‘Free grand piano’: the scam playing on music lovers’ heartstrings

An email pops up in your inbox: a woman whose husband has died is giving away his grand piano for free. She says she would love it to go to someone "who will truly appreciate and care for it". The piano "is in excellent condition and has brought joy to our home".

The email ends: "If you know of a dedicated student, teacher, family or church that would cherish this piano, please feel free to forward this message to them."

You don't know the woman, but you are pretty sure your local school would love to have a grand piano. And if it doesn't, you'll have it.

The email address looks legitimate – it's the woman's name – so you reply and get into a dialogue about her late husband and the piano. Her story seems to stack up, and she says you sound ideal.

The piano is in storage a couple of hundred miles away, she says, and you just need to pay for it to be delivered. She gives you the payment details and you pay the requested £300. But then everything goes silent.

The whole thing was a scam, and a variation on an old chestnut. It's an "advance fee fraud", where a criminal convinces you to pay upfront for goods or services that never materialise.

The British music shop and piano dealer, Forsyth, says it has been contacted by people who have followed up on such an offer and wanted its advice before arranging for their piano to be delivered.

"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," says the business.

Macauley Sykes from Sykes & Sons, a specialist piano workshop in Stockport, says this "is unfortunately quite a common scam". It has seen individual musicians, as well as churches and educational institutions, fall victim.

"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."

What it looks like

Unlike other scam emails, typically you are not asked to click on a link, or open an attachment.

In many cases, the email purports to be from a woman whose husband has recently died. Sometimes the email is made to look as if it has been forwarded by a family friend.

Occasionally, it claims to come from a church or organisation that is closing, or no longer has space for a piano.

Sykes & Sons says the delivery fee that people are asked to pay is typically between £100 and £500.

What to do

Bin, or ignore, these emails. And if they do contain links, do not click on them.