First off – there's a phenomena called PHISHING – and this has nothing to do with snooty water creatures.

      Odds are, if you're online at all, you've already gotten one or more of these emails – they appear to come from companies where you have (or had) financial dealings of any sort, and the message comes on the email equivalent of "letterhead", with all the hallmarks and signs of being genuine missive from a source known to you. These emails, appearing to be well-intended, direct you, for any number of good- sounding reasons, to "update your account" or to "re-register" yourself, else your account is to be deactivated… – and, to assist you in this task, they often include a link that takes you directly to an official looking website for doing just that.

     NEVER EVER COMPLY WITH THIS KIND OF REQUEST without fully investigating it first! What happens is that you are connected to a counterfeit website which collects all the personal information you've given them while "updating" or "re-registering" and then uses it for their own purposes. It's one of the quickest, easiest ways, to have your identity stolen, your accounts drained, or worse. It's always wise to call the company directly if you have any question about the veracity of such requests! Protect your identity.

NOW - PARTICULAR TO THE BUYING AND SELLING OF FLUTES, ETC., we've had several reports of a couple other nasty practices that we wanted you to be aware of:

(1) Someone – often from overseas, but not necessarily – contacts you about an instrument you might have advertised. They sound serious. However – for any number of reasons (which might sound potentially legitimate, on the surface…), they want to you to accept a check from a third party to cover the cost of the instrument and shipping,, etc. – but which is somewhat *above* the amount you have stipulated or discussed… They make it sound easy and are often most reassuring to you about just depositing this check in YOUR account and then your sending them a check or money order for the difference… (that way, they might suggest, you can deduct from the difference exactly what it costs you to pack, ship, perhaps, etc.)...

NEVER EVER DO THAT!! You can be assured of a number of things with this kind of transaction: (a) the check they send you is going to bounce; (b) there is no way to trace the emails you've exchanged to anybody, anywhere; and (c) you will be out not only your instrument, but also the money you thought you'd received AND the money you sent them as "change". This is a well known and well established scam, and applies to anything you might be wanting to sell through an internet listing, whether through an established auction house or otherwise (i.e., not just flutes). So far, many of these kinds of proposals have been coming from Nigeria, but certainly that country does not have the monopoly of such scoundrels.

2) AND/OR … You see a listing, including pictures, of an instrument you might like to buy, possibly on an established auction service, a website, or otherwise. The description might sound thorough and professional, and there may be all manner of signs of it being an established business…. In the case of an auction site, the seller might also have what appears to be a satisfactory "track record" with that auction service… Sadly though – there have been numerous reports, now, of people literally fabricating things for sale, without actually having the item the present themselves as selling, -- but they'll be happy to accept your money!

     To protect yourself against THIS kind of scam or fraud: at the very least, always read the entire ad or site or listing carefully – and among other things, check to see if (a) there is a street address given anywhere for a physical location (especially if it's a company website, for example) – and (b) a phone number! If you're seriously interested in the item, call them and/or write them with questions specific to the item you're considering, and be curious about things not mentioned in the ad or listing but which you might legitimately want to know about.

      If it's on an auction site, it's also good to ask for more pictures of it as well – most legitimate sellers are happy to oblige. On an auction site, check the "feedback" given for content – read the comments, and don't rely on just the number of "positive" evaluations given – look to see what kind of pattern you can detect between the dates of transactions and the content of the comments about peoples experiences (for example – has the "seller" been active for only a few days or weeks, and are all the positive comments actually from the same one or two persons or sources??! If so, THAT might be a flag for concern… , etc.)

     Here's why that can be important: it's been documented that there are and have been people who literally fabricate items for sale (again, on established auction sites or otherwise) by clipping images from other listings or websites, and lifting descriptions from other sites or listings, sometimes complete with serial numbers (sometimes legitimate ones they've pulled from other sources yet) and putting them all together into a lovely, genuine sounding presentation – all without ever, at any point, having that item (or anything like it) to actually send you after you've sent them your money. This is called fraud – pure and simple – and while it can be prosecuted, doing so will also take your time and energy, over and above any monetary damages. So – opt to avoid the needless hassle and do this kind of background research on your seller(s) first.