I wrote:

> ... Of course after you
> send payment to the "third party", the payment that you thought
> you had received from the "client" somehow gets canceled or fails
> to clear.

For example, the "payment" from the "client" to you may turn out to
have been made using a stolen credit card number, forged cashier's
check, spoofed PayPal payment notification, etc. A web search for
"overpayment scam" will turn up info on many variations on the
theme.

--Jim

> On May 2, 2017, at 11:19 PM, James Saxe <jim.saxe@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Kalia Kliban asked, regarding a bogus request for services
> quoted by Karen Dunnam:
>
>> My question is, what does the person sending the email get out of this
>> transaction, aside from the pleasure of wasting your time?
>
> I believe the way this scam works is that the "client" supposedly
> buying your services comes up with a story about how their
> payment to you will include an additional amount that you're
> suposed to use to pay to a third party. (For example, in the
> message Karen quoted, there's reference to a "private transport
> driver" who would presumably [hah!] be transporting the ten
> bridesmaids to and from Karen's studio for their "2 hour
> rehearsals twice a week for 3 weeks".) Of course after you
> send payment to the "third party", the payment that you thought
> you had received from the "client" somehow gets canceled or fails
> to clear.
>
> --Jim
>