Fake Shipping Scam. A Short Story...
Being in the credit card processing industry for many years, I've encountered many scam artists trying to extract cash or free products from business owners. Most of these scammers are from Nigeria and Indonesia, where credit card fraud is considered a sport, much like soccer, only the participants get paid better.
I would like to bring to light an old scam that has been around for decades but unfortunately recently targeted a dear friend of mine.
This scam has plagued the glass industry, vinyl dealers, print shops, wholesalers, and even ice cream truck suppliers.
I don’t want to belabor the point - I have blogged and reported on these scams previously. The best way, and seemingly the only way, to beat a scam is to stop it before it happens. Know their tactics. Know the red flags.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend - who we will call Charles for the purpose of this email - was contacted by a Swedish customer who called himself Sam Moore and used the email address (sammymoore088@ymail.co.uk). Sam wanted to buy a large quantity of very specific products. He explained that these products were not available in Sweden and he was glad to find a US company that sells them.
Being cautious (yet excited about this unusual large order), Charles advised Sam that he would need full payment upfront before he can put together the order. He waited until Sam gave his credit card number, along with his billing and shipping info and credit card security code, and when the transaction had gone through successfully, he started preparing the order to ship.
All seemed fine until the Sam told him that instead of using FedEx or UPS, he wanted him to use his preferred shipping company, Crystal Time Freight Ltd. Sam gave Charles the email address for Crystal Time Freight Ltd. and Charles promptly sent off for a quote. The amount was around the same that FedEx charges which seemed fair. Charles then got an email from the shipping company stating that they only accept bank wire or Western Union payments.
Charles tried to find out some information about Crystal Time Freight Ltd. on the web, and found Crystal Freight System, based in Lahore, Pakistan, Crystal Freight Services, based in Singapore, Crystal International, based in California, and Crystal Logistical Services, Ltd., based in London. These are all legitimate shipping companies, but according to the Sam, they were different companies, and not “his†Crystal Freight.
Sadly, Charles wired $2500 to Crystal Time Freight Ltd. and waited for the order to be picked up. No one ever picked up the order and within a few days the credit card transaction he had originally processed - was disputed.
Here’s how it works: Business owner gets paid with a stolen credit card, completes the order and packages up the order. In the meantime, business owner contacts Fake Shipping Company, who is really just the scammer using a different email, and is told to make payment via Wire or Western Union. Business Owner wires away his cash, never to see it again, and emails the scammer the confirmation number along with shipping details. The goods then sit, packaged up, ready to go, but no one ever comes to pick them up. Then, credit card is charged back. Suddenly business owner is out the money for shipping, plus a $25.00 charge-back fee, in addition to the time and cost of producing the products which now has no buyer.
The Red Flags
- Email orders with numerous typos and grammatical problems
- Orders for large quantities product
- Orders that require long-distance shipping
- If you're not advertising on google and yet a customer thousands of miles away located your small business
- Orders that request use of a shipping company chosen only by the customer
- Orders from a Gmail, Yahoo or other free email account
- Email orders with an overseas timestamp (often the timestamp doesn’t match the stated location of the purchaser)
- Quotes for freight do not include a phone number
Hopefully by spreading awareness of this scam we can help others avoid falling victim to it.
Happy Tuesday & Happy Selling!
Kevin
President at NEF,LTD
12 个月Wish I had read your article 4 years ago. This same scenario happened to us 4 years ago. We are a small manufacturing company in Ohio and this person, Mark Johnson(so sure it's a fake name) ordered sneeze guards from us and they were going to Haiti. We had to use his recommended shipping company, owned by Robert Moore and send payments to him before picking up. It was a large order to begin with and then he kept adding more quantities. Nothing was picked up and we were scammed of $52,000 in total. I still can't believe it happened to us. No one was able to help us since we wire transferred the money on our own recognition. I'm really hoping this person is caught and not scamming other businesses or individuals. Thank you for this article.
Direct Response Marketing & Copywriting | Decades of Getting Into the Minds of Your Target Audience
1 å¹´I've seen emails with three different names--one is on the "from" line, another is the reply-to email address, and the third is in the signature line. I often asked myself, "Who am I talking to here?" And BTW: I saved the company over $10,000 because the salesperson was dead-set on going through with the transaction. Thank you for this article!
Entrepreneur, Specializing in Creative Advertising and Marketing
2 å¹´Thank you for posting. I believe my company was recently target in a similar scam.
President & Founder of SundaySchoolNetwork.com
5 å¹´This scam was attempted with me just yesterday! The "supposed names" of the scammers are "Richard Morrison," the "buyer" and "Captain McCoy" the "freight shipper." They're probably the same person. I asked the shipper for his address and business license...I haven't heard back from him. But then I googled Captain McCoy and found a whole thread of people who were scammed or almost scammed. McCoys name was listed there.
Co-founder, XACT NUTRITION
6 å¹´Thank you for posting this. Yet another scam avoided and just as importantly, only 45 seconds spent dealing with it; a Google search of the fake shipper yielded your (and many other) article. Thanks.?