Have you ever had an order request show up that seems too good to believe?
We get whacky order requests at Lloyds a lot. So, I thought I would set up a blog post to document some of the scammers that show up in our inbox. Why? Sometimes, you can get a good one that can pass some of your scam filters. We did once which I will touch on soon.
First up is:
Mr. Roy Fernandez
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My name is Mr.Roy Fernandez I will like to order some plaque from your shop and the details of the plaque i want to order from your company are below …
Product name :Wooden plaques
Size: 8″ x 10″ x 3/8
Quantity:400 pcs
Text Engraving:Thanks be to God
I will like you to email me back with the total pick up price plus tax excluding shipping and also adivse me the methods of payment that you do accept you can get back to me with the sizes that you have if you dont have my request.Your promt reply will be gladly appreciated and email me back with you phone number so that we can proceed.
Hope to hear back from you soon.
Roy Fernandez
So, the first step was to search Google for Mr. Roy Fernandez. It came up with several pages for requests for products or services.
Here is one:
Hello Sir/Madam, I’m Mr.Roy Fernandez and i would like to place an order of some 1,400 feet of 6ft high 9 gauge galvanized chain link with no polls,only the wire. and will like you to go ahead and email me back with the price without shipping.What kind of credit card do you accept as payment? Your speedy reply with the price will be much appreciated. Thank you. Mr.Roy Fernandez
Sound familiar?
Here is another one:
My name is Mr.Roy Fernandez and i want to make a inquiry of some Banner, the type of banner i will like from you is vinyl and the size i want is 32″x60″ with grommet on the banner. I want this Message on the banner is (IT SHALL COME TO PASS ).Kindly get me some price for a Quantity of 100 banners and please advise me the Payment method you do accept and also how long will it take you before getting me those banners for pickup to be Schedule.Please advice to my email as soon as you received this email.Thank You Very Much.
Thank You.
Mr.Roy Fernandez
So, if Mr. Roy Fernandez is requesting a lot of services to be rendered quickly, HE IS A SCAM.
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Wegmans Scam
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This one may be unique to anyone selling ID Badge Printers. We get scammers trying to buy ID Badge Printers all the time. One time we worked with the FBI to take down a ring in Chicago. It ended up being much bigger than just ID Badge Printers. ID Badge Printers are a security issue.
So, we got an official email from Wegmans Grocery Stores. It was a request for RFQ for 20 ID Badge Printers. The email source looked legitimate. Our senses said it is a scam. So, we followed up with the guy. He acted genuine, as Wegmans was opening new stores around the country. They needed ID Badge Printers.
So, we sent him a credit app. Again, everything looked legitimate. He provided references.
So, we started looking at the information more closely. The address he provided for Wegmans was in New York City. We called the building address and asked if Wegmans was a tenant in the building. They confirmed they were not. Their headquarters are out of Rochester, NY, so why would accounting be in NYC. So, we called Wegman’s corporate headquarters and spoke to their accounting department. The confirmed the individual did not work there.
We then contacted the FBI, who told us to fill out a form on their website, and they will decide if it is important.
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Make sure you have a sniff test. If a big fish jumps into the boat, you may have to throw it back because it just may be a fake.
As we get more like Mr. Fernandez and the Wegmans scammer, will update this post.
