On the surface, there was nothing unusual about the email that designers Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman received from the antiques seller in Bordeaux. The founders of New York– and New Orleans–based firm Brockschmidt & Coleman had initiated the conversation, inquiring to purchase a 19th century gueridon they found through a listing on Proantic, an online marketplace for European antiques operating in France. The response—and several others that came after it—was sent with an official-looking header that prominently displayed the seller’s company name, maintained proper spelling and grammar, and included a complete signature with contact information that matched the listing.

“This wasn’t like the Nigerian prince email,” says Coleman. “Nothing about the correspondence seemed weird a

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