Digitalwoodshop
01-21-2009, 02:51 PM
Since we as carvers tend to have a interesting SKILL to produce a product that we can SELL and have put ourselves out "THERE" on the INTERNET.
I thought I would post some thought and tips to prevent or limit our exposure or susceptibility to INTERNET SCAMS. Most of us take things at face value and having knowledge about SCAMS could save you some money.
Some TIPS.....
Here are some samples since some of the forums require a pay subscription.
From SIGNINDUSTRY.COM, this list of 14 red flags:
Since we’ve received so many different e-mails like this, we’ve identified 14 common traits that can help you easily avoid falling into this trap;
Is the e-mail from a “Dr.”, “Reverend” or “Pastor”?
In the top “To” line of the e-mail, does it have another sign shop’s e-mail address?
Is the quote request “Urgent”?
Are they “polite” throughout the message?
Does it mention the signs are for a church, orphanage or other non-profit entity?
Is the English “broken”?
Is there a quote request for a quantity of several pieces? (50, 100, etc.)
Are they asking, “What method of payment do you accept?”
Do they ask for your name and/or phone number when it’s already available on your website?
Are they making a request to pick up the order at your location even though it seems as if they are out of the country?
Does the e-mail say they will make some sort of shipping arrangements?
Do they leave out their contact information?
Do they refuse to give up their phone number no matter how many times they are asked?
Do they ask you for the Authorization Code from the credit card transaction (so they can access your account information!)?
So if you get an e-mail like this, what should you do? Of course, that’s entirely up to you but we just mark and delete these e-mails as SPAM because we’ve learned first hand that any action you try to take beyond that is a complete waste of time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Customer,
My name is Robert Hayes The reason why i contacted you is in regards to purchase some Walnut Plaques i want to order from you.Below is my specification for the Walnut Plaques:
Size 8" x 10" I need the Art work of the Plaques to be (God Is The Answer)
Quantities: 100 Pieces
I would need the Laser Engraved into aluminum plate on the board with the text engraved on it
I am Donating this Walnut Plaques to Continental Orphanage Home,I will like you to kindly respond to me with the total Pickup price of the 100 Pieces Walnut Plaques plus tax only.Kindly respond to me with the Method of payment you accept and also with you Contact phone number,Hope to hear from you soon with the quote may the good Lord richly bless you inabundant for your support.
Thank You.
Robert Hayes
__________________________________________________ _________________
Hello,
I would like to know if you can get me some sporting trophies for to run off our sporting festival. Please send me a mail back to let me know the types of trophies you carry at the moment, your methods of payment, and their unit prices as well as how soon you can get them for me if they are not instock.
Happy New Year to you...
Rev. Mark Roy
Red flag #1 - from a "Rev."
Red flag #2 - the from and to are both his name and the properties show it is a gmail address.
Red flag #3 - no specifics on what they want.
Green flag #1 - a search shows there is a Rev. with that name at a church in Illinois with a website.
Green flag #2 - they didn't request a large amount of unmarked items right away.
I know we would have to proceed cautiously.
My question is since we are busy is it even worth wasting time trying to find out.
Has anyone else got the same email from this Rev.?
Yeah, it's a credit card scam, I've seen three or four such emails in the last month. Always some mention of religion, overt ("for my church") or oblique ("yours in Christ" etc), and it's always a really bizarre order, that no rational person would ask for: thirty 320mm high silver trophy cups for their church football team (~$3000!); ordering "acrylic" without specifying what kind of object; not specifying what text etc is to be engraved; ordering goods for faraway locations which ought to be expected to have local trophy stores; and so on.
I asked my bank what to do about it, and they said that the safest policy generally to avoid chargebacks was to get a signature by fax or emailed scan, along with a photocopy/scan of the front and back of the credit card. Now if they go to the trouble of faking that, the bank said, I wouldn't get a chargeback.
However, there's still the issue of criminal liability - if I as a merchant charge goods to a credit card that I reasonably should know is stolen, I might be charged with fraud (dishonestly gaining a benefit) myself. Which isn't good for business either.
What I ended up doing in my first such case, which smelt awfully fishy (it was the thirty $100 silver trophy cups for a provincial church football team), was to ring the priest directly, reasoning that the worst I could do, were it above board, would be to spoil the surprise (and there's something about the idea of a church spending that amount of money on football trophies rather than, say, services for poor people, that bothers me). The priest of course knew nothing about it, had never heard of the guy whose name was on the order and the card, told me that internet scammers quite often try to scam him too (apparently the whole "religious thing" in these scams is pervasive, and they try it on even more and even harder on genuinely religious folk) and told me that they were usually lucky to get thirty people in the church of a Sunday outside of Easter and Christmas, let alone enough for a football team. Which they don't have.
For the sake of it I printed out the emails and reported it to the local cops but I've heard nothing back and doubt I ever will. Even talking to the priest was a waste of my time, honestly (although he was a friendly guy and it was an entertaining conversation).
For the subsequent ones I've just sent back a message along the lines of: "Thank you for your order. Due to the increasing prevalence of internet-based credit card fraud, we are required to seek verification of your card. Would you kindly send, by fax or scan-and-email, a signed order for the materials requested, accompanied by copies or scans of the front and back of the card?" and never got a reply, of course.
It worries me a bit with the website I'm setting up, in that customers will ideally be able to formulate their order and enter their credit card details etc without actually needing to speak or email me - but I suppose the more bizarre orders I can just confirm as I otherwise would, and if it's in all ways a normal order that just happens to be being paid for with a stolen card, I guess that's the price of doing business. Does that happen much to those of us with credit card order websites?
__________________________________________________ _______________
Hello Customer,
My name is Brian Cope and i need to order some foot ball plaques.I need the size 5 x 7 . On the Plaques i need it written Good Luck . I will like you to get back to me with a quote on 500 quantities that i am ordering as well as the methods of payments that you do accept.I will need the quote without shipping because i will be recommending you to a shipping company and they will be coming in to do the pick up.Thank you very much and Hope to hear from you soonest.MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
Best Regards,
Brian Cope.
__________________________________________________ ___________________
I just got this one today:
HELLO C/S,
MY NAME IS FATHER ROBERT AND I WILL LIKE TO ORDER SOME ACRYLIC PLAQUES AND I WILL LIKE TO YOU TO GET ME THE PRICE OF THE INFOMATION AM INDICATING BELOW:
SIZE : 8 x 10
STYLE: LASER ENGRAVED ACRYLIC
BOARD COLOR: CHERRY COATED
ACRYLIC COLOR: BLUE MARBLE
I WILL LIKE YOU TO GET ME THE PRICE OF EACH PLAQUE WITH THE INFOMATION I PROVIDED AND ALSO ADVICE ME THE METHOD OFPAYMENT YOU DO ACCEPT .I WILL LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A CHURCH ORDER GOING TO BE DONATED TO AN ORPHANAGE HOME SO I WILL BE MORE THAT HAPPY IF YOU GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS YOU GOT THIS EMAIL ,THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I WILL BE WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM YOU SOON .
JESUS IS THE LORD,
FATHER ROBERT......
Gee. I'd love to have that order!
I could easily fill it and would start on it AS SOON AS I RECEIVE THE GOLD CURRENCY I REQUIRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS...... ;-)
Well, it was my turn today.
I was not in the shop, but my wife Lisa called and excitedly told me about this potential order for 200 bobble heads.
Hang on says I, let me get on the forum...and I read this thread and the other one to her.
You could hear the bubble burst, BUT, she investigated further...and finally after three email to "Reverend Jeff" told him "that since you are deaf and need to use this service, you must be aware that there are people out there using this as a scam. I'm not saying YOU are, but in this case I must suggest that you find a trophy shop in your area. I am sure there are many in Orlando."
Haven't heard back yet.
In the meanwhile she found out that the operators are flaming mad about this, because about 60% of the calls are fraudulent, the operators are not allowed to do anything and even though the operator may know that someone is being scammed, cannot say anything or even end the call. They must just type away and endure it.
Adding insult to injury, the phone companies have NO incentive to put and end to this because the service is free to deaf people, yet the phone company make $1.35 a minute. So there is NO incentive to stop this.
sigh.......
__________________________________________________ _____________
AL
I thought I would post some thought and tips to prevent or limit our exposure or susceptibility to INTERNET SCAMS. Most of us take things at face value and having knowledge about SCAMS could save you some money.
Some TIPS.....
Here are some samples since some of the forums require a pay subscription.
From SIGNINDUSTRY.COM, this list of 14 red flags:
Since we’ve received so many different e-mails like this, we’ve identified 14 common traits that can help you easily avoid falling into this trap;
Is the e-mail from a “Dr.”, “Reverend” or “Pastor”?
In the top “To” line of the e-mail, does it have another sign shop’s e-mail address?
Is the quote request “Urgent”?
Are they “polite” throughout the message?
Does it mention the signs are for a church, orphanage or other non-profit entity?
Is the English “broken”?
Is there a quote request for a quantity of several pieces? (50, 100, etc.)
Are they asking, “What method of payment do you accept?”
Do they ask for your name and/or phone number when it’s already available on your website?
Are they making a request to pick up the order at your location even though it seems as if they are out of the country?
Does the e-mail say they will make some sort of shipping arrangements?
Do they leave out their contact information?
Do they refuse to give up their phone number no matter how many times they are asked?
Do they ask you for the Authorization Code from the credit card transaction (so they can access your account information!)?
So if you get an e-mail like this, what should you do? Of course, that’s entirely up to you but we just mark and delete these e-mails as SPAM because we’ve learned first hand that any action you try to take beyond that is a complete waste of time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Customer,
My name is Robert Hayes The reason why i contacted you is in regards to purchase some Walnut Plaques i want to order from you.Below is my specification for the Walnut Plaques:
Size 8" x 10" I need the Art work of the Plaques to be (God Is The Answer)
Quantities: 100 Pieces
I would need the Laser Engraved into aluminum plate on the board with the text engraved on it
I am Donating this Walnut Plaques to Continental Orphanage Home,I will like you to kindly respond to me with the total Pickup price of the 100 Pieces Walnut Plaques plus tax only.Kindly respond to me with the Method of payment you accept and also with you Contact phone number,Hope to hear from you soon with the quote may the good Lord richly bless you inabundant for your support.
Thank You.
Robert Hayes
__________________________________________________ _________________
Hello,
I would like to know if you can get me some sporting trophies for to run off our sporting festival. Please send me a mail back to let me know the types of trophies you carry at the moment, your methods of payment, and their unit prices as well as how soon you can get them for me if they are not instock.
Happy New Year to you...
Rev. Mark Roy
Red flag #1 - from a "Rev."
Red flag #2 - the from and to are both his name and the properties show it is a gmail address.
Red flag #3 - no specifics on what they want.
Green flag #1 - a search shows there is a Rev. with that name at a church in Illinois with a website.
Green flag #2 - they didn't request a large amount of unmarked items right away.
I know we would have to proceed cautiously.
My question is since we are busy is it even worth wasting time trying to find out.
Has anyone else got the same email from this Rev.?
Yeah, it's a credit card scam, I've seen three or four such emails in the last month. Always some mention of religion, overt ("for my church") or oblique ("yours in Christ" etc), and it's always a really bizarre order, that no rational person would ask for: thirty 320mm high silver trophy cups for their church football team (~$3000!); ordering "acrylic" without specifying what kind of object; not specifying what text etc is to be engraved; ordering goods for faraway locations which ought to be expected to have local trophy stores; and so on.
I asked my bank what to do about it, and they said that the safest policy generally to avoid chargebacks was to get a signature by fax or emailed scan, along with a photocopy/scan of the front and back of the credit card. Now if they go to the trouble of faking that, the bank said, I wouldn't get a chargeback.
However, there's still the issue of criminal liability - if I as a merchant charge goods to a credit card that I reasonably should know is stolen, I might be charged with fraud (dishonestly gaining a benefit) myself. Which isn't good for business either.
What I ended up doing in my first such case, which smelt awfully fishy (it was the thirty $100 silver trophy cups for a provincial church football team), was to ring the priest directly, reasoning that the worst I could do, were it above board, would be to spoil the surprise (and there's something about the idea of a church spending that amount of money on football trophies rather than, say, services for poor people, that bothers me). The priest of course knew nothing about it, had never heard of the guy whose name was on the order and the card, told me that internet scammers quite often try to scam him too (apparently the whole "religious thing" in these scams is pervasive, and they try it on even more and even harder on genuinely religious folk) and told me that they were usually lucky to get thirty people in the church of a Sunday outside of Easter and Christmas, let alone enough for a football team. Which they don't have.
For the sake of it I printed out the emails and reported it to the local cops but I've heard nothing back and doubt I ever will. Even talking to the priest was a waste of my time, honestly (although he was a friendly guy and it was an entertaining conversation).
For the subsequent ones I've just sent back a message along the lines of: "Thank you for your order. Due to the increasing prevalence of internet-based credit card fraud, we are required to seek verification of your card. Would you kindly send, by fax or scan-and-email, a signed order for the materials requested, accompanied by copies or scans of the front and back of the card?" and never got a reply, of course.
It worries me a bit with the website I'm setting up, in that customers will ideally be able to formulate their order and enter their credit card details etc without actually needing to speak or email me - but I suppose the more bizarre orders I can just confirm as I otherwise would, and if it's in all ways a normal order that just happens to be being paid for with a stolen card, I guess that's the price of doing business. Does that happen much to those of us with credit card order websites?
__________________________________________________ _______________
Hello Customer,
My name is Brian Cope and i need to order some foot ball plaques.I need the size 5 x 7 . On the Plaques i need it written Good Luck . I will like you to get back to me with a quote on 500 quantities that i am ordering as well as the methods of payments that you do accept.I will need the quote without shipping because i will be recommending you to a shipping company and they will be coming in to do the pick up.Thank you very much and Hope to hear from you soonest.MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
Best Regards,
Brian Cope.
__________________________________________________ ___________________
I just got this one today:
HELLO C/S,
MY NAME IS FATHER ROBERT AND I WILL LIKE TO ORDER SOME ACRYLIC PLAQUES AND I WILL LIKE TO YOU TO GET ME THE PRICE OF THE INFOMATION AM INDICATING BELOW:
SIZE : 8 x 10
STYLE: LASER ENGRAVED ACRYLIC
BOARD COLOR: CHERRY COATED
ACRYLIC COLOR: BLUE MARBLE
I WILL LIKE YOU TO GET ME THE PRICE OF EACH PLAQUE WITH THE INFOMATION I PROVIDED AND ALSO ADVICE ME THE METHOD OFPAYMENT YOU DO ACCEPT .I WILL LIKE YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A CHURCH ORDER GOING TO BE DONATED TO AN ORPHANAGE HOME SO I WILL BE MORE THAT HAPPY IF YOU GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS YOU GOT THIS EMAIL ,THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I WILL BE WAITING TO HEAR BACK FROM YOU SOON .
JESUS IS THE LORD,
FATHER ROBERT......
Gee. I'd love to have that order!
I could easily fill it and would start on it AS SOON AS I RECEIVE THE GOLD CURRENCY I REQUIRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS...... ;-)
Well, it was my turn today.
I was not in the shop, but my wife Lisa called and excitedly told me about this potential order for 200 bobble heads.
Hang on says I, let me get on the forum...and I read this thread and the other one to her.
You could hear the bubble burst, BUT, she investigated further...and finally after three email to "Reverend Jeff" told him "that since you are deaf and need to use this service, you must be aware that there are people out there using this as a scam. I'm not saying YOU are, but in this case I must suggest that you find a trophy shop in your area. I am sure there are many in Orlando."
Haven't heard back yet.
In the meanwhile she found out that the operators are flaming mad about this, because about 60% of the calls are fraudulent, the operators are not allowed to do anything and even though the operator may know that someone is being scammed, cannot say anything or even end the call. They must just type away and endure it.
Adding insult to injury, the phone companies have NO incentive to put and end to this because the service is free to deaf people, yet the phone company make $1.35 a minute. So there is NO incentive to stop this.
sigh.......
__________________________________________________ _____________
AL