Wow … I just received another scam email about teaching oboe, but whoever did it must have hacked into someone else’s email. Still, I can see the signs that point out a scam. Here is the email, with the names and links removed:

Hello Teacher, Could you confirm that the email below sent to you by Paula Perkins, my P.A regarding the music lesson for my daughter was received? Please get back to me if you are available to offer private lesson for my daughter.

Thanks and God bless!
[name deleted]

Hello Teacher,

I am writing to know If you can tutor my 15 yrs old daughter, Sarah for 5-6 weeks starting from Feb 24th, 2011. I just don’t want her to be less busy so I just want her to get hooked up with one thing or the other. You know what I’m talking about. It can be on Language, Subjects, Yoga or Music Instruments. Let me know how much you charge per hour and let me know the total for 5-6 weeks lesson. You can take her on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays for 2 hours lesson per week. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. Please tell me your past teaching experience and make up lesson. I hope to read back from you soon. Have a nice time.

God Bless you

Best Wishes
[name deleted]

[name deleted]
Forensic Epidemiologist

Clinical Professor
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
[deleted] Health and Science University School of Medicine
[link deleted]

Adjunct Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine and Epidemiology
Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences
[University deleted]

Mailing address: [deleted]
[phone numbers deleted]
[email address deleted]

The name of this person was legit. I looked up his university and, sure enough, there he is, in the exact position listed above. Even the email link to reply to him looked legit, but I’m guessing if I looked at the code or whatever you call it I would find that it wasn’t really going there.

Someone who hasn’t received these before might fall for this particular one. So beware! Look for clues. Note that the word oboe isn’t mentioned. Note that it didn’t address me by name. Note that it doesn’t tell me where his daughter attends school, nor does it ask anything about my location. Everything is very unspecific.

Please don’t fall for these and don’t respond, even to answer with some ridiculous fees you charge as a joke. Replying let’s them know they’ve hit on a email address and they might just keep you on their list. My mail program has the option of bouncing the message back so my email address appears to be a bad one, so that’s usually what I do with these things.

I hate even putting these emails up at my site, but so many readers are unfamiliar with the scam that I continue to do so on occasion, in hopes that I protect some innocent recipients of the darn things.