APA Open Community

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------

Insisting on 100% payment up front for all jobs gets rid of these scumbags real fast. We also implemented a $25 fee to come into our shop when they drop things off to ensure they will show up. They are then credited the $25 towards their service. It's rid us of a lot of people who no show, come 2 hours late and aren't serious. It has rid us of the crazy inquiry calls too. Best thing we did this year.

------------------------------
Desiree Colonna
Inkwell Designers
Woodstock GA
770.823.1673
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 13:23
From: Bill Collier
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------

Unfortunately, we get these fairly frequently. Thankfully we've been exporting our products for over 25 years and I know most of the carriers. With the latest scam, a gentleman by the name of Paul Kevin tried to purchase a fairly standard order but insisted we use his forwarder and the red flag was we would have to prepay this carrier for shipping. Prepaid international is not unusual, but it is when I can't control the freight service provider. When I offered to use my own shipper, he never called or emailed back. As I understand it, they are essentially purchasing these goods from you with a stolen credit card so the transaction will be disputed, tend to reroute the shipment for some use or another, and as you may have had to prepay the shipping expenses they have scammed that money from you well. So the potential for fraud is huge. Google is your biggest friend in these cases. Many of them reuse ship-to addresses that pop up as previous scams. Also check for form style response that come quickly, like almost instantaneously, and have more than the usual non-native English speaker errors for spelling and grammar.

Another huge indication is how the first email requesting information is formatted. They seem to always be asking for the items in parenthesis. For example:

My name is Paul Kevin. I went through your web-site and i am interested in purchasing the ( 1001EVO - The 4" Chopper  Model:1001EVO ). Can you please send me an email back with a cost on the  Item.

Be cautious and if it doesn't feel right, trust your instincts.


Lauren

------------------------------
Lauren Bauer
AccuCutter Company
Carlisle PA
717.241.2330
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-17-2022 07:18
From: Desiree Colonna
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

Insisting on 100% payment up front for all jobs gets rid of these scumbags real fast. We also implemented a $25 fee to come into our shop when they drop things off to ensure they will show up. They are then credited the $25 towards their service. It's rid us of a lot of people who no show, come 2 hours late and aren't serious. It has rid us of the crazy inquiry calls too. Best thing we did this year.

------------------------------
Desiree Colonna
Inkwell Designers
Woodstock GA
770.823.1673

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 13:23
From: Bill Collier
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------

A couple of years ago we encountered a similar challenge.   A customer wanted to purchase several  expensive awards, without any modifications,  and have then shipped to Central America via a specific freight forwarder.  We were asked to accept the shipment, the forwarder would come to us and then "repack" the shipment.  Our information would be used as the shipper.  
Sounds innocent but the red flag was the re shipment.  The awards were very heavy, as a result  we became suspicious and proceeded to make a few calls. Turns out that the freight forwarder would remove the awards, replace them with currency or other items with out declaring them to Customs.  Since we were the shipper (tiny inland company) of record the chances of outbound inspection were low. 

All boils down to if it sounds too good to be true, there is a catch somewhere. Take your time, use Google, trust your gut instincts, ask for another perspective, and protect your business.

------------------------------
James Brown
Gentle Giant Awards LLC
Antioch TN
615.840.1962
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 13:23
From: Bill Collier
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------

@Bill Collier   
We get a few of these each week.  Most are requests for things we do not offer or very vague & generic items.  Also, most often they are wanting to ship international using their freight forwarder.  Immediately these are red flags and we delete the requests and move on.  Very rare that any one these are legit.  Legitimate companies will have no problem  Some will try to wire you money ahead, overpay, and then want you to refund the overage to them ASAP.  Later to find out that the original payment was fraudulent and the bank reverses the charges leaving you without the money, no one to go after and the goods already shipped that you cannot recover.

Another fraud issue to be aware of for E-commerce based companies; We get customers that will purchase a blank trophy with overnight shipping.  Often, these turn out to be fraud as well as the criminal is testing a stolen credit card to make sure it works.  Once they see the transaction went through, they then go to a larger company or local business (like walmart or Target) and order various expensive items or gift cards.   We find out weeks later that the card used was stolen and the card company reverses the charge leaving us with the expense of the award, chargeback fee & express shipping.  We now have a policy of ANY overnight or 2 day air order that is requested blank, must have the customer verify the order and timeline requested.  If no response is received, we cancel the order.​​

------------------------------
Ted DeRuyter CRS
Decade Awards LLC
Spokane Valley WA
509.474.9530
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 13:23
From: Bill Collier
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------

Thanks for the heads up Bill!  It's always good to be reminded to stay vigilant.  Curious to know if anyone has a business insurance policy that would cover a loss from this type of scam?  I guess today is a good day to call our insurance agent and check into this.  Let me know if any of you have coverage for this.

------------------------------
Mike Westbrook
Owner
Mile High Laser Engraving
Denver, CO
720-930-4667
info@milehighlaserengraving.com
www.milehighlaserengraving.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-16-2022 13:23
From: Bill Collier
Subject: SCAM ALERT!

We got a request for quote which initially looked genuine but we found out is a scam. 

It's a guy calling himself Mike Thompson, and he says he's with Avara Construction in the Seattle area. His email address looked suspicious which caused us to do some checking.

He said he wanted to buy 50 bluetooth speakers with their logo engraved on each one. If this was a real purchase, we'd likely get these from one of the many wholesale promo product suppliers out in the marketplace.

We looked up his company online and found www.avaracontruction.com. But his email address used avaraconstructions.com. So we called the real Avara and found out this is indeed a scam that they have already reported to law enforcement. We then told "Mike" to go away.

We don't know what angle he was pursuing but I doubt he wanted 50 speakers with Avara on them. I suspect he would have offered to wire us the money and would then have a way to access our account - or something like that.

The take-aways and lessons we learned from this:

• Scammers are now stealing the identities of small businesses, not just individuals.
• Be suspicious of every RFQ and every order. Be welcoming but proceed with caution. And check them out.

If this guy in Washington state (he called us from a Washington area code) can find us in Missouri, he can also find you wherever you are. 

The old saying is "Buyer Beware." Looks like we have to add "Seller Beware."

------------------------------
Bill Collier
Arch Engraving
Fenton MO
314.966.8800
------------------------------