15 replies to this topic

[Chris Miller]

These days, scams happen every day. Even worse, these people focus HEAVILY on our industry because they have been successful. Successful at what? Successful at using us as pawns to place large charges on the credit cards of unsuspecting victims who have had their credit cards and/or identity stolen.

What can we do? We can PAY ATTENTION! There are many ways to tell a scam. I have listed some of them below. As a business, it is YOUR responsibility to pay close attention to the orders you receive. At the end of the day YOU may be responsible for reimbursing the cardholder, and the goods you had shipped may be LONG GONE! Keep in mind that the credit card number you just received could be that of a hard working American or Canadian who never intended to buy from you.



Here are a few things to look for:

- Heavy use of emails...little phone contact. If they insist on mainly emails, you should be concerned. Sometimes these crooks will even talk you on the phone! Don't let that fool you though. Follow your gut!

- Broken english.... if it sounds like it was written by a foreigner, then it probably was.

- A request to "Be sure to include your contact details". I think they throw this in there to make the request seem more legit. They have NO intention of contacting you!

- White shirts, often times blank and usually all the same size. The goal is a big, simple, transaction.

- Printed Vinyl Banners, often times related to children, adoption, etc. This is their new gig. It seems "more legit" and probably works better for them now than the old shirt trick.

- The "urgent" need that these people have. The only thing they need fast is for you to charge the stolen card.

- They are usually a pastor, reverend, child advocate, etc. They WILL play on your weaknesses because they know what touches your heart.

- God... they LOVE to focus on god. Again, they love to play on your weaknesses.

- No regard for costs. Overnight shipping, rush fees, they do not care. Everything is a go. People spending their own money care about costs. Those using stolen credit cards could care less.

- They want to handle their own shipping, or want your quote to exclude shipping. Most of these people have no intention of taking deliver of the items, they just want the stolen card to be processed. So... they will do / say whatever is necessary to get you to charge the card ASAP.

- Over simplified American names. If their name is "John Smith", or something similar, you should be weary. These people are not familiar with real american surnames so they tend to use two well known first names, or real simple surnames as their fake identity. Don't fall for it!

- No regard for card security. These people will often times provide the stolen credit card information in an email! Do you send your credit card info to anyone via email? Most likely not!

Here is an example of these emails. Please post more if you have them.

Quote

Hello
My name is Rev Cole and I want to make a purchase of Banners.

I want the Banners to be white background with blue lettering , here is the size I need 3X8, get back to me with the grand total excluding shipping, and I'll make payment to proceed with the Order and also the surcharges for using visa or master card.

With God All Things Are
Possible.

Thank you and I'll be looking forward to hear favorably from,I need them with grommets all round vinyl material out and also i need 40 banners.

you.Don't forget to include your contact informations.
Best Regards,
Rev Cole

[bigimpression]

The steps Chris has outlined above are great tell tale signs of a scam.

Here are a few extra things I do to verify any orders I deem suspect, and I may lose a little business doing these extra few steps below, but it's better than being out thousands of dollars. By the way they all aren't fool proof.

I usually Google the persons name who ordered to see if I can find any relation between them and a company.

I'm wary if "John Smith" is using "Steven J. Holmaceckz's" credit card and saying this is my boss or administrators card.

I tell them I will only ship to the billing address associated with the credit card.

Request a copy of the front and back of the card they are using. Rarely do the scammers have the physical card, but this can also be easily photo shopped.

Ask for an alternative card that is also in their name.

[steveb]

Rule #1: Deal with people you know. If an inquiry or order comes in over the transom and you have no idea how they got your name, it's a scam.
Rule #2: If it seems too good to be true, it isn't true.
Rule #3: Greed is not good. Look for it in yourself and eliminate it. Mega-profit deals don't happen to people like you.

These are general rules of thumb. Follow them and be happier.

[Ron Van D]

steveb said:

Rule #1: Deal with people you know. If an inquiry or order comes in over the transom and you have no idea how they got your name, it's a scam.
Rule #2: If it seems too good to be true, it isn't true.
Rule #3: Greed is not good. Look for it in yourself and eliminate it. Mega-profit deals don't happen to people like you.

These are general rules of thumb. Follow them and be happier.

Transom? Transom?! :eek: They're hand delivering these things now??? :eek:

[robinr21]

Thanks for the tips - and I am seeing my share of these as well. I'll share as others come in; usually I just delete.

What I don't understand is why they choose to purchase what they do...what's in it for them? I mean, even if someone else is paying for it, what is a crook going to do with banners with "with God all things are possible" on it? I don't doubt that they are not legit, but obviously, I am missing something.

[robinr21]

Disregard my previous post, I scrolled thru other threads and found my answer. Thanks again, Chris.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan
I guess I do not understand what good a banner is on the market. Blank t-shirt I understand but a printed banner?

Allan,

Even the blank shirt things we have seen lately have been complete BS. These people aren't receiving the goods. Often times they want to "Pick them up" or they will "Take care of the shipping". Yea right.

They have no intention of doing anything other than using the cardholder's card. They are like spammers now... just out to cause harm to others. Personal gain is not so important to them. Maybe they are using us to test the validity of the card so that they can use it for bigger and better things. Who really knows?
__________________
Chris Miller
PromoPunch.com
A.E. Miller Company, LLC

"Experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you want"

[tmayfield]

They were making calls to my business through IP Relay. It is a service for the hearing impaired or hard of hearing. They are able to place calls over the internet and a operator communicate for them. We had at least 5 of the calls. They were all the same, I want 2000 White Tshirts blank and I have 10 credit cards that I want to use for payment. I finally got the message across when I told them all "Give me a copy front and back of your drivers license along with a copy front/back of your drivers license. The phone calls have now ceased. The internet inquiries come through maybe once a month, but I respond with Go Away Scammer!

[sancog]

Thank you Chris!

I got a couple of these emails and due to you I ignored them!

Much Appreciation!:)

[Awards4570]

New Credit Card Scam

Snopes.comsays this is true. To verify see this site:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460.. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the cardDon't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.
Please pass this on to all your family, friends and neighbors. By informing each other, we protect each other...

[jel3412]

Wow Ed - thank you for the heads up. I think that is a scam anyone would fall for.

[JStrong]

Hi all,

I thought I would chime in on this one.


My mom who own Select Silk Screenings use to get these emails for shirts and caps.

Lately we have been receiving them for usb drive, 2,4, and 8 gig.

the last one I got gave a Fort Worth, TX business address. Now thanks to the fine
tutelage of Royce, I Googled it and came up with nothing.

The second email I received from the same person had a phone number. I Googled
the area code and the phone number is in Pennsylvania. lol

They wanted 300 to 400 of these things.

We seemed to get a lot of these for electronics type items.

I have thought about going ahead and giving them a fake quote, have them send
the cc info and then turning it over to the police or who ever you need to turn it
over to.

Once the seem stolen cc info over then Internet the add another felony charge
the their credit. :)

[rjswave]

Being promotional product distributors, having someone order blank products should send up a big red flag. We are in the business of selling decorated items, not blank ones.

[P.I.P.]

It seems as though these scams are not restricted to the U.S. - we fairly often get similar "Phishing" e-mails & telephone calls.

Thanks to all of you that have posted good methods to decipher these situations - a service of distinction to all who endeavor to do business ethically...

One wonders what goes on in the minds of folk that have nothing better to do in their lives than to create disruption?

:tongue:

[PublicityQ]

Scammers:

Anything electronic

Blank T-Shirts

and always in a hurry


I send them an email and ask them to complete a credit application.

I have never gotten one back!

Most of my business is relationship based.

[Joe Denhoff]

I have an old BWM car that I put for sale on a vintage car site. The car is great for parts or could be restored. I had at least 10 emails from Nigeria. Everyone wanted the car right away, sight unseen and wanted me to set up shipping overseas. The scam was, I wanted 5K for the car and they would send me 8K "by mistake". Now I would have to send them back 3K. My3K would be good, their 8K would be a fake check. By the time I found out their check was bogus, they would have cashed my 3K and be laughing.
Finally, I responded to people and said we only sell in USA and take cash only.
That got rid of all of them and I still have the car.

[designitdeb]

Interesting that this thread was started last summer and today I receive a quote request for 24 3 x 8 banners blue & white With God All Things are Possible. Total excluding freight and prepay with a Visa and they did ask for my contact information which they would already have if this was a legitimate request. Of course, their contact information is NOT in the e-mail, only an e-mail address and a first name Kelvin..

Their still at it, folks, using the same old pitch...it must be working for them - PLEASE be careful.