Office Supply Scam: Toner Phoner
Don't Fall for This One like I Almost Did
A phone call came in and a person talked to me and claimed to be the new district manager for the company that services our copy machine. She said that the old district manager failed to keep up with the service records. I told her we had a service call a month ago and the copier worked just great after the thorough cleaning it was given. She then told me that the price of toner was about to go up and I could secure the old price if I ordered toner today. So I agreed, and she said someone would call from the warehouse to confirm the order before shipping. She then asked to verify what kind of copier we had.
After I hung up, I thought to myself, this sounds suspicious. I called up the real company who services our copier and the lady told me that this was a scam. She said that our company would not call up out of the blue like that. Besides, free toner was part of our contract, and it would not be subject to a price change until the next contract.
Needless to say, I was infuriated that I fell for this. Later that day, the "Warehouse" call to confirm the shipment of the toner came. I told the man "DO NOT SEND!" and "CANCEL!" and to make sure he did not ship the toner, I also watched our warehouse for any packages that might contain toner so I could refuse it.
The so-called district manager called me back about a week later and asked if I had confirmed the toner shipment. I told her that I canceled the shipment. She asked why. I told her that she represented herself as the company who services our copier. Before I could get all the words out I heard nothing but a dial tone.
Every so often I get similar calls, but now when the say they are with the company that services our copier, I just say "No your not!" and all I hear is a dial tone because a scammer will hang up when he or she has been caught.
I later discovered that this "Toner Phoner" scam has been around a while. What makes it so bad, is that if you did get the toner, it is highly overpriced, and usually of inferior quality. It may take a while to get the billing canceled as well.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/supplies.asp
Published by Rick Beryl
Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, I reside in a small town in western Ohio. I've worked in fast food, frozen novelties, market research, a warehouse, and delivered pizza. I've been hourly and salaried and eve... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentI am a telemarketer who SELLS toners. Our company just sells them at a high price.Think of it this way, u buy a lamp at sears for 50 bucks and theres the same one at the dollar store. We are sears. We DO NOT misrepresent ourselves. We make sure the companies buying from us know who we are!
Dear Sir,
How are you?
We are a factory of toner chip and toner cartridges for laser printer in China.Our website is http://www.printercolorltd.com. Please check our full product list of chip land toner cartridges at your attachment!
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If th