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Now that summer is here, when employees go on
holiday and businesses are generally operating
on reduced staff, a couple of new scams have arrived,
just to keep us on our toes. These latest operations
take advantage of possible gaps in your purchasing
processes.
The scam is usually started by a phone call to
a member of staff offering what appears to be
a free offer of high street gift or discount vouchers,
together with an order for a new product. The
items are then delivered, together with an invoice,
giving the contacts name as reference for the
purchase. This has already resulted in a number
of companies paying several hundred pounds for
goods they have not ordered, and do not want or
need. A variant of this scam involves invoicing
for goods that have not been received, again using
the name of a company employee quoted on the order.
These invoices can slip through the system, especially
at this time of the year, resulting in the company
paying for goods and services they have not received.
Unless there is a robust system in place, orders
and invoices are often accepted as legitimate
deliveries leaving businesses stuck with goods
they do not want. The scammer then says that they
have taken delivery and should pay, often threatening
legal action if the invoice is not settled.
Tim James, Area Manager of the North East Chamber
of Commerce advises: “We’re aware
of a number of incidents involving this scam.
One of our members received an invoice from a
London based company for a new miracle clean product.
The invoice claims they ordered 25 litres for
£139.73, but they have no record of placing
the order. Our advice to local businesses is to
ensure that your order and payment systems are
robust enough to spot dirty tricks and antics
of this nature. Invoices sometimes slip through
the net and businesses cough up because they just
want to put it down to experience.
“It’s vital to brief staff about
this scam and don't give in and pay. This is the
worst kind of scam because it actually questions
the integrity of trusted staff who just happen
to answer the phone to the deceiving caller.”
Bill Jones
POSTILLION Business Management Support
Tel: 01494 451239
Independent Advice and Support
Executive Associate, Institute for Independent
Business
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