Content creation and Collab email scams

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:50 am

There seem to be a few different types of Collaboration or Content Creation emails going around lately. I recently shared one that claimed to be the fashion brand, Fashion Nova.

That being said I’m always a bit wary of these types of requests because many come from companies I’m not familiar with. Or they are from overseas companies. Some may also be asking me to share content (video, written, or images) for products or services that aren’t my usual posting content.

Today’s post concerns this. No matter what your platform you should always do your research before agreeing to any terms or offers.

I always try my best to seek out info about the brand that is contacting me (even if it’s a scam).

Collab and content creations emails

I’ve had a company reach out to me four times in less than a week. The thing about this is they are claiming to be an Italian-based men’s and boy’s clothing brand.

This is fine but what gets me is that my content has never been fashion-based so that always raises a red flag for me.

The second is that the emails are sent from a non-branded dot com address. They aren’t a typical business or company email address.

I have been asked to share the brand via shared content the brand provides (images, videos, logos, etc.)

Examples of the emails

All the emails have been sent from a dot UA email address. They are sent from different senders but all are centered around the same Italian brand Marcelo Burlon.

All emails were sent to either my Reviews and Savings Pal email address or my Life with Pal email. The one sent to the latter address was an exact copy of an email sent to my Reviews and Savings Pal email.

So that set off some suspicions on my part. Since I figured they are auto-generated messages.

Please note some messages have been edited to exclude some sender’s full names or trademarked or copyrighted icons or text displaying these symbols.

Email one

This email was sent from a general email with no personalization. This was meant to be from management I assume.

The email was sent from the following address: mburlon@online.ua

Good morning. I am the advertising manager of the Marcelo Burlon brand.

We want to interest in cooperation with us on an ongoing basis.

A little about our brand: The Milan brand Marcelo Burlon was created by the famous Italian designer, stylist and blogger Marcelo Burlon in 1990.

Italian brand Marcelo Burlon is a street fashion legend. High-quality, stylish and original clothes for the stronger sex are produced under the trademark logo.

We can pay for the integration in the following ways: Cryptocurrency/Visa or Mastercard/Your bank details/Cashapp/PayPal.

We need a one-time integration in 45 seconds (beginning, middle and end of the video)

first email sent 7/2/2022

email two

this was sent from a rep named Betty from the following email address bourlonmarcelo@online.ua.

My task is to actively promote our products. if you don’t mind let me tell you more.

We аre a clothing brand founded by a truly high-class person in the field of modeling and design. I would like to ask you pictures with us. in particular, we are interested in a little integration concerning us in all your next YouTube movies.
we decided to start cooperation with bloggers because we plan to launch a completely new series in early July 2022.

We will nоt offer you to download strange archives and files. Only a video and a document that I will attach to the answer to your letter.

Let me tell you аbout the benefits of working with us:

1) Initially I wоuld like to note that part of the proceeds will go to support the Wild Animal Sanctuary – Kenesburg, Colorado, as well as to various means of permits to do exactly the same together!

2) You get a personal entry to the new series in the form of a presentation and the opportunity to buy items with a 30% discount as our companion.

3) You enter into a partnership agreement with the largest clothing company in the world.

4) First-class profit (our finances are in the region of 1000-3500 USD according to ad integration)

5) the price in any way convenient for you (bank account, cryptocurrency, PayPal, etc.)

We could be satisfied if we should interest you. For feedback, please contact us in a response letter and we can send you a more detailed action plan.
Thanks!

second email sent 7/3/2022

Email three

This email was sent 5 minutes after the second email. it was also sent from what claims to be the CEO of the Italian brand.

it was sent from the following address: pleinceo@online.ua

Hello! Wе arе intеrеsted in your channel’s audience on the YouTube platform and would like to offer you a partnership with us on a barter basis. We chose you because your content attracts a good stream of audience and it would suit us very well as a promotional element to attract people to our product.

We will not offer yоu to download strange archives and files. Only a video and a document that I will attach to the answer to your letter.

We are planning to lаunch a clothing collection in July of this year.

Or you can reply to this emаil

We are offering you a free set of our clothes of your choice from the catalog of the new collection and a cash reward of $1,000 to $3,000 depending on the duration of your advertising integration!

If you are interested in this offer, let us know on this email. After a while, we’ll send you a catalog that you’ll be one of the first to access as our partner!

third and fourth email sent 7/3/2022

As you can see they all offer high dollar payouts. One also claims they will donate proceeds to a wildlife rescue.

what I found out

During my research of this brand, I found their website.  Marcelo Burlon is a real company as I mentioned. They mainly focus on men’s and boys’ clothing.

The wildlife rescue mentioned in the email stating the brand wants to work with bloggers. The Wild Animal Sanctuary is located in Colorado as stated.

But when I looked up info about the dot(.) UA I found it can be associated with a few organizations. One of which is the University of Alabama or Arizona. I also found that dot(.) UA is a Ukraine-based country email code.

The other thing I noted about these emails is that they all claim large payouts for your integration. Yet when I checked Marcelo Burlon’s website I didn’t see any information that offered any type of marketing or pr program. Granted the site was translated into English but there wasn’t anything to give the impression they are seeking promoters from overseas. They did have a press option under their contact us link but that’s about it.

Another red flag

A big red flag for me was the payment options. I always wonder who would want to be paid in cryptocurrency. Along with who would give any brand access to their bank account.

a few tips

1. I would say always do your research when dealing with emails such as these.
2. Also, reach out to the brand if you feel inclined even if only to verify the email is valid.
3. If the email request doesn’t sit right with you don’t reply. You can spam it and block the sender if your email service has this option.

I hope this post was helpful.