Recently we published on our Facebook page a warning to all Sign Makers of a scam that it taking place within our industry. Roger Johnson from SuperColour Ltd, Wellington has taken the time to report and share his knowledge on how devious these scams can be!
Dear NZSDA members and associates…One of our well established clients, a sign company was recently caught up momentarily in a venture that actually turned out to be a scam. In the lines of ‘sound to good to be true’, a salesperson for the company had a request from a South Pacific based charity to quote on a very large order for finished banners. The value came to more than $10,000.00 New Zealand dollars. The company agreed to the price and paid the total by credit card – 2 credit cards to be exact – neither in their own name.
Then came the hook. The Charity requested that the sign company use a specific shipper to the island. The amount, to be paid by the sign company from the sale money, was sent in an
invoice to the sign company, around $3500.00 NZD. About this time suspicion and common sense kicked in….the salesperson did some additional checking and discovered there was a charity by this name…..in Brazil! No such entity existed in the South Pacific. Also, the shipping company (an actual global freight line) did not run ships to this island and CERTAINLY did not have a return email address using G-Mail.
At this point it was discovered the money paid for the banner order originated from stolen credit cards. The sign company cancelled the whole order and contacted the police and specifically Netsafe in New Zealand, an agency that tracks Internet fraud activities in New Zealand. We all had a good chat and decided that other people in the industry should be on the lookout
for any order from the Islands especially if it reminds you of this story.
Recently, the same company received yet another request to quote on a new order from a different charity… as follows
Project : Flyers
Paper Size : 8.5″ x 11″
Paper Type : 100# Gloss Text
Color : 4/0 – Color Front, No Back
Quantity : 90,000 Copies
Bleeds : No Bleeds
Turnaround : 1-2 Weeks
Price: 90 000 copies – single sided
As it all sounded too familiar they quoted a ridiculously high price of $29,760.00 + GST….. You guessed it; the charity thought it was a fabulous price and wanted to pay straight
away…..there was the issue of shipping however…… Who says lightening never strikes twice!
Submitted by Roger Johnson, SuperColour Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand.
