War heute mal wieder bei einem meiner Lieblings-Farben-Chaotiker auf der Homepage und konnte dort folgendes lesen. Es betrifft zwar hauptsächlich den Amerikanischen und Kanadischen Kontinent, aber es ist schon sehr traurig zu sehen, mit welchen Mitteln sich manche Menschen berreichern wollen
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OK, here's the lowdown. There is a con man preying on our business. He is calling shops all across America and Canada, pretending to be me (or sometimes other artists) and claiming to be in urgent trouble with the law. His approach varies, but from what we understand he is very convincing. He will often ask for Mike Dorsey or some other well known artist, then when the person answering the phone tells him Mike is not there, this con man says,"Oh shit- wrong number. But I'm only allowed one call- you gotta help me!". He even has a female accomplice who will call back the shops that hang up on him, pretend to be the secretary from a bail bonds company, and ask them "Are you sure you don't want to help Guy?".
Anyway, for the record- I am NOT in trouble, and plan on staying that way. I think this scammer has chosen me not only because I am fairly well respected in the business, but because I keep a low profile during my everyday life- that is, unless you already know me pretty well, there is no phone number for you to call to make sure I'm not in jail.
Many artists have fallen for this scam, and have wired him money. If you are one of these artists, click the button below and let me know immediately all the info you have- his alias, phone number, town etc. Then go immediately to the police and report this scam. What we need are police reports from as many different areas as possible. The police are fairly useless in this situation, but with enough complaints it will become impossible for them to ignore this.
In the meantime, spread the word. Tell as many tattooists as possible about this scam. If you are going to any conventions, see if you can convince the show promoters to make a general announcement on the PA about this. Have them announce that if anyone has any info about this scam to email me (easy: guy@guyaitchison.com).Or just direct them to this page.
Thank you,
Guy
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Jörg
