Leesa Barnes is a speaker who recently blogged about this scam she narrowly avoided. You can read about it here. It might be of interest to any VAs who have speakers as clients as well as some great advice for newer VAs.
Kate, I just read through this Leesa's blog post (as well as the one her virtual assistant wrote on the same issue) - good for them that they caught it! It sounds like Leesa's VA was really on the ball and did her homework.
Had the VA initially googled Bishop Mark Jarrow, which she should have done PRIOR to any response, she would have seen something written in 2011 about this being a scam. It never should have gotten that far. Lots of wasted time because of one little google search not done.
This is a bit irritating as they really did not do their due diligence with this from the get go. First off, you do not need a work visa for a conference. Secondly, a Nigerian scheme does not mean that it is expressly from someone in Nigeria- it is a term for the scam. A scam that is being committed all over. Third- no one contacts you for speaking engagements without discussing the topic.
All in all, they appear to be giving themselves kudos, needlessly- they already provided their DOB and passport info!
While it's great to know we have some super-savvy VAs that wouldn't be taken in by this scam, I provided the link to help others who may not be such seasoned business owners. Becoming familiar with any kind of scam and seeing the red flags that accompany such an experience can possibly be of greater benefit to others with less experience.
The problem I have is that they gave the VA kudos for something that is not kudos worthy. It was good that the VA finally realized it was a scam, however, she should have realized long before all of that wasted time. A simple google search and some common sense questions to herself could have averted this issue from the get go.
While it's great to know we have some super-savvy VAs that wouldn't be taken in by this scam, I provided the link to help others who may not be such seasoned business owners. Becoming familiar with any kind of scam and seeing the red flags that accompany such an experience can possibly be of greater benefit to others with less experience.
I agree; anyone can get taken in by a scam, I glad you posted this as a reminder that we all need to do our due diligence. I have been a bit too trusting in the past, luckily I haven’t suffered for it. All the information that I am reading and hearing about elaborate scams has made me far less trusting.
__________________
Coline Walther | The Virtual Virtuoso LLC
Scam targeting speakers caught by savvy VA
Linear Mode
