Discussion on:

Teach your users to recognize the 'phoner toner' scam

...."my company bought the wrong cartridge and we'd like to route them to you. For helping us out we can get the low price of...." I never did hear what the low price was since I hung up, but the first part of the phone scam went exactly like the article described--Couldn't figure out (until later)how the guy knew what printer we had--must be legit--NOT!
Thanks for the heads up article.

Sorry, I don't understand how this scam can work.
An invoice must be brought closer to the order and to the acknoledgement that the product has been received and that it is ok with the order (number of devices, quality, ...).
Then, and only then, a payment can be requested.
In the system you described there is no order, I mean a written order.
No order, no payment.
Those scammers are happy I am not the purchase manager of the companies they scam.

Best regards and all the best for new year.

They target folks who don't really have the purchasing knowledge needed and at the very least pump them for info and if they are very bold offer a great deal that "Surely you have the authority to authorize and can tell me who does." Basically they take a shot and it must pay off some of the time

I just wanna say that I work for a company that sells toner and ink cartridges, and yes, we do check the model number on the printer, and yes, we do ask an AUTHORIZED PERSON, yes, someone who is TRULY AUTHORIZED if they could help us out, and guess what? someone even verifies the order the NEXT DAY and makes sure that they are authorized and still want the cartridges before we even send anything out. And guess what, if they aren't authorized to make a purchase or they refuse to take the cartridges, we DONT SEND THEM. In other words, nothing and i mean NOTHING is shipped out without the ok, and we DO NOT pose as a normal vendor or trick anyone into buying anything, in fact, we make sure that they know exactly what is going on before anything is sent. Further more, our PHONE NUMBER shows up on many caller id's and is put on the box as well as the invoice. If we were really scam artists, would we publish our number in the local phone book, which lists our address as well? No, I don't think so. the only reason we avoid giving people our phone number over the phone is because there are ALOT of scammers out there and because we ARE reputable, we cant very well have people calling us thinking we are scamming them and having our customer service lines lit up with mean people who are confusing us with other irreputable companies and causing our customer service people to get grey hair and have to take nerve pills from handling calls from rude people all day long! All I am saying, is that if u get a phone call from someone asking about the model number of a printer, DO NOT BE RUDE AND HATEFUL. Remember, they are only doing their job, just like you. And also keep in mind, that NOT ALL of these companies are scams. We aren't, and it's not fair to us to be talked to like dogs just because we are being confused with a scam company. If you only knew how many times people have told me over the phone that I am a scam and "How do you sleep at night" and even to "&^%$ off", and how irritating that is, knowing that we aren't "trying to pull a fast one" over on people, and maybe, just maybe, if you knew what it was like to be hung up on, called names, and told to do vulgar things to yourself, maybe then you would be a little bit nicer. Remember the Golden Rule "Do Unto Others as You Would Want Them To Do Unto You."

I find it interesting, that this person has posted an angry, illiterate response...but has no other activity here.

No legitimate supplier will operate in the manner described here, that I'm aware of. I certainly would not order anything from someone using this approach.

What you describe is EXACTLY how the scam works. Your company isn't reputable in the slightest. My old company worked exactly the same way, and the bottom line is that your original caller - the one you glossed over in your zest to describe the standard verification process - LIES to the victim on the phone.

Here: http://vitaminrad.com/jsnbase

The posting dated 9/23/07
Sound familiar?

..are the calls from the slick artists who claim to be confirming a "standing" order for toner, "cleaning kits", etc. These folks call claiming to confirm an existing order and asking if you want to "up the quantity" or are ready to reorder. Oftenthey will argue with you that the order has been placed and they're just confirming delivery information, etc. I've received these calls a couple of times over the past 10 years, and found recently that someone in our organization had fallen for it. Needless to say, legal action is being discussed.

Standard purchasing practice and vendor authorization procedures -- along with the aforementioned education -- are the best way to ensure these scams don't victimize your organizations (now ifsomeone could just come up with a way to get people to stop emailing virus hoaxes....)

My pop used to say that he had "a moral obligation to seperate fools from their money". I don't agree - completely.

I do, however, believe that there's a business obligation to seperate a fool from his job. If you have an employee who falls prey to telemarketing scams at work, you need to get rid of him before he does something dangerous as well as stupid.

I have been contacted by a company claiming the same. We received the toner cartridges only to see that a second order was already being shipped (and they just needed my confirmation). They even claimed that the items were paid for, and included afree radio for the confusion. I contacted them when the invoice came and the representative would not allow me to contact a manager there - he outright refused. I contacted the Better Business Bureau who knew the address of the company just from the name ("3D Supply" in California). I received a call from the sales rep again, who threatened me with legal action, so I told him to talk to the BBB. I immediately received a call from the manager there (Mr. Green) and he accepted the unopened packages back and cancelled the invoices. (however it took multiple calls to cancel the invoices, they were probably expecting Accounts Payable to just pay it and not ask questions).

In any case the Better Business Bureau has a file on them (and probably the others as well) and it seemed like the only thing that changed the situation in my favor.

We have had couriers show up and say that they were sent from our supplier to pick up our empty toner cartridges. If I had not been here the receptionist (a temp) would have given them to him. This might not seem like a lot but if you multply 40 or 50 cartridges by $7.00 it is. So it is good to have a vendor list available to your receptionist to verify them when they come in.

I get a lot of calls for "printer cleaning sheets". The salesman are very friendly and somehow know my name.

They say they have a great deal on "printer cleaning sheets" and to give me an opportunity to try them out, their manager has given them authorization to break open a case to "try" just 50. They tell you that they are usually some price but they let them go for a lot less.

Because I do the purchasing, I know that the price they quote (because they are in Florida, it is US$) is 4X the price I pay in CDN$.

In their presentation, they never use the words sell or buy, it is always "try " and "sample. They make it sound as if they are free. You have to listen very carefully to realize that you are buying.