UK Speaker SCAM: Church and/or University in the UK looking for a keynote speaker for an upcoming leadership workshop; Tier 5 Work Permit fees required via Western Union. Here’s the full story:
UPDATE (March, 2015): I have been contacted three more times with similar offers. This scam continues unabated and I hope potential victims find this post before entertaining their speaking invitations.
On May 15, 2012, I was solicited by a church in the UK (via my website) to speak at their upcoming leadership workshop. A series of emails went back and forth, containing various details and expectations. In order to speak there, I would need a Tier 5 Work Permit from the UK Border Agency and because the event was quickly approaching, I was introduced by email to someone at the parish who works for the UK Border Agency and can get expedited processing for my application.
I was emailed an official 52-page PDF application for a Tier 5 Work Permit with specific instructions on how to fill it out. The form is legitimate and you can find documentation online confirming that only a UK employer can submit such an application. Once I had filled it out and gotten passport photos made, I was asked to send 583 GBP via Western Union so she could submit the application and pay the fee in cash.
They said they had a sponsor and offered to pay me $10,000 USD as a speaking fee, along with all travel expenses. This seems high for a church but does fall within my standard fee structure (at least for domestic events), so it didn’t seem too unusual at the time. Here are all the names and email addresses of the people I communicated with:
- Reverend Michael Silver rev.michaelsilver@gmail.com
- Reverend Brian Moody revbrianmoody199@gmail.com
- Reverend Phil Dunning revphildunning@gmail.com
- Edward Smith eechurch@hotmail.com
- Patricia Coleman UK Border Agency p.coleman@workmail.com (real name verified by Western Union)
- Susan Aires Dransfield Novelty Company dransfieldnoveltyco@london.com
- Phylis Kamps 321-200-1024 (mobile)
Here is a blog post that details how these same people have done this dozens of times since 2010. At the time of this writing there are 94 comments on their post and I will be adding my own shortly. I have included a number of emails below so you can get an idea of how these people communicate.
Email #1: Initial Solicitation
Name: Rev.Michael Silver
Email: rev.michaelsilver@gmail.com
Message: I am Reverend Michael Silver , presiding Minister of the Emmanuel Evangelical (Baptist) Chapel, Newport, United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you to speak at our Church Lunch event here in Newport coming up on the 1st of June and we are also arranging our ‘Leadership development Program’ workshop on the 2nd & 3rd of June 2012.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule. Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed
Reverend Michael Silver
+447031873786
Emmanuel Evangelical (Baptist) Chapel,
Rutland Place,
Newport,
NP20 2EL,
Wales.
United Kingdom
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9.
Email #2: Initial Request for Money
Good day Patrick, I understand that you are Emmanuel Evangelical Church’s guest for their upcoming conference, Edward Smith informed me earlier, I have undergone this process for their guests in the past as well prior to this time as well so below are the details.
I have undergone this process for people prior to this time as well so below are the details. (It is a pity though that you do not have your Swiss passort intact and up-to-date as you would have been waived for this fee).
Our Government (United Kingdom) Main Application Fee for a UK work permit is £488 and £95 for homeland fee making an overall sum of £583, You should understand that as a United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & European citizens holding their international passport, entrance permits are at a reduced fee at rate given above, other nationalities pay more. I will do the application and payment in your name at our Consulate and send you necessary binding documents.
Usually, It takes between 1-14 weeks to get a permit depending on the category such permit may fall into, But if we process expressly and I append the application as a staff it will take just about one week and a maximum of two weeks give or take some delays in courier or so since it is categorized as ‘ministerial/religious’ under the UK Tier 5 work permit, It will take a week and a few days to process. If you are ready to proceed (which I advise you should) We would as well need you to send to us the below stated documents.
Full Name of applicant:
Passport Number:
invitation Letter from Sponsor:
Now, you will have to make the application fees payment and I will later send you the official UK TIER 5 WORK PERMIT FORM and the UKBA SCREENING FORM as an allied country citizen you do not need to fill the immigration assessment form as you are already eligible. We might only need your thumbprints at the United kingdom border on entry into the UK.
Please, be swift with your response because you know documents after been processed by the UK immigration might delay a bit, give or take 2-3days, It would be advisable you start processes a bit ahead of time.
Have a Wonderful day.
Patricia Coleman.
United Kingdom Border Agency.
N.A.
p.coleman@workmail.com
790-871-7081
Email #3: Second Request for Money
Good Morning Reverend, Deacon Edward, At the start of work today, I was notified by the issuing dept. that Patrick’s work permit cannot be issued out as yet, Non-Briton Immigrants coming into the United Kingdom and taking up a legally paid job will need to secure their stay with a bond otherwise referred to as a repatriation fee, And since Patrick falls under such category as she is non-British immigrant, The Home office has required that such applicants pay a refundable sum of 2,500GBP as a ‘Bond’ to enact their stay. As soon as they get back to their respective countries, the fee will be paid back to them in full. This law has been in the books for a while but it wasn’t effective for a long time now, But the new excos at the Consul has decreed it should be applicable and be 100% effective henceforth for working immigrants applying for the work permit.
I am emailing you now so you can find a way to forward to me the funds so I can make the payments asap since you have advised that time is of essence in this application. I will forward to you the ‘bond holding letter’ in the name of the applicant which is Patrick, he will be able to claim the funds at the USA Consul when he gets back home.
Warren Germain already sent me the funds for his bond, He will get the documents today, I have forwarded to him the fedex tracking number so he could monitor as well (Just informing you).
Reverend, Edward, send the funds to me on Patrick’s behalf as he might be relunctant to send such amount of money, So I need you to forward the funds on his behalf, Once he is back in the USA the bond will be liquidated and you will negotiate on how to have the funds back.
PLEASE REPLY SOONEST !!!
Patricia Coleman.
United Kingdom Border Agency.
N.A.
ukba.patriciacoleman@workmail.com
790-871-7081
Final Thoughts
It should be noted that there were well over 50 or 60 emails involved in this process, involving Reverend Michael Silver, Edward Smith and Patricia Coleman. Many details were discussed. I was even sent a hotel confirmation at the Park Plaza Cardiff (Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, CF10 3AL, United Kingdom) along the way. So the whole thing appeared completely legitimate at the time. I would even say it was more organized than other events I have spoken at.
So, what can I say? They got me. I’m embarrassed. In the end, it’s not that big of a deal. The money transfer cost me $1048 USD (Western Union is a rip-off) so it’s not really that much money, but that’s not the point.
My speaking career has taken me to every major city in the USA and cities across Canada and Mexico, as well as destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. I get many solicitations that seem “too good to be true” so I can’t really filter on that criteria. Here are the red flags which I ignored:
- Public email addresses only (gmail, hotmail and workmail).
- No mention of the leadership workshop on the church’s website.
- I was requested to send money urgently to an individual.
When I was invited to speak in India, I had to get a VISA first and it cost me $160 USD, but I made those arrangements directly with the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. So my learning point is that I will NEVER send money to an individual again.
I have filed a complaint with Western Union but have heard they can’t do much. It doesn’t really make sense to me. The person who picks up the funds has to show identification verifying their identity. That means there must be something the authorities can track. But who’s going to hunt that down? Anyway, if anything comes of it, I will update this post.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that the recipient DID pick up the funds in the UK. So I’m sure Patricia Coleman actually exists and I’m also sure she was in the UK on May 29, 2012.
Did this scam happen to you?
If you have had a similar experience, please tell your story in the comments below. I am publishing this post to hopefully help other speakers avoid this situation in the future. There are well over 100 comments on this post so far, all from other speakers who were contacted by these people. By adding your experience, it will improve the ranking of this post and make it easier for other speakers to find. Thank you.
For Aspiring Speakers …
Patrick Schwerdtfeger has a detailed blog post (over 4,000 words) describing the process of becoming a keynote speaker, including embedded videos and complete disclosures about the business of professional speaking and his own experiences along the way. It’s the highest-traffic post on this website. Read the post here:
So appreciative that I found this blog post. It confirmed my suspicions of the invitation I received a few days ago. I immediately thought it was a scam, but corresponded twice to set up a Zoom conference call to verify. When that request was not excepted, I knew something was fishy!
Here is what I received via my website. Buyer beware!
======
Name
Vicar Revd Edward Carter
Company or Organization
St Peter Mancroft Church
City, State or Country
United Kingdom
Email
vicarrevdedwardcarter@gmail.com
Area Code & Phone Number
+447031809672
Our Event Will Take Place (Date & Location)
9th, 10th & 11th of October 2019
_1.Contact us regarding an in-depth learning program for our staff/membership, etc.
1
Special Message To Carole
Blessings to you Carole, I am Edward Carter, presiding Vicar of the St Peter Mancroft Church,The Chantry Norwich,United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in The Chantry, Norwich at the Church conference coming up on the 9th, 10th & 11th of October 2019. The conference is tagged: ‘Big things: How to start small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
—
Vicar, Revd Edward Carter
+447031809672
http://stpetermancroft.org.uk
St Peter Mancroft Church
The Chantry
Norwich
NR2 1QZ
United Kingdom.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
Thank you great info. I am sorry you were affected but thank you for sharing with us in order to help us.
21 Oct 2019
Looks like this scam is still going on. Here’s an email I received from “Rev David Cavanaugh
Rev David Cavanaugh
Oct 15, 2019, 1:57 AM (6 days ago)
to me
Thank you very much for your profound interest in this upcoming conference, I have a few more details to share with you so you can have more insight on the conference and what the church stands for as a whole.
Saint Philip’s, Manchester Church we worship here in the catholic tradition. This means that the sacraments are very important to us, particularly the Mass and Holy Baptism. At Mass we receive the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ made present in the bread and wine consecrated through the liturgical action of priest and people. At Holy Baptism we are born again in the Spirit and begin our journey of faith by being incorporated into the life of the Church.
It is due to this age-long ritual of giving lectures that we have decided to keep lectures going though the type of lectures has evolved over the years we are proud to say we are keeping the hope alive! It is due to this that we are hosting the conference come 5th, 6th & 7th of December 2019 with about 550-600 people in attendance and we are pleased to notify you that you have been chosen by our Event Organizing Committee to speak at this event on recommendation of a staff of one of our sponsors, the YMF outreach and after checking your credentials and after reading blogs about you, we received the Lords direction to invite you to speak in this event and we also believe you are as well more than capable to deliver in this occasion, We have decided among the Event Organizing Committee to invite you to this program.
Since I was inaugurated as the Presiding Minister of this esteemed church, God has being helping us to keep hope and monuments alive and we have also being able to change the face of Christianity, and the church having a whole lot of history attached to it, for one, the site of the oldest stained glass and home to the then Venerable Bede (the scientist) and one of the oldest churches in this part, we also have about the oldest organ in England as well as the Saxon crypt and we also have an history with the river Don.
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and this year’s conference has been tagged. ‘Think big. Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to start design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move forward to the next steps.
Peace & Kindness,
Rev. David Cavanaugh
Saint Philip’s Church
25 Brookhurst Road
Manchester
M18 7ER
United Kingdom
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
I received this today, October 22, 2019. I was couldn’t understand how this location heard of me and contacted me to travel to the UK. THANK YOU FOR the Scam Letter!! I’m also a speaker. The letter was so long and in detail that I wondered if it could be real, especially where I just did a radio show that went internationally.
Rev David Cavanaugh
revdavidcavanaugh@gmail.com
5:22 PM (4 hours ago)
to me
Thank you very much for your profound interest in this upcoming conference, I have a few more details to share with you so you can have more insight on the conference and what the church stands for as a whole.
Saint Philip’s, Manchester Church we worship here in the catholic tradition. This means that the sacraments are very important to us, particularly the Mass and Holy Baptism. At Mass we receive the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ made present in the bread and wine consecrated through the liturgical action of priest and people. At Holy Baptism we are born again in the Spirit and begin our journey of faith by being incorporated into the life of the Church.
It is due to this age-long ritual of giving lectures that we have decided to keep lectures going though the type of lectures has evolved over the years we are proud to say we are keeping the hope alive! It is due to this that we are hosting the conference come 5th, 6th & 7th of December 2019 with about 550-600 people in attendance and we are pleased to notify you that you have been chosen by our Event Organizing Committee to speak at this event on recommendation of a staff of one of our sponsors, the YMF outreach and after checking your credentials and after reading blogs about you, we received the Lords direction to invite you to speak in this event and we also believe you are as well more than capable to deliver in this occasion, We have decided among the Event Organizing Committee to invite you to this program.
Since I was inaugurated as the Presiding Minister of this esteemed church, God has being helping us to keep hope and monuments alive and we have also being able to change the face of Christianity, and the church having a whole lot of history attached to it, for one, the site of the oldest stained glass and home to the then Venerable Bede (the scientist) and one of the oldest churches in this part, we also have about the oldest organ in England as well as the Saxon crypt and we also have an history with the river Don.
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and this year’s conference has been tagged. ‘Think big. Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to start design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move forward to the next steps.
Yes! My client just received a like email through her website contact form. It looked very legit. Thankful to have found this post. Thanks Patrick! Here’s the email she received from Reverend Richard Salmon…
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Leah, I am Rev. Richard Salmon, presiding minister of the Saint Augustine’s Church,Manchester,United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in Manchester at the Church conference coming up on the 25th, 26th & 27th of February 2020. The conference is tagged: ‘Think Big. Start Small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
Peace & Kindness,
Rev Richard Salmon
Saint Augustine’s Church
St Augustus Presbytery
Grosvenor St
Manchester
M15 6BW
United Kingdom
WEBSITE: CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND NOT ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods
Psalm 95:3 (KJV)
I found your site before I got scammed THANKFULLY. Here is the email i received.
Thank you very much for your profound interest in this upcoming conference, I have a few more details to share with you so you can have more insight on the conference and what the church stands for as a whole.
Saint Augustine’s, Manchester Church we worship here in the catholic tradition. This means that the sacraments are very important to us, particularly the Mass and Holy Baptism. At Mass we receive the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ made present in the bread and wine consecrated through the liturgical action of priest and people. At Holy Baptism we are born again in the Spirit and begin our journey of faith by being incorporated into the life of the Church.
It is due to this age-long ritual of giving lectures that we have decided to keep lectures going though the type of lectures has evolved over the years we are proud to say we are keeping the hope alive! It is due to this that we are hosting the conference coming up on the 25th, 26th & 27th of February 2020 with about 400-500 people’s in attendance and we are pleased to notify you that you have been chosen by our Event Organizing Committee to speak at this event on recommendation of a staff of one of our sponsors, the YMF outreach and after checking your credentials and after reading blogs about you, we received the Lords direction to invite you to speak in this event and we also believe you are as well more than capable to deliver in this occasion, We have decided among the Event Organizing Committee to invite you to this program.
Since I was inaugurated as the Presiding Minister of this esteemed church, God has being helping us to keep hope and monuments alive and we have also being able to change the face of Christianity, and the church having a whole lot of history attached to it, for one, the site of the oldest stained glass and home to the then Venerable Bede (the scientist) and one of the oldest churches in this part, we also have about the oldest organ in England.
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and our next year conference has been tagged. ‘Think big. Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to start design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move forward to the next steps.
Peace & Kindness,
Rev Richard Salmon
Saint Augustine’s Church
St Augustus Presbytery
Grosvenor St
Manchester
M15 6BW
United Kingdom
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods
Psalm 95:3 (KJV)
Thank you for confirming my suspicions! You can add “Revd Stephen Elston, presiding minister of the Saint Georges Church,Manchester,United Kingdom” to your list. His initial correspondence was almost verbatim to yours, except for the details of the church conference were new. (Think Big. Start Small. February 25-26-27, 2020) Something about the awkward grammar caught my attention. At the end of his contact info was this line: WEBSITE: CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND NOT ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED. In fact, I could not find the parish website; google showed an address but the photo was of an empty lot! A googling of the conference title brought me to your post. Thank you for saving me time and angst and, of course, money!
Thank you so much for being bold and sharing your story to save the rest of us.
I got mine this morning and while initially flattered it immediately felt off. Especially since I almost got caught in an Apple scam (I am on high alert now). Finding this truly helped, thank you and God bless!!!
Darn, I got the same letter recently but with a different name. Given the length of the letter and grammatical errors, I initially thought it was a scam but hoped it wasn’t! Here is the email I got today 11/12/19:
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Sarah, I am Revd Stephen Elston, presiding minister of the Saint Georges Church,Manchester,United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in Manchester at the Church conference coming up on the 25th, 26th & 27th of February 2020. The conference is tagged: ‘Think Big. Start Small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
Peace & Kindness,
Revd Stephen Elston
Saint Georges Church
Ellesmere St
Manchester
Salford M3 5EP
United Kingdom
WEBSITE: CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND NOT ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED.
I got one of these letters the other day and IMMEDIATELY knew it was a scam. I traded 2 emails with the “reverend” and upon my asking more detailed questions was ghosted. Here’s the initial email. It came through my website as an inquiry.
Name: Revd Stephen Elston
Email: revdstephenelston@gmail.com
Subject: Booking you as a speaker!!!
Message: Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Krista, I am Revd Stephen Elston, presiding minister of the Saint Georges Church,Manchester,United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in Manchester at the Church conference coming up on the 25th, 26th & 27th of February 2020. The conference is tagged: ‘Think Big. Start Small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
Peace & Kindness,
Revd Stephen Elston
Saint Georges Church
Ellesmere St
Manchester
Salford M3 5EP
United Kingdom
WEBSITE: CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND NOT ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED.
Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.Psalm 143:8
I too received the Andrew Hobbs e mail about the 2020 power conference. It’s to be held Feb.21-23 2020. Promise of air travel, accommodation, etc.
I replied. A contract was signed.
Next an email to send $650 to a place here in America. To send quickly was what they wanted.
My daughters husband works for a law firm. He quickly recognized it to be a scam.
Wow! I just got the same exact emails but from a Revd David Cooper in the UK. A few giveaways that had me suspicious, when I asked for specific details as to why me, how did they find me, general answers (same exact responses found in the scam emails) or no answers given at all. There was a lack of punctuation throughout their emails. These people need to be caught. Thank you for posting!!!
Mine came yesterday I contacted the church mentioned and they clearly told me that this is not happening and he is not the vicar.
Revd David Cooper via p3nlhg508.shr.prod.phx3.secureserver.net
Dec 16, 2019, 6:37 AM (2 days ago)
to me
From: Revd David Cooper
Subject: Booking you as a speaker!!!
Message Body:
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Carole, I am Revd David Cooper, presiding minister of the St James Church,Worcestershire,United Kingdom. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in Worcestershire at the Church conference coming up on the 25th, 26th & 27th of March 2020. The conference is tagged: ‘Think Big. Start Small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.
Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
Peace & Kindness,
Revd David Cooper
St James Church
Church End Badsey
Evesham
WR11 7JZ
United Kingdom
WEBSITE: CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Romans 10:17 (KJV)
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Got the same scam from Rev. Richard Salman, St. Augustine Church in Manchester. He instructed Jennifer Robinson to send the contract and she had me get in touch with their border agent, Patricia Bawden to get me a work visa BUT I had to wire $700 western union in order to get the permit first. Glad I found this site and didn’t go forward with it. Evil people.
https://www.standrewscathedralaberdeen.org.uk/people.html
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker. Also this conference will as well mark my four year anniversary as the Presiding Revd of this blessed Church.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and this year’s conference has been tagged. ‘Big things: How to Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to put up on our website and start to design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move ahead.
Remain Blessed.
—
Revd Dr Isaac Poobalan
+447031809672
https://www.standrewscathedralaberdeen.org.uk/people.html
Aberdeen
AB24 5AX
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
Echoing the gratitude to you for sharing this information. I received contact via my website for speaking services at a church in the UK. In reading some of the contact letters and responses, the same language is used as well as the same Bible verse,
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9.”
Mine was from Katharine Rumens at the St. Giles Anglican Church in London. The email came from a gmail account. When I requested that the good Reverend Rumens use the church’s official email domain, I heard nothing. Other American speaker friends of mine reported similar letters from churches in the UK.
Cheers!
THANOS FOR THIS POST! St Giles’ Cripplegate Church contacted me today
Thank you for the heads up. The scam continues:
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker. Also this conference will as well mark my four year anniversary as the Presiding Minister of this blessed Church.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and this year’s conference has been tagged. ‘Big things: How to Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to put up on our website and start to design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move ahead.
You are blessed.
—
Katharine Rumens
St Giles’ Cripplegate Church
Fore Street
London
EC2Y 8DA
United Kingdom.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
Thank you for confirming and sparing me.
Scam continues, i too received an invite to speak through my website:
This just happened to me, but luckily I googled him and saw this site!
I was contacted, as well. Be aware…
Yup. I was duped. I didn’t send money but I did send a photo of my passport! Thank you for sharing this before I got too far in the process.
Thank you for this post. I was thinking something was off, and then decided to pursue it and looked into the sponsor further only to find your post. Very much appreciate you taking the time to share. I got into two email exchanges and will cease communication. Here’s what I received:
Katharine Rumens
Jan 14, 2020, 1:08 AM (1 day ago)
to me
Thank you very much for your profound interest in this upcoming conference, I have a few more details to share with you so you can have more insight on the conference and what the church stands for as a whole.
(Inaugurated in 1958, the annual Lecture is given in St Giles’ Cripplegate Church on some aspect of the life and work of Bede or of Anglo-Saxon history or culture. The lecture is published in the year following delivery and copies can be obtained in St Giles’ Cripplegate Church or from the lecture secretary) This is an age-long history of our church.
It is due to this age-long ritual of giving lectures that we have decided to keep lectures going though the type of lectures has evolved over the years we are proud to say we are keeping the hope alive! It is due to this that we are hosting the conference come 27th, 28th & 2th of March 2020,with about 600 people in attendance and we are pleased to notify you that you have been chosen by our Event Organizing Committee to speak at this event on recommendation of a staff of one of our sponsors, the YMF outreach and after checking your credentials and after reading blogs about you, we received the Lords direction to invite you to speak in this event and we also believe you are as well more than capable to deliver in this occasion, We have decided among the Event Organizing Committee to invite you to this program.
Since I was inaugurated as the Presiding Priest of this esteemed church, God has being helping us to keep hope and monuments alive and we have also being able to change the face of christianity, and the church having a whole lot of history attached to it, for one, the site of the oldest stained glass and home to the then Venerable Bede (the scientist) and one of the oldest churches in this part, we also have about the oldest organ in England as well as the saxon crypt and we also have an history with the river Don. You can check out more about the church and its history at:
Apart from the conference coming up by March, The church is as well involved in a few other projects. For one, the church has dedicated the new school building to the Most reverend Benjamin Heagreaves,(The second-ever Minister of the estemed church) in view of his many achievements, the website is under-construction.
Sending out the invitation to you is by virtue of Gods bearing plus human recommendation, We need you to use your wealth of experience to sensitize the congregation, We organized this conference and workshop also in the hope of trying to re-organize the Church and further extend our impacts, So we can have people listen and be inspired by speakers like yourself on topics ranging from business growth , surviving in a bad economy, Futuristic speakers , family matters, to healthy living, which is why we chose you to speak at this event as a keynote speaker. Also this conference will as well mark my four year anniversary as the Presiding Minister of this blessed Church.
The conference theme has been carefully chosen by the Lords’ inspiration due to the backdrop of the present situation in the United Kingdom and this year’s conference has been tagged. ‘Big things: How to Start small’
You can email us the keynote you would like to speak on as we would want you to be convenient with the keynote topic so we decided it would be better you choose it yourself as long as its motivational and inspiring! We will as well need your bio to put up on our website and start to design posters as well as hand bills,
We are inviting you so you can inspire this people, teach them how to triumph over the deflating effects of set-backs & self-doubt, how to break free from whatever is keeping them “small”, and become empowered by their challenges, rather than victimized. And most importantly, how to start great things with small efforts and steadfastness
We would like to know your standard speaking fee for this engagement as we do indeed have a sponsor, So we can negotiate this I believe, Our fees are based on budget and we are not biased with our speakers fee, We budget for every speaker according to what the Event Organizing committee deem fit, But we will also be glad to negotiate.
All travel arrangements such as Flight fare, Speaking fee deposit as well as Hotel accommodation will be taken care of by us as soon as you honor this invitation. The events committee will send you all binding documents including a Letter of Invitation and Contract Agreement as well.
Email us in ample time any questions you may have so we can move ahead.
You are blessed.
—
Katharine Rumens
St Giles’ Cripplegate Church
Fore Street
London
EC2Y 8DA
United Kingdom.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
——– Original message ——–
From: Katharine Rumens
Date: 1/9/20 3:39 AM (GMT-07:00)
To: connect@angelagaffney.com
Subject: Booking you for a speaking engagement!!!
Blessings To You And Your Family,I am Katharine Rumens, presiding Priest of the St Giles’ Cripplegate Church,London,United Kingdom. I am delighted to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in London at the Church conference coming up on the 27th, 28th & 29th of March 2020. The conference is tagged: ‘Big things: How to start small’.
Please we would like you to convey to us your availability for one of the dates as it can fit in your schedule. Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us in ample time so we can start corresponding the details. Thank you and expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
—
Katharine Rumens
+447031809672
http://www.stgilesnewsite.co.uk/
St Giles’ Cripplegate Church
Fore Street
London
EC2Y 8DA
United Kingdom.
“Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. Acts 6:3:. Says The Lord Of Host And You Were Choosing By The Spirit Of God
I got email invitation from Grace Church in Blackwood too. Because I get invitations to speak both locally and internationally, I thought it was legitimate but then Thank God that I was suspicious so I did some research on the internet and came across this site. Thanks for creating this site to alert many potential would-be victims to this scam.
I got one also.
Grace Church Blackwood
Cefn Road,
Blackwood,
Gwent. NP14 3PR.
Website: http://www.gracechurchblackwood.org/
Email: gcblackwood@gracechurchblackwood.org
Church Office Phone: +44 7024 037959
Greetings to you Pastor Jack Lezza,
I am Pastor Andrew Hobbs of Grace Church, United Kingdom. We are
writing to invite you to be our guest speaker at our upcoming
conference tagged “POWER CONFERENCE 2020” coming up from 1st through
3rd of May 2020.
The purpose of this conference is to trigger the pursuit of deep
Christianity among youth, young adult, old and partial Christians.
VENUE: Conference Hall (Inside Church Premises)
Cefn Road,
Blackwood,
Gwent. NP14 3PR.
Date: May 1st to May 3rd 2020
Scheduled Topic: Setting Aside Mundane Affairs and Passionately Pursuing Christ
Theme: Reach Out and Touch Someone
The weekend of the conference is going to be filled with incredible
times of worship, clear and relevant teachings and powerful encounters
with God’s presence and your expertise and experience in this field of
work will be an excellent addition to our programme (POWER
CONFERENCE), as many of our visitors will look forward to hearing and
learning from your work. It is an honor to be able to invite you to be
a guest speaker for a talk on (Setting Aside Mundane Affairs and
Passionately Pursuing Christ), as we have read your profile on your
online website (https://www.ibcbolingbrook.org) and aware of your great
contribution to this field of work.
We look forward to a positive response. If you can RSVP in 48 hours to
our contact details (gcblackwood@gracechurchblackwood.org) and we will
provide you with
additional information you might require.
PS: Flight arrangement, hotel accommodation, ground transportation and
honorarium will be sorted by the event organizing committee.
In His Grip,
Pastor Andrew Hobbs
Senior Pastor
Grace Church Blackwood
+44 7024 037959
Got the same thing about two weeks ago. Invitation came from Reverend Alyson Buxton of St. Botolph Church in Boston UK. There is indeed such a person who works for that church – listed with picture on the church website. She sent me to a Mr. Edward Smith (you had an Edward Smith as well) who then passed me on to an associate who would help with the work permit. No need to paste all the emails here, they were very similar as the ones posted above. I thought that the communication was rather odd, but then again they are Brits, they talk funny! I also thought that their offer was exceedingly generous (even included expenses for my wife), but perhaps I had just hit the jackpot. I was reassured when the “helper” with the work permit had an email address with a legitimate government domain – .UKBA. But when this fellow asked me to send money I had a funny feeling. After some back and forth with my wife I did a little more research. When I typed in the phone number of “Reverend” Buxton your website popped up. Thank you for shutting this door and saving me the agony of making a judgment call. THE END
Your comment, “They’re Brits; they talk funny” cracked me up . . . especially since, as Brits, their ENGLISH should be better than ours!
Thank you for sharing! Same thing still happening in 2020! Not going to respond.
Email Subject Line: Booking you for a speaking engagement!!!
Email Body:
Blessings To You ,
I am Dr. Hugh Leaving, presiding Dr Hugh Leaving of the St.James”s Church. 197 Piccadilly London W1J9LL. We are pleased to inform you that we would like to engage you for a speaking event here in United Kingdom at the
Church conference coming up on the 23th, 24th & 25th of April 2020. The
conference is tagged: ‘Creation Of Multitudes Of Things With A Little Bit’.
Please we would like you to hand on to us your availability for one of the
dates as it can fit in your schedule.
Also, please we would as well appreciate if you get back in-touch with us
in ample time so we can start corresponding the details.Thank you and
expecting to hear from you soon.
Remain Blessed.
—
Dr. Hugh Leaving
+447031809672
https://www.sjp.org.uk/news
197 Piccadilly
London W1J9LL
“Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
Acts 6:3:. Says The Lord Of Host And You Were Choosing By The Spirit Of God
Thank you so much for this post! I have received at least 4 similar request for my boss/ the Senior Pastor to speak. The first time the dates wouldn’t work so a response was sent acknowledging that. The next year same thing! the third time the window of time between the request and the event actually allowed time for consideration. Back and forth communication ensued eventually leading to the request for funds to expedite permit…IMMEDIATE red flag! i contacted the convention we are affiliated with to see if any missionaries in that area had heard of the church and the response was “Likely a Scam”. I played along advising them that we wouldn’t be sending fees and would process all required documents here…asked if they could go ahead and send us the funds they had promised to reimburse via Western Union…needless to say…communication ceased! 🙂 We just received our 4th invite for Pastor Leach today…smh! They are so proficient though – your post will help countless people avoid being duped… Thank you sir!
This scam has just come Stateside! I’m in the USA and got the invitation- thankfully I did smell a rat but am playing along with them.. just to see how far it goes!
Unfortunately the scam continues. I too received an email through my Squarespace account from Reverend Alyson Buxton of the St Botoloph’s Church UK. The solicitation was the same as others so I won’t repeat it. I was immediately suspicious as the grammar and vocabulary and spelling were incorrect and Rev. Buxton had a gmail address versus a church business email account. Thank goodness for this site where I was able to confirm what I suspected. This is indeed a scam and a long running one at that.