World · Europe · 11 hrs ago
Fake free-piano offers trick people into paying delivery fees
Scammers are offering non-existent grand pianos for free in emails to music lovers, schools, churches and other groups.
The messages often claim a woman is giving away her late husband’s piano and wants it to go to someone who will value it.
After building trust, the sender says the piano is stored elsewhere and asks the recipient to pay for delivery or insurance.
The upfront fee is usually £100 to £500, but no piano is delivered.
British piano dealers say they have heard from people who were targeted, and some have helped prevent payments.
The scam is a form of advance fee fraud, which means victims pay for goods or services that never arrive.
People should ignore the emails and avoid paying, and can forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Fake offers of free pianos are being used to trick people into paying delivery fees for instruments that do not exist.
The scam is a form of advance fee fraud, in which victims pay upfront for goods or services that never arrive.
The emails often claim that a woman is giving away her late husband’s piano and ask recipients to pay for delivery.
People are typically asked to pay between £100 and £500.
Piano businesses say musicians, churches and educational institutions have been targeted.
- Who
- People responding to fake piano offers are targeted. Musicians, churches and educational institutions have also fallen victim.
- What
- Scammers offer a piano for free, then request an upfront delivery or insurance payment for an instrument that does not exist.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- The emails may claim the piano is in storage a couple of hundred miles away. The scam has been reported to British piano businesses.
- Why
- The scammers seek upfront payments for delivery or insurance.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The recipient replies to the email and exchanges messages with the supposed giver.
The supposed giver says the piano is in storage and asks for a delivery payment.
The recipient hears nothing further, and the piano does not arrive.
- Typical delivery fee
- £100 to £500
- Example payment
- £300
- Possible piano brands
- Yamaha or Steinway
- Reporting address
- report@phishing.gov.uk
What people are saying
Fortunately, we were able to rescue them before they responded to any requests to cover the cost of shipping, or insuring the piano, but we’ve heard of many others who have fallen for it and lost significant amounts of money – because the truth is, there is no piano
this is unfortunately quite a common scam
Where people should become cautious is when an unusually valuable instrument, particularly a modern Yamaha or Steinway grand, is supposedly being given away by a stranger, but cannot be viewed or collected in person, and money must first be sent for delivery.