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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Work-related scam attempt

Jan. 23, 2009 3:38 p.m. confuZion3 Dork

UGH! I feel like I'm overcome by sleeze. I just got off the phone with a company called "All Purpose Business Communications" who claims that I purchased a one-year subsciption to the "National Business to Business Guide". Bull cookies. Nobody in my company authorized it, and in accounts payable, I don't have any authority or reason to purchase ANYTHING!

What they did:

They called me in December. "Hi this is, Dave from All Purpose Business Communications. I'm calling to confirm the address for the invoice for 'insert our entity here'."

"Ok, I said. The address you gave me is correct."

"OK, well, I need to send it to someone's attention."

"Send it to the attention of Accounts Payable."

"Well, our company policy is to send it to a person - can I have your name please?"

So, I gave him my name. They recorded the call. When I called them today to ask about this, I told them that we didn't authorize the purchase of this. He then brought up the December conversation, insisting that I authorized the purchase. It was obvious that I didn't. He kept asking, "Are you sure that's not your voice?" "Are you sure you didn't authorize the purchase?" "Can I speak to someone who can confirm that it was you that was authorizing the purchase?"

That last question pissed me off. I said, "I didn't make the purchase and we're not paying for this invoice. Good-bye." And I hung up.

E36 M3 head.
Jan. 23, 2009 4:00 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

Back before email, there was Telex. I had a telex number so I could communicate with home while I was at sea. I wrote my own Telex application to dial in and check for mail. I still remember the answerback. Anyway, people in foreign countries would generate bills for "listings" in their Telex directories and send an official looking invoice to everyone with a number. I used to get 2-3 of them a year. Probably an early Nigerian scam.
Jan. 23, 2009 4:15 p.m. Kramer Reader

I received a scam sales call at the parts store where I worked when I was 19. We liked to screw with people (when the boss wasn't around), so I told him we had seven employees and 200,000 sq ft of warehouse. The scammer was selling light bulbs, and somehow got me to "authorize" hundreds of bulbs. The guy was so slick, I didn't even realize I'd authorized anything.

A few days later, a reputable trucking company showed up with a truckload of bulbs. The driver told me the company was a scam, and that I should refuse the order (which I did).

A few days later, I got a call from the scammer. He was pissed, but his PO didn't match up with our PO log, and all the BS I'd fed him now allowed me to turn the table on him.

In the end, we got a laugh, and I'm sure the scammer had to pay the trucking company.
Jan. 23, 2009 5:16 p.m. Hal HalfDork

confuZion3 wrote: They called me in December. "Hi this is, Dave from All Purpose Business Communications. I'm calling to confirm the address for the invoice for 'insert our entity here'."

This one has been around for years. Three years ago when i was working in the hardware store we got several of those calls.

Fortunately the store owner had already told all of us that if we got a call like this to hang-up immediately.
Jan. 23, 2009 6:49 p.m. EastCoastMojo Dork

Oh yes. We get these calls all the time. NEVER say the word "yes". Never say "OK". You will recognize the bullE36 M3 when it starts flowing next time and just tell them "We are not interested in your service and we would like to be removed from the call list." Most of the time you will not even be able to complete the first half of that sentance before they hang up on you.
Jan. 23, 2009 9:42 p.m. clownkiller New Reader

We get both those calls too. The bulb scam is out of New York, from my call display.
Jan. 23, 2009 10:41 p.m. Wally SuperDork

It's not a scam, I just have to get rid of these lightbulbs.
Jan. 23, 2009 11:17 p.m. joey48442 Dork

Wally, I need 198k of them... Could you ship to MI?

Joey
Jan. 24, 2009 7:28 a.m. aussiesmg Dork

I could use 250K of them, ship them downunder and ask for "Blue"
Jan. 24, 2009 8:03 a.m. eastsidemav New Reader

We get those for office supplies at my place - a few people have fallen for it. When it happens, we just refuse the shipment. I wish company policy would allow us to use an air horn on the phone...
Jan. 24, 2009 8:10 a.m. EastCoastMojo Dork

eastsidemav wrote:

We get those for office supplies at my place - a few people have fallen for it. When it happens, we just refuse the shipment. I wish company policy would allow us to use an air horn on the phone...

Does company policy specifically forbid using an airhorn on the phone?
Jan. 24, 2009 2:35 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

well.. how about the type of airhorn?
Jan. 24, 2009 5:43 p.m. eastsidemav New Reader

EastCoastMojo wrote:

eastsidemav wrote:

We get those for office supplies at my place - a few people have fallen for it. When it happens, we just refuse the shipment. I wish company policy would allow us to use an air horn on the phone...

Does company policy specifically forbid using an airhorn on the phone?

I'm kind of assuming its part of the whole "conducting yourself in a courteous manner" thing. I could be wrong, though
Jan. 24, 2009 6:31 p.m. EastCoastMojo Dork

All I can say is... never assume
Jan. 25, 2009 2:04 a.m. confuZion3 Dork

So I'm not the only one. Cool. I'll try to have fun with it next time. Wally, when I come to NYC I'm gonna need about 100k lights too. Got a roof to light up!
Jan. 25, 2009 9:31 a.m. petegossett Dork

We get this all the time in the copier business...we call them "toner pirates".

What happens is our customer will get a call from someone "Wanting to confirm the model and serial-number of their copier". Sometime afterward, the customer will get another call, but this time armed with model & s/n info, the scammer now sounds much more legitimate, and the scammer will ask if they need more toner. If the customer agrees, the toner will arrive, and later - often after they've used the toner - the bill will arrive, usually at 200%-300% retail. Adding insult to injury, most of customers are under contract which includes all their toner at no extra cost.

The scammers seem to call all our customers around the same time, and usually 2 or 3 times per-year. I drew up a letter and sent out to our customers last fall warning them, but I've had a couple reports of another round of scammers.
Jan. 25, 2009 12:50 p.m. skruffy Dork

I get calls from "toner pirates" all the time. Even after you tell them your toner is included in your rental agreement they still push it. they'll tell you about how it lasts so much longer and whatnot. They'll even keep going after I tell them unless it's cheaper than free and they come out and change it like our rental company does, I'm not interested.

However, anything that shows up out of the blue that I need I'll use. Throw the invoice away when it shows up. None of these companies would have a leg to stand on in court, they won't pursue anything further than harassing phone calls. At least none of them have yet.
Jan. 26, 2009 7:26 a.m. Jensenman SuperDork

I went to a management meeting several years ago where, as we walked in, about 80% of the attendees were handed an envelope along with their name tag marked 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL ASKED'. When the meeting leader said to open the envelopes, inside each was an invoice for a small amount, around $35-$50 and attached was a check from the attendees' company. These were bogus invoices that had been mailed about 60 days previously and their accounts payable offices had paid them without question.
Jan. 26, 2009 7:54 a.m. confuZion3 Dork

Jensenman wrote:

I went to a management meeting several years ago where, as we walked in, about 80% of the attendees were handed an envelope along with their name tag marked 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL ASKED'. When the meeting leader said to open the envelopes, inside each was an invoice for a small amount, around $35-$50 and attached was a check from the attendees' company. These were bogus invoices that had been mailed about 60 days previously and their accounts payable offices had paid them without question.

That's awesome!
Jan. 26, 2009 10:03 a.m. Snowdoggie Reader

Why not just give them a fake address when they call to verify, telling them that you moved. Make sure the address is an abandoned warehouse in the gang infested high crime part of town.
Jan. 26, 2009 10:26 a.m. mistanfo Dork

I had a gentleman call for ovens recently. When asked what model, he wasn't sure (not uncommon for a purchaser). I gave him our website, and told him to ask his engineers. He came back asking for something that didn't exist (our website shows that we can make ovens for numerous crystals, and he claimed to need one oven for different crystals, copy/pasted direct from our website). I asked him WHICH crystal he had, and he gave me a single type.

I quoted him, and suddenly he wanted a quote and delivery on 5, then 10, then 60, then 300. And I had to contact a shipping company of his choosing (with a generic email address). When I asked what they were for, he said "the kitchen in my new orphanage (IIRC, in Ghana). I explained to him that he must be confused, as these were mini-ovens, for heating crystals in electronic circuits, and that I could not help him. He responded that they were to FIX the full scale ovens in his orphanage kitchen. I haven't replied, but he occasionally sends me a message now asking when I will ship the promised items.
Jan. 26, 2009 10:26 a.m. conedodger New Reader

Make sure the warehouse needs better lighting

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