This one is a blanket email that goes out to anyone, not specifically to artists. To be honest, I haven't even read the entire thing word for word because it stinks so much of a scam.

This has been reported by an artist from Australia over at sculpture.net:

The Liverpool Art and Culture Blog has reported a scammer going by the name of "Dan Smith". Their post also links to an older thread with warnings of other scammers.

CARFAC Saskatchewan has reported a scammer going by the name of Kathleen Cole. The email she sends is in the same format as all of the others. The scammer is operating with the email address kat_cole000@yahoo.com

A big thanks to MaskWoman for alerting us to another fake fair: Toulouse 2007 Contemporary Art Exhibition

Jacquie Green shares her experience with a scammer.

Her experience with "Betty Smith" is a typical one and, luckily, she was smart enough to do some research before shipping off her artwork. Her bank reminds her that it could take up to three months for funds to completely clear from a cheque or money order.

A new scammer has been reported by a CARFAC Ontario member. The scammers are becoming more elaborate in there schemes; in this one, the "art buyer" also has the artist correspond directly with the shipping company.

I have been notified that "Gordon Jones" of "DTArtwork & Co" is offering people in Canada and the US the chance to "Earn $350 Weekly Direct from your home (Part-Time Job Offer)". The letter reads as an obvious, albiet creative, version of the cheque scam.

192.com, an online business directory for the UK, does not have "DTArtwork" in its database. The website for DTArtwork (www.dtartswork.4t.com) is hosted by FreeServers.com and their email address is hosted by GMail.

An online search for "DTArtwork" results in several discussions in which they have been identified as a scam:
Discussion at Google Groups rec.arts.fine
Discussion at ArtScuttlebutt
Rip Off Report log
Discussion at Groupserv.com Hobbies

Carl at the Sculpture Community has reported another scammer. Note that her email address is hosted by MyWay.com, which is a standard search engine/portal website. Click "read more" to read her email.

I recently posted an online ad to sell some used electronics, and received a new format of the shipping scam. The scammers are obviously learning from their failures and trying to seem more legitimate by indicating that they have a FedEx account they use and that their bank will contact the buyer. Because I don't feel comfortable giving them my address, I haven't pursued this email. I imagine that the "bank" is simply a phone call or email from the same person and that there shall be some error which results in an overpayment to the seller.