Friday, June 3, 2011
A Little Advice for "Etherington"
This advice is for would be scam artists in foreign countries. I know you're not likely to be reading this blog . . . but, I have just a bit of advice for you nonetheless. First, when you make up a name - choose something a little less "unusual" than say . . . Etherington Parton. Second, don't ask if we take credit cards. All store websites with things to sell take credit cards. And 99.9% of legitimate customers know this - or figure it out by actually reading our website policies. And last, do not end your inquiry with this phrase: "I await your urgent response so we can proceed." I have never received a legitimate order that ended that way, and I have received a lot of order inquiries And I have received a number of inquiries where my "urgent" response is requested. None one has ever turned out to be legit - so it just screams "I am a scam artist." Etherington, if you are an actual would be buyer, you will already have received my polite but no nonsense response to your inquiry. I haven't heard back from you though, so I guess the whole matter turned out to be less urgent than you led me to believe !
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I am a jewelry artist from asheville, nc usa. I received the same email from "etherington". Thank you for posting this blog entry. It helped me while researching the legitimacy of the email.
ReplyDeleteI just received a request for a large order from Etherington Parton! I Googled the name and found your blog. This guy claims he is from Australia. His English is not very good and I'm concerned about his legitimacy. Have you heard back from him regarding his request from you?
ReplyDeleteHi .. . . I'm sure he's not legitimate - he never responded to my answer to him . . . probably because I told him we would require a money order before shipping . . . .
ReplyDeleteI just had an invquiry as well. Same wording and I didn't even respond. We get a lot of these!
ReplyDeleteI just received a huge order request for books! I also was trying to decide if it is a scam.
ReplyDeleteHello. I just received the exact same email with same wording. I am a jewelry designer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your posting/blog.
me too!
ReplyDeleteSame here
ReplyDeleteI received an order for a large amt and I have been questioning the order but they keep coming back with answers, that from the beginning something does not sound right. the cards from someone in Kentucky and wants the goods shipped to Australia. I called the card company and they said the names not correct or the shipping
Waiting to read from you soon.
ReplyDeleteWarmly Regards
Etherington
this just stinks of a scam Ask me to charge card then send via Western union $880. to LOGISTICS AGENT for shipping, dead giveaway Sorry I'm venting Its hard enough to run a business without this!!!!
I WAS RECENTLY CONTACTED BY ETHERINGTON!!! I was wondering if he was a scammer and I came on here by googling his name - have you considered his name? I wrote it out backwards, and it (sort of) reads,
ReplyDelete"NO TRAP - NOTHING THERE"!!! Can you imagine??? He must feel that he's using suggestion and hypnosis to subtly relax anxious would-be victims, as they subconsciously "read" and "say" his name backwards each time they read it ("No Trap - Nothing There"). Actually, it's pretty thorough of him.
Warmly Regards - I await your soon reply
We received an email from Etherington this morning...I figured as much but it was good have my hunch confirmed...
ReplyDeleteHa! I just this minute got the "urgent" request from Etherington and thought the name was too odd not to Google. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteWe just wasted a bunch of time on this "person" so thank you for your warning. Our answer to "Etherington's" email is going to include a link to this blog post.
ReplyDeleteWe were also contacted by same. Yep, their "personal logistic agent" will pick up their order! We are 30 miles north of Mexico....!! Also... beware of orders from Oregon!!
ReplyDeleteHa, I was contacted by Etherington,
ReplyDeleteExactly the same as all the above comments. It all sounded to good to be true, and usually if it sounds too good,AND WEIRD, it usually is!!!
It pissed me off though, really wanted the sale. LOL
I called the CC company today and spoke to the fraud dept. The CC # given was good and the address for the CC was correct..(Indiana). It would have gone through....... The name for the CC was incorrect of course. We all know that when we key in a sale we have to have all the numbers..dates...street numbers, etc.....we are never required to submit a name.
ReplyDeleteSame! I'm in Belgium! and I already had so many mails like this! second time from Australia!
ReplyDeleteEtherington hits the UK - thanks so much for alerting us all to this time waster.
ReplyDeleteI played the game with him until
ReplyDeleteI got cc info then called it in as a fraud they were 2 card # and I reported both
The last time I checked they speak English in Australia and this individual mistakenly uses the word "read from you" instead of "hear from you". It is likely he/ she is Not based in Australia.
ReplyDeletePraise everyone for reporting on this scammer. Targeting those of us in the arts in especially heinous when we work so hard to be trusted.
For sure it's a scam. He claims he's from Australia. He wants to give me a compensation for processing his order. That was his give away. Any one heard of Ladi Brooke???
ReplyDeleteThank heaven's for our ability to network internationally! I got one from him this morning and googled and this blog came up...thanks to all for posting and especially to the blog owner! I have learned tons from your posts. I am grateful. (in Canada by the way)
ReplyDeleteThanks for blogging this - I'm a painter in the states and got the email from Etherington. Fortunately that little voice in my head said to google this name. Oh Etherington, if only you were real - we could have such a good time together..
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Just received the same email. Too funny. The big warning sign for me is when an email asks about an urgent purchase for "some items from your gallery/store". When the do not specifically talk about what I sell, or even know who I am, warning bells go off.
ReplyDeleteI got the same exact email for my glass work and I was going to go to lengths to ship him the work. Why cant people stop being such crooks? Thank you all for posting about this crazy scammer. He has been replying to my mails and thankfully I did not give him the address of my gallery/store.
ReplyDeleteI too was contacted by Etherington and he placed a large order for multiple pieces of jewelry. It started smelling fishy when he said his logistics company had arranged to pick up the items so I Googled his name and found this and other blogs detailing his scam. Thank you for confirming my suspicions!
ReplyDeleteYep, big order from my galery/store, shipping to Australia with a personal logistic agent in the UK and it will only take 2-3 days Express Shipping and I am located in Canada, payments by CC NOT PAYPAL,and the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteThrough my searches I found that the e-mail was sent from Seoul/Korea. Stay sharp my friends
Looks like a scam to me too. I recently received one of these emails, and it's too similar to one I received last year.
ReplyDeleteWith the first one I replied what I could do for shipping, but the give away was they wanted multiples of original paintings.
Then came the part about working with the logistics agent and paying them.
I replied to that with 'hahaha, nice try.'
I'm in Australia and he told me he was from Fiji! Thanks for the post. Saved me a lot of time.
ReplyDeleteEtherington seems to have moved to Fiji for the time being.
ReplyDeleteFrom: Etherington Parton [mailto:e.partonsupplies0@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 13 September 2011 11:31 AM
To: xxx
Subject: INQUIRY TO FIJI ISLAND...
Hello,
I'm Etherington Parton and I'll like to order some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Etherington
I just got this exact text but he is reading this post and using a new name
Deletecheck this out:
Hello, (never mentioned my name¡¡¡¡)
I'm Wesley Duckworth and I'll like to place an order for some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Just got this email as well from Mr. Duckworth. Thought something was fishy...
DeleteMr. Duckworth strikes again! Thanks for this thread, everyone, it was really helpful. I work for a small independent publisher, and have plenty to do without wasting my time on this person! :P
DeleteOn Sun, Aug 10, 2014 at 3:41 AM, Wesley Duckworth wrote:
Dear Sales,
I write to inform you that we are interested in your books, and we
would like to inquire about the following:
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card
to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
Thanks,
Wesley
Indie publisher here again. :) By the way, this was his response to my initial (very cautious, very general) response. We don't have a storefront so of course that made me suspicious... :P
Delete[blah blah blah here are the titles needed blah]
Meanwhile, I want you to calculate the total cost of my order only and don't worry about the shipping because I just got a response from my personal logistic agent that they will come for the pick up of the goods at your address and it will only take 1-2 days express shipping to my shipping address and I have inform them about these but they told me the best way to come for the pick up at your store is for you to email me with your store address and the time the order will be ready for pick up with your convenience time and date.
Please kindly get back to me if these titles are in stock.
Shipping Address:
5 Nadi Back Road,
Main Town, Nadi.
P.O. Box: 1070, Nadi, Fiji.
Waiting to read from you soon.
Warmly Regards
Wesley
We're a small publisher and have just received essentially the same email from someone called Matt Horst:
DeleteNote that I am a registered/licensed bookshop (with a Fijian business tax document) here in my town and all books I am ordering are for resale. Meanwhile, I want you to calculate the total cost of the books only and don't worry about the shipping because I just got a response from my personal logistic agent that they will come for the pick up of the books at your address and it will only take 1-2 days express shipping to my shipping address and I have inform them about these but they told me the best way to come for the pick up at your store is for you to email me with your store address and the time the order will be ready for pick up with your convenience time and date.
Please kindly get back to me if these titles are in stock.
Shipping Address:
5 Nadi Back Road,
Main Town, Nadi.
P.O. Box: 1070, Nadi, Fiji.
Best regards,
Matt
Matt Horst also emailed me for a book order, exactly the same story about his logistic agent. I had my doubts about his approach. What a scam artist!
DeleteWe got a Matt Horst back in January, and he tried following up again today. Same exact email. Thanks for posting this!
DeleteWe're also a small publishing company, and received the exact same email from Matt Horst from Fiji. We were so close to completing the order until he said:
DeleteOrder fee: ($600)
Agent fee with shipping fare: ($1,880)
Transfer fee plus your compensation: ($100)
Total: ($2,580.00)
Why would anyone want to pay over $1000 for shipping for only $600 worth of books?! I'm so glad I found this page--bless you all from saving us from a horrible scam.
And yet another publisher that was targeted by this person, or persons. It is under the name Matt Horst with EXACTLY the same wording as the others. Same address and everything. Thanks for the notice. There is another woman that has posted this on her blog with multiple responses from others as well.
DeletePIECE OF WORK THIS ONE IS...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog. I am a jewellery designer in Australia. The warning bells were ringing so I googled the name , here he is same scam.
ReplyDeleteBelow is the enquiry....
Hello,
I'm Etherington Parton and I'll like to order some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Etherington
Thank goodness for this blog! Thank-you. Thank-you. I'm a small jewellery designer in Canada who has received two large orders from Etherington Parton with further instructions to forward money to a "logistics agent" in the UK. The whole thing smelled like a scam to me. Nevertheless, the CC given to me was approved by my credit card company and the money has been deposited into my account. Thankfully, my intuition kept nagging at me and I directed me to this blog.
ReplyDeletealso suspicious with huge order, then suddenly did not want shipping, but had agent..same words. Then I was to overcharge him and pay difference to shipping agent!!! Alarm bells. he is now in Fiji
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat he just gave me the credit card info and told me the agent will require the $780 and should be sent to him tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI just called the credit card compnay to see what is up
Could he/she be using another name now? My wife sells jewelry and someone in FiJi wants to buy $1,200 worth of her merchandise.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I googled his name and came across your site. Just received this email too. Thanks for posting this helpful info!
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI smelt a rat with this Etherington and googled his name too . FIJI MY FOOT!!!
So thanks everyone for saving me the trouble of even replying to the scum bag.
Hopefully someone catches him /her or whatever .
Needs to be put away for a long time!!!!
HA! I just received the same email from this Fiji fraud and am glad I googled the name. It is not the first time I've received a strange request from foreign lands and am glad I was never taken in by them. Thank you for posting this in your blog and hopefully my comment will renew it in the search engines and warn more folks about "Etherington Parton" from Fiji.
ReplyDeleteHe is still at it, just googled his name! He wanted to spend over $9000 allegedly
ReplyDeleteOn July 29, 2012 10:50:35 PM PDT
Thanks for your swift response concerning my order.
I would be happy if you can get back to me with the total cost plus shipping cost and below is my shipping address for you to calculate the shipping cost via UPS, Fedex or DHL or any other alternative shipping company.
Please kindly get back to me if these masks are in stock.
Shipping Address:
5 Nadi Back Road,
Main Town, Nadi.
P.O. Box: 1070, Nadi, Fiji.
Waiting to read from you soon.
Warmly Regards
Etherington
On Jul 25, 2012, at 10:21 AM, Etherington Parton wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm Etherington Parton and I'll like to place an order for some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
>
> Do you ship to Fiji Island?
> Do you do Mail Order?
> Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
>
> I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
>
> Warmly Regards,
>
> Etherington
>
Wow, so this has been going on for over a year. I got the same email yesterday. I didn't notice it till today because Gmail wisely filtered it to my spam folder. Weird that they haven't created a different fake identity. They must not have the sense to Google themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that Etherington is now residing in Fiji. I get a couple of these types of emails each month via my gallery website http://meaghanart.com, most go straight to spam but occassionally on sneaks through
ReplyDeleteI just got the same email too but her/his name is Wesley Duckworth.
ReplyDeleteSee below:
I'm Wesley Duckworth and I'll like to place an order for some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Wesley
AND THEN HE/SHE WROTE BACK:
I would be happy if you can get back to me with the total cost plus shipping cost and below is my shipping address for you to calculate the shipping cost via UPS, Fedex or DHL or any other alternative shipping company.
Please kindly get back to me if these styles are in stock.
Shipping Address:
5 Nadi Back Road,
Main Town, Nadi.
P.O. Box: 1070, Nadi, Fiji.
Waiting to read from you soon.
Warmly Regards
Wesley
Thanks everyone for your posts. I just had an email about an order from my bigcartel shop in Australia. Just thought it may be spam, so googled Wesley Duckworth and read the exact same email as posted above from a gmail account. Thanks I can see it's spam now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog I just received an order from this man under the name Wesley Duckworth in Fiji.
ReplyDeleteI just received the same email as the above post from "Wesley Duckworth" in Fiji...exactly the same. Thanks for the post - saved me a lot of time!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, you saved me so much time.
ReplyDeleteI just received the same e-mail from "Wesley Duckworth" except mine has a list of items he/she likes to order!!
Hello everyone - Thanks so much for posting your experiences. I got this note this morning: Hello,
ReplyDeleteI'm Wesley Duckworth and I'll like to place an order for some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Wesley
Etherington has changed his name to Wesley Duckwork.
I received the same email from Wesley Duckworth this morning as well.
ReplyDeleteI received the same email from Wesley Duckworth today. Thanks for this posting!
ReplyDeleteWow, this Wesley Duckworth doesn't give up. I just got the same email "from Fiji".
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for blogs and the Internet so a quick Internet search saves us all a lot of heartache!
I got the same email from Wesley Duckworth and when I asked which pieces of art he wanted, he was very specific. So I googled his name and came to this. Thanks for posting this... though as soon as he asked for money, I would have known. Too bad he's targeting artists....as if it's not already hard enough!!!
ReplyDeleteWesley Duckworth comes to Ireland!
ReplyDeleteI got this email on Tuesday 19th and googled when I got a huge order. Glad I did.
Beware all and thanks for this post joie de blog!
Hello,
I'm Wesley Duckworth and I'll like to place an order for some items from your store/gallery but before we proceed I'll like to ask the following questions.
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
I'll be waiting for your response so we can proceed.
Warmly Regards,
Wesley
Had exactly the same email, followed by a big order, followed by the UK Forwarding Agent email.
DeleteI did not believe any of it and mentioned it to a friend who suggested to google the name.
What I can not understand is what does he get out of it?
Nobody would ship, or give it to his agent without checking or using their own local agent to delivery it to his agent, without getting paid first - so what's the point him trying it on?
Please report this guy to
ReplyDeletehttp://www.actionfraud.police.uk/?gclid=CJ6K9OLMjbYCFXDKtAodKDsASQ
Thanks.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethanks everyone for posting this stuff, i just spent half an hour getting a price to ship to Fiji then the penny dropped and I googled the name wesley ducksworth and here we are!
ReplyDeleteMy turn! I am a jeweller in Australia. A great order from Wesley Duckworth then he asked me to bill his credit card and another $900 or so to give to his "agent" as the agent doesn't have credit card facilities.
ReplyDeleteSoooo glad I googled his name! Thanks for the blog...what a waste of time...
He's still at it! I am a artisan in Australia and he's just had a go with me. I feel like I have just joined a club.
ReplyDeleteHi! I am from Australia - thanks to all the above for posting scammers - seems like Matt Horst is up to the same trick - please see below for the email I received this morning. I am glad I decided to google his name. Cheers A
ReplyDeleteDate Time 2015-11-09 07:35:31
First Name: Matt
Last Name: Horst
E-mail: matthorst261610@gmail.com
Phone:
Your Message: Dear Sales,
I write to inform you that we are interested in your books, and we would like to inquire about the following:
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL
Regards,
Matt
We have just received an email regarding a purchase from Matt Horst using that email address. Thanks so much for alerting us to the fact this is a scam. It seemed dodgy, but was good to be able to confirm it reading your blog post.
ReplyDeleteI too have received a series of emails from Matt Hosrt:
ReplyDeleteOn Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 5:34 AM, Matt Horst wrote:
Hi,
My name is Matt Horst. I am in the process of moving to Italy to expand
my business field. I just bought a house in Milan, Italy and I am
interested in collecting an artwork/sculpture for a space within my
house to make it unique and beautiful.
Can I look through your website so as to pin point my choice, request
for a quote and more information?
I look forward to hearing back from you soonest.
Sincerely,
Matt
And then wants to book to credit card, when I requested bank transfer never heard from him again!
Thanks for all you bloggers!!!
Matt Horst is clearly still going strong. Received his standard email today looking for delivery to Fiji. I am in Australia selling high value video gear and are very regular targets for scammers. We have a lot of these requests and run numerous checks on all inquiries. If there is any uncertainty at all, we insist on Paypal or EFT/wire transfer and we never hear any more. Our motto is if something doesn't seem right, assume it isn't right and we know this practice has saved us megabucks! Stay alert.
ReplyDeleteHe's attacked us as well. That's a great point and a great practice to have. I never thought we were big enough to be scammed at this level. Thanks!
DeletePhil Matheson
ReplyDeleteMatt Horst is at it again, trying the same scam, same wording
Note that I am a registered/licensed bookshop (with a Fijian business tax document) here in my town and all books I am ordering are for resale. Meanwhile, I want you to calculate the total cost of the books only and don't worry about the shipping because I just got a response from my personal logistic agent that they will come for the pick up of the books at your address and it will only take 1-2 days express shipping to my shipping address and I have inform them about these but they told me the best way to come for the pick up at your store is for you to email me with your store address and the time the order will be ready for pick up.
Target-Address:
5 Nadi Back Road
Main Town
Nadi, Fiji
Thanks for your great blog!
Matt Horst in Fiji just tried to order books from us as well. He seems to think small publishers are stupid. Too bad Matt, we know how to smell a rat.
ReplyDeleteRegistering another scam request from an Australian book retailer here. Matt is trying his best isn't he?
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, matthorst261610@gmail.com is still at it. Just got the same request today. Looks like six years of this. :-)
ReplyDeleteGoogle and this blog saved the day again. Matt Horst is still at it. Scam artist wanting to purchase books from me from Fiji.
ReplyDeleteYep, I just got one of these too, looking to purchase books via credit card ship & to Fiji. Googled the email address and found this page. Thanks for the alert!
ReplyDeleteHi, I too have had an email from Matt Horst today - same story. So glad you keep this blog going as I'm not a facebooker.
ReplyDeleteI got a Matt Horst email today. Thanks for this site.
ReplyDeleteGot an email from matthorst261610@gmail.com today to our small press Tiny Fox Press. Smelled scammy, so thanks to everyone already posting here!
ReplyDeleteIt was the exact email used above in Nov 2015:
"I write to inform you that we are interested in your books, and we would like to inquire about the following:
Do you ship to Fiji Island?
Do you do Mail Order?
Do you accept credit card as for Payment (My US Master and Visa card to be precise)? NOT PAYPAL"
This is what good ol' Matt just sent me today:
ReplyDeleteSales,
Can I place an order with you
Confirm if you accept visa/master card
Thanks,
Matt
Since I work for a Christian publishing company, I may respond back with a Bible verse.....