scam: Do not forward the scammer’s email to your church, community centre, music school, relative or friend. Before anyone pays to move a piano, always–always–have a piano tuner look at it. If a piano tuner looks at a piano and says it’s playable, you will be assured that the piano does exist.
Then to move the piano, hire movers through a reputable music store, not through the person giving it to you.
The same goes for a trumpet. Don’t pay to ship a free music instrument sight unseen.
5. Order receipt scam
You’ve received a random receipt in your email inbox, only you don’t remember ordering anything. Stay cool, this is just an attempt to scam you. Don’t answer the email.
Scam email: “Hey there! Your order is now formally completed once the funds was properly accepted! We are appreciative of your trust in us and thank you for selecting our services.85eb6396-4826-49ea-9743-94fe29c5d87e Fabiano Rizzo”
Scam email: “Thank You For Your Order!38469686229. Hey There! We’re happy to confirm that the transfer is successful, and your account updated. Kindly see the attached receipt for your records. Sempronia Chávez”
Don’t take false receipts seriously. There is no company identifier. The information is vague and general. The lack of information is a red flag. The scammers are hoping:
- That you’ll dispute it, in which case they’ll know that you’re a living, breathing person who can be scammed. Just don’t answer. You have nothing to prove or disprove just because they sent you a false receipt.
- To gaslight you into questioning your own memory, convincing you to worry that you may have ordered but forgotten. If you contact them with questions they’ll know that you’re a living, breathing person who can be scammed. Just don’t answer.
- That you don’t notice that the names signing the emails are completely different from the names sending the emails: Fabiano Rizzo’s email was sent from Todd Piccirillo’s email account and Sempronia Chávez’s email was sent from Matthew Lewis’s email account. It’s probable that none of the above names are real.
There may be two ploys at play here.
First, the scammers may be hoping that you’ll be confused and contact them to explain that there’s been a mistake, that you truly didn’t place an order. They’ll convince you that you ordered and paid. (Or, that you ordered and didn’t pay.) Then through a computer takeover, they’ll trick you into believing that they refunded you too much money, after which they’ll ask you to transfer some of it back to them. Once the dust settles from your interaction with them…you’ve been scammed.
Second, I’m not sure what’s in the YHNCOESH8MJLT attachment (or the BIVJWNR9CX1RJER attachment) to the emails. I never open unknown attachments and neither should you. There could be some sort of malware or virus in it. If opened, it could really mess up your computer.
How to avoid this scam. If you don’t recognize a receipt or order, just ignore it. The onus isn’t on you to prove that you didn’t order. If you’re getting their email out of the blue, they are only phishing and won’t have any of your money, so let sleeping dogs lie. DON’T open the attachment. Delete the email. And move on.
6. Scammer impersonating a piano group president
Scam email: “Hi, I hope this email finds you well. I’m sorry to bother you. Lois Kerr is experiencing difficulties using Venmo, Zelle, or PayPal to disburse payment for the association’s accrued expenses. If you’re comfortable using either of these platforms to make payment, I’d be happy to forward the details and reimburse you with a check as soon as possible. Please let me know when it’s convenient for you. Thanks.”
Scam email: “I need you to initiate a funds obligation to a vendor on behalf of our Organisation, You get your reimbursement back. Am yet to read back from Lois and it’s imperative it goes out before cut-off time today. Thanks, Laura Gray”
This one is getting really smart because Laura and Lois have been CFMTA officers. These scammers are really doing their homework. But they’re still not exceptionally smart, as a president doesn’t “read back” from a treasurer.
You’ll receive an email that appears to be from the piano group president’s email address. For example, there have been emails that appear to have been sent from Laura Gray, president of the CFMTA (the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations).
The emails look very official, but there is often a small typo or grammatical error. The emails almost always refer to needing someone’s help right away, but say that the president cannot be reached. The scammers are ultimately looking to scam you.
In some emails it appears that the scammers are simply looking for any response, after which they will attempt to engage in a conversation to scam you. Here are some of their latest attempts:
Scam email: Do you order or have an account with Amazon?
Scam email: [Your name here] Have you got a minute?
Scam email: Hello, are you free at the moment? Laura Gray
Scam email: [Your name] What are your schedules today, most especially by noon?
Scam email: Hello, do you have any free time? Please, I really require your help with something important. Thanks David Scott
Scam email: “I need you to get something sorted out as soon as possible,if you are available right now. Please let me know. Regards, Laura Gray”
Scam email: “If you are available right now, do let me know. Thanks a lot, Laura Gray”
How to avoid this scam: Neither the CFMTA nor the ORMTA (Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association) will ever contact their members to ask for urgent assistance or money. Neither will branch presidents. Never send money.
If you feel the need to double-check, don’t reply to the email. Start a new email and directly contact the person you know to find out if the original email truly was from them.
7. Celebrity impersonators on YouTube
Confession: I watch YouTube videos and sometimes I comment. This week I watched Adam Neely’s “Why AI is Doomed to Fail the Musical Turing Test” and posted a comment.
Someone named “Message me on Telegram – AdamNeely” replied to my comment with, “Look up les’t have a conversation!!”
I clicked on the profile and went to their YouTube account. Adam Neely’s YouTube photo? Yes. Anyhoo. I wasn’t fooled and suspected scammers right away.
The dead giveaway was the misspelling of Telegram as “Telegrem” in their handle. What’s even more annoying is “les’t” — not let’s. Furthermore, this profile was created the same day as their reply to my comment.
I reported the impersonator to YouTube and the comment has been removed, proving to me that it was indeed NOT Adam Neely himself who had replied to me.
The thing I can’t figure out is why I continue to get notifications for this reply to my comment even though it’s been reported and removed.
How to avoid these impersonators: Just report them. YouTube will figure out if they’re scammers.
8. Scammer posing as a photographer
Scam email: “Hope you are having an amazing Summer! I am going to be training an associate to join my studio September 10th-15th and I am currently looking for the following models:
“We are looking for all ages, Piano or guitar teacher with a studio for part time modelling. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Work as part-time modelling modules anywhere in Canada could earn $2,000 a day with no registration fees required,No Experience Needed, No Restrictions..
“If you don’t have a studio you can also apply, we can book any nearest studio for the shoot. Model must have any of the required instruments for the photo shoot.
“What you will get: 15 or more edited images created by my associate photographer under my guidance. ($2,000+ paid shoot)
“Photos will be emailed to you 2 weeks after the session. Shoots would run 10am-1pm So must be available within this time frame.
“Unfortunately this is not open to my past clients – I am hoping for different faces for her portfolio not to confuse potential clients!
“If this doesn’t apply to you feel free to forward this to your friends who would be a good fit! Please reply back on which you are available and a recent photo of yourself and let know if you have a studio or not.
Warmest Regards,
Shira Morehouse
C.E.O Greenberg Photography®”
I googled Greenberg Photography. It does exist, so it’s very difficult to tell if this is real or a scam.
Sensing a scam, I replied, “Where is your photo studio located?“
My suspicions were confirmed when I didn’t hear back from them. But it wasn’t until I began collecting my images for this blog post that I saw that the evidence of the scam had been in front of me all along.
The name of the person contacting me as a photographer was Shira Morehouse, the very same lady who is the mother of Richard, the young lad who was planning on coming to my city for six months for twice-weekly hour-long piano lessons:
Clearly scammers leave tracks of their scams in every email. If it seems ‘off’, likely it is.
9. Scams through texts and Facebook Messenger
Sometimes you may be contacted by scammers through text or Facebook messenger.
You may get a text from an unknown phone number by someone looking for piano lessons. It may seem real.
You may think that everyone with a Facebook account is a real person but this is not the case. Facebook is rife with scammers with fake profiles.
Piano teacher and composer Andrew Harbridge was contacted on Facebook Messenger by someone posing as pianist Lang Lang, who was asking Andrew to connect on a WhatsApp account.
How to avoid these scams: These may be more difficult to detect.
In the case of getting a scam message through text, Google is your friend. Type the phone number into google and you’ll get your answer.
Go with your gut. Before answering, do a little research. Ask on Facebook if anyone else has been contacted by the celebrity or person.
10. Scammers joining Piano Teacher groups on Facebook
I am the admin of a Facebook group, Piano Teacher Canada. I am going to refrain from giving any details about how scammers are pretending to be piano teachers and attempting to join. That sort of information would only enable the scammers to outsmart me.
However, I will say that within one month I had to decline almost 100 fake profiles from joining.
Again, I’m not going to reveal how I was able to detect fake Facebook profiles, but let’s just leave it that I did.
In the winter of 2024, Shira Morehouse* tried to join Piano Teacher Canada. If you recall, she’s the fake lady at the top of this post who tried to get her son piano lessons for six months, and also tried to hire me for a photo shoot in 2022. Shira, Shira, Shira, you’re embroiled in scam after scam after scam. Tsk-tsk-tsk. [*Obviously not a real person.]
11. Deep fake scams on Instagram
“Deep fake” means AI is able to make a fake video look and sound like a known person, and say words out loud that sound like that person’s voice. The purpose is to scam you out of money.
On May 14, 2024, my Instagram feed showed me the above video of Elon Musk convincing Canadians to deposit $350 into his account, after which you could make a guaranteed $1000 per day ($7000 per week) on the investment.
Artificial Intelligence is now capable of making videos look and sound like real people. If your eyesight is good enough, you’ll notice a glitchy way their mouth moves or a loop to the way the video looks. However, given time, technology will improve to the point that these glitchy looks will become more imperceptible.
Do not invest money based on what you see from one video urging you to do so. The scammers are hoping that you’ll panic, not wanting to lose this unbelievable chance and that you’ll act so quickly that you won’t have time to ask your kids whether or not it’s real. They are preying on those who don’t recognize AI or deep faking.
Don’t believe news of investment “opportunities” as reported on Instagram from any news network including the CBC, as scammers can make it look like it’s from the CBC when it’s really not.
How to avoid this scam: Don’t believe everything you see or hear, not even videos of celebrities from supposed news sources. Don’t invest money in any online scheme. It is a scam.
12. Instagram ‘partner’ scams
Scam email: “Hey [your instagram handle here], I came across your Instagram page and I was impressed…” [the scam email will insert a detailed description of your business content here].
The scammers tailor the first paragraph. Here’s the wording they sent to me: “I came across your Instagram page and I was impressed by your dedication to teaching piano and sharing your love for music with others. Your blog is a valuable resource for piano teachers and your free printables and sheet music are a great way to help your business thrive. Keep up the great work!”
The scam email then continues with identical wording for all recipients: “That being said, I couldn’t help but notice that your engagement on Instagram is not as high as it should be. We have worked with accounts similar to yours and made them grow and thrive on Instagram. With your quality content, you deserve much more recognition on your account. At TrendGram, we specialize in organically growing Instagram accounts with real, engaging followers. We do not require your Instagram password and give a guarantee of no fake followers or bots. Our clients see an average growth anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 followers per month. An increase in organic engaged followers will lead to more social credibility, sales and networking opportunities. You can get started today in under 2 minutes! http://www.trendgram.com/%5Bthe scammers include your handle in this link]. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or enquiries. Warm Regards, Clementine”
TrendGram is not a real company. It is a scam. They won’t help you grow your Instagram following with real people, they will take your money and run.
Reddit has extensive discussions on this scam. Users have either been scammed, have commented to report that they received the same scam email (that includes surprising attention to detail on their ‘artistic’ online content), or to check whether it is a scam and relieved to avoid it.
Scam Instagram message: “GROW BETWEEN 10K-1M+ Real Followers Guaranteed, with Daily Targeted Leads, and Engagement. DM “GROWTH” to our main page @growwithusagency and our CEO will reply right away! (Guaranteed Growth & Leads or money back! DM US @ growwithusagency)”
This scam is coming from within Instagram, with the contact made through the message feature. The message came from user “ronaldwhite3796902”, who has a shell account. It has no profile image, no posts, no followers, and he isn’t following anyone. This has red flags all over it.
How to avoid these scams: Do not respond. Simply delete and move on. The emails and messages will keep coming. Just keep deleting them.
Even though all of us would like an easy way to grow our businesses and would like to offload some of the work to “experts” who specialize in social media, we aren’t going to get legitimate service from those who contact us and promise huge results. If you do hire them, these scammers will just disappear with your money. Just ignore these messages.
The best defence against scammers is to ignore them.
13. Scammers offering help after you’ve been scammed
Scammers are now double-crossing people who have already been scammed. On January 16, 2023, an email came in to my inbox. “Joy Stein” wanted to comment on the post you are now reading, the post about piano scams. Here is the comment she wanted to post:
Scam message: “I got swindled on my 2,580$ deposit to Allstates moving and storage i have been trying for two months to get my deposit from the moving services with no sucess. They will scam you out of your money too. I’m exhausted over the stress this has caused and hope no one else has to deal with this. I told my attorney about this and explained with proof he told me to complain to affliz@tutanota . com.. They were so helpful in getting my deposit”
Sensing something was ‘off’, I googled the words of her comment. It turns out that “John Parsons” had already posted word-for-word the exact comment on other blog posts that are also warning readers about scams.
How to avoid this scam: These scammers are pretending to help people who have already been scammed. You have proven yourself to be a trusting person, have already fallen for a scam once, and they are going to take advantage of your trusting nature and are going to scam you again.
To protect my readers, I did not approve this comment on my own blog, but other bloggers who have written about scams actually did approve it. Readers will find those blogs, will read the errant comment, will be drawn in by “Joy’s” and “John’s” sentiments of stress and exhaustion and because they trust the blogger, they will also trust the verity of the comment.
Do not trust anyone online who is offering help after you’ve been scammed. It’s time to develop a good measure of caution of any person online. I realize you’re a gentle, lovely person, but online isn’t the place to trust people with your money.
14. Scammers attempting to comment on this post
This is the blog post that keeps on giving. Scammers find me and attempt to post spam comments, trying to lure my readers to their scams. Don’t worry, I’ve got your backs and the means to expose them. On October 25th, 2023, this came into my inbox: “My Ex and I are back together…Thanks to fixmybrokenmarriage@[undisclosedemailaddressforyoursafety].”
The notification came in. I took screenshots. Marked the comment as “spam”, did NOT approve it…and posted it here to demonstrate how far scammers will go.
From now on, any spam/scam comment on my blog is going to get the same fair treatment. I’ll post it here. In the above screenshot of the WordPress notification, you’ll notice the scammer’s actual email (hotmail) and IP address (which exposes the exact country and location of their computer). Do not contact them. They won’t fix your marriage. They’ll attempt to scam you.
When in doubt
When in doubt, ask on social media. If other teachers have received similar messages, you’ll know it’s a scam. Facebook groups offer a wealth of support in this area.
Or, answer the email with a pointed question like, “Where do you live?” A short reply will save you time and energy dealing with someone who is only attempting to scam you.
Asking for their address is effective. If you never hear back, you’ll know it’s a scam. If they give a location, google their name and address. If they are a real person, there will be evidence about them online.
One of the reasons piano teacher scams work is because it’s tempting to believe that we could get something amazing for free. We fall into the trap of wanting a beautiful free piano or wanting a large sum of money transferred to us all at once. Or, believing that we could be selected to model for photographs. Scammers play on our desire to get something easily or be flattered, like being contacted by Lang Lang.
Keep your head clear and realize that nothing’s free. It’s okay to work for what you get. Keep your money safe and sound and don’t lose it to the person offering something fake that’s too good to be true.
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Video of the Week
The Sleepover (Late Elementary, Level 2). Here’s a piano thriller that tells the story of a creepy sleepover. Explores storytelling with dynamics, accents, shaping two-note slurs and hand-over-hand movement across the keyboard. Available as a studio-licensed eSheet: The Sleepover eSheet!
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