Scammers Striking a New Chord with Piano Scam

I’m quite the fan of the scams that make it into my spam folder. I could be richer than Elon Musk if I believed all the spam mail that comes in, riddled with terrible English, and phishing me in hopes I believe the crap.

A new song and dance fell into my inbox. It was an offer of a piano from a woman who wants to move into a smaller place.

“Would you Love to have my Piano? i am moving into a Smaller apartment and won’t have a Need for it .if you can refer someone who loves to play and keep it.”

Roseline Swabilio / r.swabyroyal@gmail.com

I was intrigued because it was clearly a scam, but I had to know how a grand piano was parlayed into a grand scam. I even found a Facebook page where someone touted this grand gesture.

A quick search and I found an article from the Ohio MTA explaining how this scam works.

“I wanted CEOMTA to be aware of a recent iteration of the “free” piano scam. One of our members received an unsolicited email from someone claiming to be an elderly woman who was downsizing and looking to give away her late husband’s piano to a loving home. The piano was a Yamaha baby grand and the email came from a legitimate sounding Gmail account and included several pictures. The teacher did have an interested student, so the student made contact and arranged the delivery with a moving company they were referred to. However, the moving company was a fake. Although they sent a convincing invoice that included details like the size and weight of the piano, the parents realized after payment that the invoice had a different name than the company they were originally referred to. After being contacted again regarding the discrepancy, the moving company immediately took down their website and the family were unable to get back the money they had already sent. The original email said that she got the teacher’s name from a friend in her piano teacher’s association, so please be careful if you are contacted with a similar sounding situation.”

My research shows this scam dates back to 2020, when people were taking up musical instruments as a way to pass the time during lockdowns and pandemic-induced depression.

While I’ve reported the scam to the proper governing body of the U.S. Government, I’m also going to let Uncle Mr. Jean Louis Ekra know, because I’m sure the inheritance I’m getting just because I share the last name as someone who died will cover the costs of my lawsuit.