Another Scam?

Jewelry Discussion
41

Fraud from London and Africa

I am no longer on the list, but wanted to warn others about the new
fraud from either London or Africa.

I got a request to make a goldplated brass engraved sundial from a
woman in London. She gave me details and wanted a quote. Which I sent
to her.

She then decided it would be too much but would pay me for my design
time. This was two weeks of back and forth with design corrects and
questions. Then I started getting emails from her from Kenya, she
was very persistant wanted to get quote asap. So I sent her the quote
which she thought was too high, but wanted to pay me for my design
time on the computer for the CAD set up. I charged her $75.

She then told me her father would be contacting me because he pays
the bills. He emailed me to fax my bill to him and he would then
Western Union the $75. Several days later after the fax was sent I
got another email that stated that he was arranging for his nephew to
who lives in Dallas, Texas to pay me by check. In the meantime a
News Show in S.F. Ca. ran a similar story. What happened next to the
other people was that they were sent a fraudulant check for much
more than what they charged.

They deposited it into their account and then returned the extra
amount to Africa, to find out that the orginal check was a fraud.
They were out $6000. My check never arrived but I think, it is
important to be aware of this.

I had done a search on the business in Africa where the emails were
coming from, and it was an Ltd business. So it seems on the up and
up. I hope to help others avoid the time and expense this scam
takes. They work to gain your trust and then take you.

So aware of this fraud that is now on the web.

42

The same thing happened to a friend of mine in Colorado with
counterfeit postal money orders, luckily she had a friend who took
her to the post office to verify before she deposited them.

The post office confiscated the money orders, luckily, she was not
hurt by the transaction. This one began in Louisiana. I didn’t know
this scheme was getting so rampant.

Terry

43

Recently our store has been a target for telephone credit card
fraud. A supposed “deaf” person calls using a telephone relay
service, asks if you ship and then starts inquiring about product
(chains, watches, whatever). Ultimately they’ll attempt to use a
stolen credit card and have you ship the goods out of state (or out
of country). We’ve had three such calls this week alone, which seems
a definite upswing - we’ve had 5 total in the last 2-1/2 years.

Have also had phone fraud attempts where the person’s angle is that
they’re on the East Coast, and all the jewelry stores have closed,
but they really, really need a gift to be delivered the next day
which is why they’re calling the West Coast so we can ship. Usually
if you ask them how they heard about you, they’ll realize you’re wise
to them and hang up.

I don’t know how many of you might be targets for this kind of fraud
(they must work off lists of retail jewelry stores), but better
forewarned than not. Warn your staff. Apparently I have a few
slightly more naive people than I thought - we haven’t been taken in,
but I did have someone waste a good 20 minutes on the phone with the
faux deaf shopper!

Oh, and I’m sad to report that if you try to do a good deed, and get
the credit card number with the intention of reporting it to
MasterCard or Visa, be prepared to spend A LOT of the time on the
phone, with no results. This experience taught me the credit card
companies could really care less about making partners of retailers
in any anti-fraud efforts. And then the fees we pay go up. Wow, I’m
getting cranky here!

Cheers,
Jalia
Jalia M. LaNoue
Goldsmith
Spinelle Fine Jewelers
Napa, California

44

Yeah, I had one of these phone calls last week. Told the operator
that we don’t accept relay calls. End of story. Unfortunate for the
deaf people out there but my store is small enough for me to know if
we are in possesion of a deaf person’s jewelry for repair and if
we’re not, well then they need to come in and pick something out in
person. (IMHO)

As far as credit card companies go… we spent two hours on the phone
with Capital One last night trying to verify if a person is an
authorized buyer on a card after Cap. One’s fraud dept called us to
get on a $4800 transaction. Three phone calls and two
hours later, all we have is a verbal confirmation that they are
indeed an authorized buyer. Why wouldn’t the fraud department
research this (how hard can it really be I wonder?) before calling us
and stirring the pot? I’m still concerned about getting a charge
back. Has anybody ever dealt with this type of situation?

Stan

45

thanks for the warning jalia! its no fun to get scammed and the more
informed we are the better!

beth

46 
Recently our store has been a target for telephone credit card
fraud.

For those selling online I recommend joining merchant911.org This is
a group of online merchants to help protect against online credit
card fraud. There are good resources and discussions in that group.

Norman
Howling Studios

47

This scam is happening very frequently these days. We are getting,
on average, one call every two weeks. I have talked to the phone
companies that provide the service and they are also aware of it
being used for fraud, but by law, are unable to do anything about it.
They did send me out a letter from the feds that talked about the
problem as well. However there seems to be nothing anyone can do
about it. I now stay on the phone long enough to hear what they want
and then instruct the operator to type a reply stating that I know
they are running a scam and that they should try to find another
sucker (and yes the operators are obligated to type whatever you tell
them). As it happens I got one yesterday from someone who purported
to be located in New York State (I’m in Massachusetts), was looking
for gold chains (hello??? I’m a custom jeweler doing hand made
product) and they wanted them shipped to their relative in…guess
where??? Nigeria!!

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

48

I’ve been a little out of the loop lately not having time to read
the digest until today and couldn’t believe what I saw! I have been
receiving those voice relay calls, too! They were happening just
about every other week. It really kind of frieked me out because I am
here by myself most days and thought I had some creep stalking me.
I’m relieved to know that it’s not just me. (Not that I’d wish these
calls on anyone else, mind you)

I want to warn all of you of what might be another scam. Several
weeks ago I received a bill in the mail from an independent phone
company that was not affiliated with the service I normally get. It
was a bill for three 900# calls to the tune of $98! (I think it was
like 12 minutes total for all three calls!) Now, I have no need to
call 900 numbers and since I have no employees, I know for a fact
that these calls were NOT made from my store. But I’m sure that there
are a lot of companies out there that don’t have the time to sit
down and investigate every bill that comes in and it just gets passed
along to accounts payable where it gets paid, and I think that’s what
this phone company counts on. I called the company (Ameritel Services
in Calabasas, California) and told them that they billed me in error
and that these calls couldn’t possibly have come from my store. The
rep told me that he’d look into it and get back to me within 14 days.
He never did. So I did a little research…the Better Business
Bureau of California has an “F” rating on them with MULTIPLE
complaints of fraudulent billing. I also logged a complaint but
still have not heard anything about it. So…BE CAREFUL! I’m
still not sure whether this bill has been eliminated and I wonder if
it’ll affect my credit rating if I don’t pay it. What a total hassle!

Polly Spencer
Mary Amalia Jewelry
148 High St.
Portland, Me. 04101
207-772-1285

49

FYI – I got this from a friend and I checked it out with the
Snopes.com rumor evaluation site, which verified it.

[http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp]

"This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the
except the one piece they want. Note, the callers do
not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information
is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard
Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to
protect yourself. One of our employees was called on Wednesday from
“VISA”, and I was called on Thursday from “MasterCard.”

The scam works like this:

Person calling says, “This is (name), and I’m calling from the
Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460.
Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m
calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued
by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for
$497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?” When you say
“No”, the caller continues with, “Then we will be issuing a credit to
your account. This is a company we have been Watching and the
charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern
that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the Credit will be
sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?” You say “yes”.
The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If
you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on
the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will
need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6
digit Number. “Do you need me to read it again?”

Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works: The caller then
says, “I need to verify you are in possession of your card”. He’ll
ask you to “turn your card over and look for some numbers”. There are
7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are
the security Numbers’ that verify you are the possessor of the card
These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases
to prove you have the card.

The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell
the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, “That is correct. I just needed
to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you
still have your card. Do you have any other questions?” After you
say No, the caller then thanks you and states, “Don’t hesitate to us
call back if you do”, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the
card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back
within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL
VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15
minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is
reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is a 3 digit PIN
number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell
them you’ll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of
the conversation.

The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the
card as they already know the since they issued the
card! If you give the Scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think
you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your
statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by
then it’s almost to late and/or more difficult to actually file a
fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call
from a “Jason Richardson of MasterCard” with a word-for-word repeat
of the VISA scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up!

We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said
they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us
to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt with
a similar situation this morning, with the caller telling me that
$3,097 had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain,
and so on through the above routine.

It appears that this is a very active scam, and evidently quite
successful."

Noel

50

The sad thing about the “new scam” is that these companies DO have a
Fraud Unit. Several years ago I received a call about charges to an
"Adult Site." Seems a young neighbor boy found my card floating
around in my house and decided he wanted to see what Wendy WantsYou
looked like. After the riddle was solved and he was properly
chastized by GrannyAnny, who cried and said she had trusted him to
come into her home, I believe he will never do anything like that
again. But the Fraud Unit at Mastercard flagged the charge as being
something VERY unusual for our account and notified us.

Had I not read this thread on Ganoksin, I would happily have given a
"representative" of either company any they asked for…
Thanks, Ganoksin members. Not only are you wonderful to share
jewelry-making info, but you take care of us in many other ways.

51

Hi

I haven’t posted in awhile but I wanted to warn people about a new
scam tactic. I got a call today from a customer (who I assumed was
deaf because they were using the “relay” telephone service where an
operator reads what they type and types your response back) asking
about gold chains. I told them we should correspond through email
since I had some questions about what they wanted in terms of width,
style etc. and the relay service seemed to be taking a long time and
was confusing to me. I sent them an email with a few styles and
prices to get their feedback. Their response email was all in caps,
they wanted nearly every chain I had quoted sent Express Mail to
Nigeria. My alarm bells went off and I emailed them that they would
be better off trying another source. Then, instead of emailing me
back they called again using the “relay” service. I refused the call
and asked to speak to a supervisor.

The ATT supervisor told me that if it happens again I should tell
them that I don’t accept Internet Relay calls and ask the caller to
use the State Relay service instead. This screens out overseas
calls, thus allowing legitimate people to still get through. Hope
this helps people!

Jade
www.jademoran.com

52

Not a new scam. This has been going on for quite awhile (actually I
think it’s been brought up on Orchid a number of times already). I
get the relay calls regularly and simply refuse them all. I have
never lost a legitimate deaf customer because of it.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140

53

Jade,

I got the same call and responded the same way, telling them to
email me. A relay service supervisor then told me that they had
determined that it was a fraudulent call. There will always be
another scam. Stay alert.

Joel Schwalb
www.schwalbstudio.com

54

Thank you for posting this. I had heard about this scam on another
non-jewelry list a few weeks ago. It looks like it is spreading to
our industry A couple of articles I found.

http://www.scamorama.com/deaf_relay.html

Mark

55

You’re lucky. I was hit on this about four years ago. Luckily, the
credit card they tried to use had been canceled and didn’t go through
while I was still on the “phone” with them. They hung up. It was when
I called the bank that I found out about the scam. I got at least two
more calls in the following two years.

The hearing loss service they used (at least in this area and at
that time) told me they could not say anything to the receiver about
it possibly being a fraudulent call. I was very unhappy with them
about that. I hope this means that all services have changed that
policy. I find it ridiculous that they could know and not say
anything!

Kerry
http://www.celtcraftdesigns.com
http://www.thebeadcoop.com

56

This is the old scam by now. One dear sweet, but kinda silly customer
sent them three shipments of gold chains, It has to do with money
orders or bank checks they can not cash in Nigeria. Same deal third
party operator. She caught on when they started asking for X boxes
and other non jewelry items. Another friend of mine’s son was looking
to unload this 280 Z Datson project cars, which they were willing to
ship to Nigeria. One a running car the other with racing parts. They
pulled his name out of the Thifty Nickle, a local cheap classified ad
paper. When his dad by chance anwsered the third party call and asked
them why they didn’t cash the check or money order themselves, they
never called again. I think Nigeria means NO!

57

Hi

I added “Nigeria” to my keyword list along with “Viagra” and worse.
So far I have not missed one important email that contained either
of those words, or the rest of the list. If an email contains the
forbidden words or phrases, it goes straight to the junk mail folder
for deletion or review. As far as email goes, Nigeria has NOTHING I
need. I did hear in some blog about a poor fellow that went over
there to see what was up. He was killed in his Nigerian hotel room
the first night. Just a coincidence? Just an urban legend?

Daniel Ballard

58

Hi Daniel,

I added "Nigeria" to my keyword list along with "Viagra" and
worse.

Sorry I missed your email because my because my program trashed it
as it contained the word ‘nigeria’ - ha! couldn’t resist that - but
then again, why am I bothering as you won’t see this email anyway
for the same reason. Guess you’ll be out of any future discussions
on the subject then…

Best wishes,

Ian
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK

59

Today we had a call through the relay for the deaf service that was
obviously the same old scam. Lo and behold! A supervisor cut in and
told my employee that he thought it was crooked and that she could
hang up anytime she wanted to. This is the first time I have heard of
the relay service acting any way but neutral. The relay provider was
Sprint.

60

I just was contacted by America’s Best Product TV to do a segment
for National TV. I looked them up on the internet, and it all "felt "
Weird.

Rather than give out my phone number, I called them… I asked how
they got my name and found out about me. They told me that they used
various art venues, and lists and really loved my work.

As I talked to them, it became apparent that they really didn’t have
a clue about what I do or how it’s done. I asked if they would fly me
down to Florida for the interview and how much they would pay me.

Then it all came out that for $3500, I could ship them my work, they
would take photos of my it and write a script, and put it out on the
"air" for me, and then send me the tape for any future use.

I don’t think so…

Joan