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There may be no such thing as a new idea but there are almost endless variations on proven scams. The latest is a variation of the so-called "419 scam," named after the penal code that probhits them in Nigeria.
We've all gotten the spam messages about a Nigerian prince promising rich rewards in exchange for a relatively small payment mailed to a mysterious overseas address. Now, 419 scammers have begun preying on businesses of all types -- including home medical equipment providers.
And instead of using the Internet, scammers are using TTY lines for the hearing impaired, which makes their calls untraceable.
"[One caller using a TTY line] wanted to purchase all of our blood pressure monitors," said Sandy Jones, owner of Austin Respiratory in Clearwater, Florida.
Jones sold the caller all the monitors she had, charged the caller's credit card for $600 and, after signing a $300 UPS bill, sent a large package overnight to Africa. She had sold equipment to immigrants before who sent products overseas, she said, so why should this be any different?
Shortly after, the bank that issued the credit card alerted Jones that she had been a victim of fraud and, because the criminal was at large overseas, her company would have to pay back the bank. According to authorities, the blood pressure monitors Jones sent are now most likely being sold on the Nigerian black market.
Extremely large orders, often for a vendor's entire stock of a particular product, should send up warning flags, authorities said, adding that the scammers frequently say they need the entire order shipped overnight, often to Nigeria.
Because of the international nature of the crime, it's unlikely law enforcement agencies will be able to help, so the answer lies in education of consumers and small businesses.
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SCAM ALERT NOTIFICATION
From the Office of New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid
March 3, 2006
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SCAM: Scams using TTY lines and Internet relay services
OVERVIEW: This is a scam that businesses in New Mexico should be aware of . The so-called “Nigerian Scam” is now being carried out using Internet relay services intended for the hearing- and speech-impaired. Although the Attorney General’s Office has not received reports of this particular scam in New Mexico, various sources around the country have reported this new variation.
Con artists have been utilizing a free service that allows a hearing- or speech-impaired person to make a telephone call, called “TTY” or “Internet Relay Service.” This service allows a hearing-impaired person to have a conversation over the phone by typing their half of a conversation into a special device or a website which is monitored by operators at a call center. The operator places the call and reads the TTY caller’s conversation to the recipient of the call. In turn, the operator types the recipient’s half of the conversation back to the TTY caller.
Scammers, posing as hearing impaired individuals, have been using the Internet relay service to conduct scams that target businesses. For example, a small bridal shop in Dothan, Alabama received a large order for 10 wedding gowns to be shipped to Lagos City in Nigeria. The customer, posing as a deaf person, called using an Internet relay service to place the order and tried to use a combination of six different stolen credit cards to pay for the$5,500 purchase.
Scammers have been using the Internet relay services for a number of reasons. First, the service will conceal a Nigerian caller’s accent and broken English, alleviating any suspicion that the receiver of the call may have. Second, because the Internet relay services are paid for by a public fund, the scammer is making an otherwise costly international call for free. And finally, receivers of an Internet relay call are more likely to be sympathetic and less likely to have their suspicions raised if they believe the call is legitimately coming from a handicapped or hearing-impaired person.
Attorney General Madrid cautions business owners who receive especially large orders in this manner. Be extremely skeptical if: 1) the caller orders multiple numbers or even “every last one you have in stock” of the same item, especially if they are high-priced items; 2) if the caller attempts to pay for their purchase with numerous credit card numbers; and, 3) if the order is to be shipped to a foreign country, especially those known to be hotspots for fraudulent activity, such as Nigeria, Ghana, or South Africa. | |
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