Inside A Wine Scam

I'm playing working with my brand-new iPad (remember my post about iPads for winery tasting rooms?) today, so I'm going to re-direct you to this well-written and interesting series from Mary Baker at Central Coast Wine Blogs as she takes us through the mechanics of an actual wine scam:

• Introduction: Inside a Wine Scam
• Part I: How the Wine Scam Works
• Part II: The 'John Nelson' Letters
• Part III: "It ain't TV, lady."
• Part IV: Who's in Your Wallet?
• Part V: The Worm Turns
• A Final Note About Money Orders

I learned a lot from her posts, and I certainly admire Mary's detective abilities.  She's done a real service to all the small businesses (not just wineries) targeted by these scammers.

And yes, Virigina, there really is an Alfalfa County in the state of Oklahoma.  You can't make this stuff up.

Now go read it (and pass it along to your local winery association members).

Comments

[Mary B.]

Thank you for the kind mention, Mike! I learned a lot as well researching this piece. I am amazed at the number of industries and businesses these criminals target, and I hope the series will help inform small businesses.

[El Jefe]

I had occasion to go back and re-read Mary's series last year. I was contacted by an outfit in Europe that wanted to buy a bunch of wine. The communications were just weird enough that warning sounds were going off in my head, so I went back and read the series to compare to our deal to hers. It turns out the deal was legit, but I'm glad I got educated and did some things to protect ourselves!

[Fabius]

Excellent (and fascinating) articles on how the scam works. Thanks you Mary Baker from Central Coast Wine Blogs.
I received such an email just a few weeks ago (only it was Thailand, and a wedding), and I ignored it. It just seemed too fishy, as in my case, it would be really unlikely that a stranger from abroad could have tasted my wines!!