Dear Katie,
I’m Mary. Landry, I came across your work at http://painterskeys.com/ , I am interested in the purchase of your arts to beautify our new home, we are moving from our canadian home to Ukraine in a couple of weeks.
What is the price of the art below excluding the shipping cost?
(1) The Wind in my Sails
oil painting on canvas
18 x 18 inches(2) Abracadabra
oil painting on canvas
40 x 40 inchesOn the payment, I would be glad to pay you with a Personal Cheque, because this method of payment is instant cashable.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on how we can proceed.
Best regards,
Mary Landry.
How exciting. Will you pay about eight hundred over on the shipping, then ask me to reimburse you?
Last time you had different last name and needed to beautify your new home in London.
My question- why don’t you try to vary and personalize these emails a little more? My suspicions are aroused when the wording is so similar from one email to the next. But this detail was a new twist, and most interesting to me- through sleight of punctuation, you seem to have turned your last name into an adverb at the beginning of your letter.
My favorite related story here, on 419 Eater.
Paint Fumes 
LoL! I just read that site you provided. I can’t believe so many people get away with scamming.
Thanks for posting this as a reminder to be careful!
You’re welcome, Heartbreak.
I’ve read several accounts of artists being taken for their money and their artwork this way, and the only way I can think to combat it is to spread the word as far as possible. Most of these artist-targeting scams seem to involve a fake (and sometimes very convincing-looking) cashier’s check written for more than the amount due and a request to send the excess money back. A healthy dose of suspicion is a good thing.
I just got the same e-mail today at school where I teach…with two of my paintings even.
I was hoping it was true. Thank you for listing this spam/scam on the web.
Good to know you didn’t fall for it, CRollman. I’ll post the various incarnations of this scam as they arrive in my mailbox.