Campbell River RCMP are advising businesses to be aware of an office supply scam that has been reported in our area.
Typical products used in this type of scam include paper, ink toner, first aid kits, light bulbs, paper rolls for debit and credit machines and various commonly-used office supplies, Cpl. Gord Hay said.
This scam involves one or more unsolicited phone calls to a targeted business. The goal of the first call is to gather information on your company, such as your name, names of your colleagues, a corporate mailing address or type of office equipment used. A second or third phone call is placed to a colleague and the caller uses the acquired information to imply an existing business relationship. Thus, your colleague is misled and then is drawn into agreeing to accept shipment of supplies that were never ordered in the first place (this is referred to as an "assumed sale" scam).
“When the supplies are delivered, you realize that they are not what you thought you were getting – they are of poor quality and cost as much as 10 times above the market rate,” Cpl. Hay said. “If you try to send the box back, you find that their mailing address does not accept deliveries.”
When you refuse to pay the invoice, you receive countless aggressive collections calls threatening to report you to credit agencies and local business associations to damage your reputation. If you do pay, the problem can get worse as the scammers continue attempts to get even more money from you.