SCAMMERS Get Me So Mad

This morning I come out of the subway and I hear that delightful ping from my iPhone to let me know that I have a voice message. I'm the type of person who puts out the kind of energy that this message is possibly a past or new client. As I am walking down the hill to my studio I listen to a message from Hector from Colombia. His message was just this.. "Hi this is Hector calling you from Colombia, South America will you please give me a call back at" and he leaves his international phone number. Immediately I'm thinking scam so I dismissed the message and deleted it from my phone.

I get into the studio and fire up my computer. There is an email in my inbox from Hector letting me know he just left me a voice mail and would I please give him a call. Why would I call this guy? He left no company name or what he was calling in reference to. The hard ass in me is this is a scam but I actually do not know for sure at this point. So I send him an email from one of my alias email accounts. Tip: If you suspect you are being contacted by a potential scammer communicate via a different email address then your primary email address.

So here we go with the email string:

HECTOR:
Hi Mr. Gordon, I called you a few minutes ago from Colombia, South America. I am looking to hire a freelancer who is willing to travel to Colombia and work on a 3d architectural project. Could you please return my call 011 573 315 447 6654 or write me a message letting me know what time I can call you. Thank you.

ME:
Hi Hector,
I received your voicemail.
How did you find me?
Due to the various SCAMS I need you to verify your full name and company.
Do not call me until I have this information and verified your business is legit.
Thank you.

HECTOR:
Hi bikeny, my name is Hector Delgado and I work for a construction company called CELCRETO S.A.S., we are located in Medellin, Colombia, the address here is Carrera 66 No. 48C-13 and the phone number is 011 574 260 2055 or 011574 230 5698, you can visit our website at www.celcreto.com, my cellphone number is: 011573 315 447 6654, I got your information searching through google www.spencergordon.com. Thank you.

****NOTICE how he called me bikeny. If you are really calling me for a job you would know my first name. See my alias email has already started to work. At this point I know this is a scam.

ME:
Mr. Delgado,
What exactly do you need my services for? Why are you not contacting someone from your local area?
Please tell me your budget constraints.
Thank you.

****TIP - Ask short and to the point questions.

HECTOR:
Hi bike, thank you for your prompt reponse. The company that I work for is looking for someone to develope architectural visualizations of its projects in 3D, the reason why we are not hiring locally is that the majority of developers, who have recently graduated and lack experience in designing, are charging way too much for their work, while designers from the US who are well experienced in this field, charge a common sense figure for their work. As far as budget constraints, I would need you to give me a figure that would include x amount of hours, travel expenses, etc., etc.

***NOTICE - He is now calling me bike not bikeny. Two.... 3-D project. If Hector had been to my website it is clear that I do not provide that service. Maybe you are thinking it's a language barrier thing... Nope in his voicemail message he had excellent language skills. I was quite surprised by the way, after traveling sometime in Colombia and finding not many english speaking Colombians.

ME:
Hector,
Let's be honest.
I don't think this project is for me. Obviously I do not do 3D work.
This is a scam.
Do not contact me again.

That's the last email interaction.

I did do some searching on the internet for scams by this guy. I did not come up with any. I also only spent about 5 mins. looking around on the internet for any information on Hector. I did not find any info. which means he changes his name or this was his first attempt. The website he provided is questionable. It is there however the images are stock and if that is the quality you present to potential clients then I know you can not afford my services much less fly me to Colombia and pay for all my travel expenses.

It's up to us to stop scammers. That's why I've posted this to my blog. Beware folks let's look out for each other.

November News FLASH

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Bike by Me Blog Post | Bike by Me Interactive Website | Between The Chicks

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Until next month... if you can't wait that long feel free to drop me a line and say "Hi".

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Lucy Frend - Designer of Unique Silk Tops

Lucy Frend is a designer of unique silk crop tops for women's clothing. These women's silk tops are thoughtfully united from two beautiful silk scarves. One of a kind luxurious pieces of wearable art.

Lucy's process is she collects visually stunning silk scarves, then inspects the each one for any imperfections. The scarves she sources are vintage usually created by Valentino, Hermes, Channel and other top fashion designers. Lucy really enjoys searching for the perfect pair of silk scarves to unite into eloquent fashion creation.

Another twist is that the silk tops can still be worn as a scarf as well as head scarf. The longer silk tops can be worn as previously mentioned as well as a belt! How's that for being fashion forward.

Back in early Spring of 2011 Lucy was considered, amongst a long line of other designers, by Henri Bendel's of New York to be showcased in their store. They loved the silk crop tops however they stated "it is a beautiful piece of women's clothing but Bendel's only sells accessories." Lucy demonstrated the other uses of the unique silk tops as an accessory, unfortunately Henri passed on the opportunity.

It was pleasure working with Lucy. The tops are so gorgeous.... hey the holidays are fast approaching. Want to really make a statement give one of these beautiful silk garments. Again these are one of kind, no else will be seen in another silk top like this one. OK sorry... I don't mean to hard sell ya. I wish you could see the silk tops in person though. Ok I'll stop now.

Read Lucy's intro blog post here.

LYTRO's Release Date Is Missing Out.

Looks like Lytro is not going to release it's much anticipated camera for market until early next year! What a waste of the PR momentum built up over the past few months, along with potential holiday sales. Lytro will also be missing out on the actual field testing from all the anxiously awaiting photography consumers. That is priceless R&D info folks.

One reason to hold the product from market could be that Dr. Ng, founder and CEO of Lytro, uncovered a serious flaw in the Lytro camera functionality. Maybe manufacturing glitches are unable to produce enough stock for the demand? We could go on and on. Other than that release the darn camera, run out of stock... the buzz will just create more desire. Come on Lytro we want to take this camera for a test drive!

A recent post from the NY Times.

Yeah I'm off on the release date for LYTRO, here is my previous post. I'll admit it, I can't be right all the time.

Looking for photography, video or web design solutions?
Contact Spencer Gordon today!

Between the Chicks - The YES Dress - 2nd Line is in Production

Between The Chicks - The YES Dress - 2011 from Spencer Gordon on Vimeo.

Between the Chicks the creators of The YES Dress is preparing to launch their second line on October 19th. As the women's dress company finishes production this week the Chief Chicks are confident their second dress line will be a great success. Coming off a recent October issue article in Woman's Day magazine where Between the Chicks were featured in a start up business article. The founders Julie Gordon and Stephanie Kikis are very excited about the new fun fabrics and styles. The launch is open to all chic chicks, click here to view the invitation to attend. Save the date, October 19th, in your calendar and drop by to be the first to try on the new line.

Below is the cover to the Between the Chicks last line.

I've had the pleasure to work with Between the Chicks since their inception. Guiding Between the Chicks through photography, web design, e commerce, marketing, social media and business consulting it has been amazing to watch their women's dress company grow and evolve.

Other posts about Between the Chicks.

iPhone 4s. Do you know what the "s" stands for?

Do you know what the "s" stands for in the iPhone 3Gs and the iPhone 4s? It stands for "SUCKER". I've been caught in this upgrade consumerism ploy twice, once with an iPhone and the other with my pro camera Nikon D2Xs. Unless you know going into your purchase that this "s" version is only an inkling of what the next real version will have in store you may want to wait. The iPhone 4s is releasing Oct 14th. Ask yourself this question: "Can I wait?" If your answer is "Yes." Then I advise to listen to your inner voice.

For instance when I bought my iPhone 3Gs I was so excited. It was my first iPhone and my phone contract was allowing me to upgrade. We have all at one point or another been strong armed by our phone companies as to when we can upgrade. Any-whoo ........ My friends that had the iPhone 3G were envious of my iPhone 3Gs then the iPhone 4 came out 12 months later. The iPhone 4 blew the doors off the iPhone 3Gs! I wish I could have said that about the difference between the iPhone 3 and iPhone 3Gs. The 4 had a better screen the video and audio were far superior than the iPhone 3Gs. The list goes on and on.

So if you don't have to upgrade or can wait until the release of the iPhone 5 you may want to hold your horses.

Good News is that in addition to AT&T and Verizon the iPhone is now going to be available on the Sprint network.

Click here to read a related article by Ad Age Digital.

Photo credit: © Spencer Gordon for Oyster bathing suits

LYTRO - Will It Be A Fad?

The Lytro's technology is going to be an enormous leap forward in the digital imaging world.

Some are questioning is this just a fad. A fad I think not..... Lytro is laying down the stepping stone towards another technological advancement, something along the lines of what we saw in Star Wars as kids. The much anticipated advancement will not only lend itself to 3D imaging it will also be the beginning of...... wait for it. Holographic imagery, that's a ways down the road for the moment. The consumer market is not fully ready for the hologram.

I for one am looking forward to the new light field technology. Bring it on! Not having to focus allows me to "focus" on what is occurring in the moment.

Be ready. The Lytro Camera release is fast approaching. As I stated in a post in July I believe the release date will be later this month.