FAX-A-FRAUD
Scam Offers
Cut-Rate Plasma TVs
05/21/07
The
unsolicited faxes to small businesses in and
around Scranton, Pennsylvania, seemed plausible
enough: Get a 50-inch plasma-screen TV for
less then $800. A call to the company revealed
an even sweeter-sounding deal: The more TVs
you buy, the cheaper they are.
Intrigued,
more than a few recipients called the company,
Extreme Entertainment, to learn more about
how to get a brand-name TV valued as high
as $4,000 for the cut-rate price. The purchase
required a 50-percent deposit, and the merchandise
would be sent out the following day and arrive
within two weeks. When the TVs never showed
up and follow-up calls to the company went
unanswered, it was pretty clear the deal was
a scam.
On
the case. Kevin Wevodau, a special agent
in our Scranton office, opened a case more
than a year ago, based on a complaint from
a small company in the Pocono Mountains. His
early investigation revealed several complaints
had been filed by customers who made deposits
but never got the goods. Then, in a stroke
of luck earlier this year, one of the victims
reported a new fax was circulating offering
the same deal, this time with a new phone
number. She forwarded the pitch to Agent Wevodau,
who went undercover as a potential patsy.
"I
called him, told him I won the lottery, and
that I wanted to buy TVs from him," said
Agent Wevodau, who had planned to order seven
of the plasma TVs, valued for the clarity
and brightness of their flat-panel screens,
but eventually settled for 20 after succumbing
to the salesman's pitch about bulk savings.
Agent Wevodau was told he would only have
to pay half up front, with the rest due upon
delivery. The salesman then supplied a routing
number to wire the money. The bank was in
Las Vegas. Bingo!
The
scope widens. Agent Wevodau called our
Las Vegas office, prompting our agents there
to track the salesman down at his condo and
ask him about the plasma TVs, or the lack
thereof. The next day in Scranton, meanwhile,
Agent Wevodau's phone rang. Our office in
Jamestown, New York, was running a check on
the same scam and saw Agent Wevodau was on
the case. In the Jamestown complaint, a former
law enforcement officer had recruited a pool
of buyers, including dozens of area small
businesses and police, to purchase more than
140 TVs. The complainant had wired more than
$50,000 in would-be deposits to a Las Vegas
bank, but never got the TVs. On May 11, a
Nevada man believed to be sending the faxes
was arrested for his role in the scam.
If
you've been taken by this scam or a similar
one, we'd like to know. Agents believe
the bogus offer appearing on fax machines
may be much broader than what we've found
so far. If you've been victimized, please
contact your local FBI office.
Don't
let it happen to you. Agent Wevodau said
small business owners and individuals should
be mindful of such suspiciously good deals.
"One of these TVs sells in the store
for $3,000 to $4,000," Agent Wevodau
said. "These guys are offering it for
$600 delivered to your door. I mean, come
on."
Resources:
- Common
Fraud Schemes
- Contact Your
Local FBI Office
- Be Crime Smart
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