First off, let me point out that the image shared today has nothing to do with what I have written. The photo was made in 2019 over the Isle of Springs on my way back from a job, returning to Wiscasset Municipal Airport. It was around this time of year which is why I have chosen it for this week’s offering.

The subject this week isn’t terribly creative or maybe even interesting to many, but at my wife’s insistence, it may be, at the very least, informative.

A couple months ago I got an email inquiry for a family gathering photo event to be held in late October. The caller shared a very complete and well organized list of what he was hoping to accomplish during the five-hour event. He wanted casual, candid photographs of the 50 guests during the gathering along with portraits of himself and his four siblings whose names were provided as Richard, Sally, Edward and John. He asked me for a price and offered to provide a deposit with his credit card.

I very rarely take deposits for my work. I prefer to do the work first and be paid after I deliver photos, hoping that they are well received and complete. I don’t have the ability to accept payment with a credit card, except on orders placed through our publishing website. The person insisted on paying with his credit card. I told him that was not necessary. He gave me an address for his gathering which interestingly was just down the road from our home on Southport. I thanked him for his inquiry via return email and told him that I would be in touch re: a fee.

A couple days later I sent an email to his “aol” email address with a price. He replied very promptly, accepting my price and insisting on sending a credit card deposit. I again declined but thanked him. He told me that he only communicated via email because he had a hearing impairment and was scheduled for surgery soon. It was difficult for him to communicate over the phone. I expressed my concern and wished him well offering to be available should he need any help after the surgery. After all, his place was nearby.

Time passed and I did not hear anything. I emailed asking how the surgery had gone and did he need any help. I also suggested that it might be good for me to stop by before his event to introduce myself and to get a feel for the property and check on good portrait locations which would be helpful planning. I did not hear back.

I got a little curious about the sudden radio silence. When I checked the address online that he had given me I found it was a house that had recently sold. It was a nice place with sort of a “summer home” feel – a great spot for what he had in mind. But something didn’t smell right. I made a few calls around the island to see if anyone had heard of the person who had called me. Nobody had. The date for the party came and went with no further communication.

It was a very well conceived plan. The part that puzzles me is the credit card part. Maybe someone out there in the listening audience could enlighten me? I suspect it may have been a way to access my banking information. At any rate, it was quite unnerving. It was the first time anything like that had happened to me and made me understand more clearly the sophistication of those who seek to deceive.

Be careful out there!