Too good to be true

An unexpected email arrived in my inbox.

“I would like you to perform at Oxford Storytelling Festival…”

Wow! How did they find out about me? I’m a famous storyteller. I’ve been doing this for a while. Working hard on stories. This is so cool! Maybe they saw me perform at one of the festival new tellers stage. Or maybe one of those youtube videos that I posted to my blog. Or maybe they came to one of the local performances right here in Naples, Florida, at Brambles English Tea House. They do get a lot of people from England there. This is so cool!

“Scheduled from 24-27 August 2018”

Ok, that’s a short notice…. Just a little over a month away … But … <check schedule> … I could do it.

*Oxford Storytelling Festival Shall Provide the Following Below:*
1) Hotel Accommodation.
2) Round-trip Air- ticket to United Kingdom.
3) Remuneration fee of £2,000.00 GB

Yikes. They think I’m a featured teller, a real professional. They must have sent this to the wrong person.

Please send the following information ….

What information do they want? Name <check>. Address <check>. A scanned copy of your Permitted Paid UK Visiting Work Permit Papers.  What’s that? I’ve never worked in the UK. Is that difficult? <small visit to web to check on UK visas> That could take 3 weeks. 6 weeks until the event. Ok, maybe this is a little tight…. But that would be so cool. Maybe I could visit some friends in England.

 “You are expected to perform ….”

Only 1 hour? That’s strange. Well, that takes the pressure off. Not too demanding. Usually there’s much more. They must really like my stories for a last minute invite and only 1 hour. Who is in this festival? <visit to the festival website after a google search> Wow! I’d love to see those tellers. Sounds cool. “A boutique, intimate festival weaving magic with stories, spoken word, poetry, and song. A true feast for the sense.”

Ok, this email was not meant for me. Surely. Well, I should let them know they probably sent this out by accident. Email is “bcc” (blind carbon copy) and does not mention my name specifically. This must be an error.

<email sent off>

The next day a new email:

“Thank you for interest in performing. Please confirm by sending …”

<Another visit to web on getting a UK visa. Click on the festival website.> What a cool festival? Ok, this is way short notice though. I know the Florida Festival books people 2 years out. Where are they getting funding? Most festivals survive on donations. I should ask someone about this. I know!

<Quick visit to internet: “oxyford storytelling festival scam”>

Argh! “Too good to be true” is “too good to be true.”

No way. Why would anyone do that?

This is an internet phishing scam.

They are “fishing” for information. What information? Well, I suppose a copy of the visa would have tons of information about me. Imagine what kind of identity theft could happen with all that. Argh! A nightmare. I’ve already had to change all my credit card numbers this year, update all my online payments, pay late fees for the ones that I’d forgotten about. Yup! The “from” email is a look-alike gmail address that is meant to look like the festival. That’s not the email address on the website. There is even a picture of the festival organizer and her name is signed to the email. I bet even that phone number is a fake.

Why would anyone target storytellers? I suppose it’s easy to get them on the emotional roller coaster. We do this for a living. I was definitely riding that roller coaster. It would have been so cool!

Living the Present Moment

“Being Present” means facing the reality of now. When the bells and whistles are going off that say “this is too good to be true” then it probably is. Take heed. Do your due diligence! Check if it is a scam. Ask for some advice for a third party, preferably one that won’t get caught up in the emotion. And perhaps, search on the internet for a known “scam.”

The Up Side

Well, the secret of any good scam (or any good tall tale) is to have just enough truth to make the lies believable. In a tall tale, the storyteller crosses just over the edge of believability so at the end you say … ok, that’s not true, but it sure was funny. For a scam, the end might not be as humorous.

So what’s the good that comes from this? The Oxford Storytelling Festival is a real thing. You can find them online and on Facebook. It really is a small boutique storytelling festival. If you happen to live near there, buy a ticket. It’s on my list now of places that I’d like to go and see someday…. But so far away.

Well, at the very least, I got a story of out the whole thing.

As they say, every silver lining has a cloud.

Never Done

Ok. I’ve got to return a voicemail. One of those automated recordings. It seems the IRS has four felony charges against me. I have to call them right away before they call the police. I thought I took care of that yesterday, but same call again today. Here we go again.

(Yes! I’m kidding. Don’t worry. I did not call them back. It’s another “pfishing” scam.)