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  • Busted a Scammer Today (long)

    Scared the everloving crap out of a scammer. Terrified her even. I don't think she will ever call us again. Let us start with a little background

    This lady, we will call her Fruity, in honor of one of her many "siblings", had called us and placed a few orders under a few different names for two different address. They were all about $500, and all by COD. Now, we would not have allowed this had she not called and got 4 different sales reps and given 4 different names over 2 addresses. Zoom to the future a week, checks are given to UPS, checks bounce. We are out $2000 worth of stuff. We are not happy. So our accounting department takes the helm for a bit and watches for new accounts under those addresses, and stops orders.

    Zoom to my involvement. Fruity had called us a few times since the first order, placed COD orders, and all had been stopped. She had been told they were shipping, assumed as much, let it sit for a while, figured they had been caught, and called back and tried again with a new name. By the time I get on board, there were almost 20 different accounts, each one ordering once or twice, each one having been caught and canceled.

    Now the night I became aware of Fruity she had been calling constantly, not likely what we were telling her about our COD policy and how she can only get so much on her first time. By the time she called me, the various names and addresses had been bounced around the call center. So she gets me, and I recognize the address she gives me for her new account. While I am chatting her up, I use that to find all her accounts, names, and the few phone numbers she had used. I lead her on, let her believe she is getting $2000 worth of stuff, split across a few orders. The call ends, I flag all the accounts, send an email to A/R, the other supervisors, and laugh about it for a while. She didn't call back.

    For a month anyway.

    Come to tonight. She called back, got one of my new guys. He did not know about Fruity and her failed attempts. She goes through a $3000 order, tries to do it by COD. My rep tells her no, can't be done, at this size it must be a credit card. So she gives him a debit number, and she assumes she is getting her stuff. This was caught by the other nightime super, who knew of the problem, she overheard the address being confirmed. We talk about it, and we are convinced the card is stolen and don't run it. This, ofcourse, under a different name. I spend the next hour or so bouncing around between the CC company and a few Banks, trying to see if this was stolen. Noone could confirm or deny, but their tone of voice lead me to believe that yes, yes it was a stolen debit card.

    So we talk about this some more, and come to the conclusion we cannot have this continue, as someone will put through the order with a credit card, and charge backs and fraud will ensue down the road. We come to the conclusion to call them, tell them to knock it off or cops will be called, and then have a hearty laugh later.

    I have a few numbers. Leave a firm but polite message on the first, and I now have Fruity's real name, I think. Second number, and I got a bite. I take the time to ask if any of the people who have supposedly ordered from us are available. It was a long list.

    No they are not.

    Asked to verify the address.

    Correct address.

    Is this "Fruity's real name".

    Yes, yes it is.

    And then I lay on her. I give her the same firm and polite message, laying out why it is this way. She was stunned, put up the weak excuse of this being a apartment complex, and hanging up. All set? Nah, why would we be.

    Fruity calls back, furious with the rep she gets. By now, everyone on this shift knows what I am doing with her. I get her transfered over to me and she begins to fume, I cut her off and we have some fun.

    Me - Having way to much fun here.
    F - Fruity scared crapless.

    F: THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! A RUDE MAN JUST CALLED HERE AND YELLED AT MY MENTALLY CHALLENGED SISTER AND MADE HERE CRY, I DEMAND...
    Me: Stop right there. I was the one who called you, and spoke with you, and I was firm yet polite at best. Here is the run down. You owe us money for several bounced checks under several names. You have given us several different stories, one for each name you have used. They range from ranch to apartment complex, cancer to surgery. You are getting nothing from us. EVER.
    F: This is an apartment complex, those are all different accounts, I am not responsible for them.
    Me: Funny thing there, we have spoken on a few occasions. And a handfull of those names were used just with me. You also stated you lived on a ranch and this was your family.
    F: I had no idea of this!
    Me: We find that hard to believe, as you owe us alot and, believe me, collections is calling you at this point. We are not selling to you anymore, as we can no longer be sure that these orders are going to ever be paid for.
    F: Well how much do I owe you. Tell me and we will send a check.
    Me: No. No checks. At this point, the only thing you can do with us is a money order. We will accept nothing else from you.
    F: Will a money order for 2 million cover it?
    Me: You are using hyperbole ma'am.
    F: I am not. I have the money, will 2 million cover it. I will have my sister go to the bank to get the amount tomorrow, she is on my account
    Me: If you have that much money, why have your checks bounced.
    F: They were my sister's.
    Me: I thought she was on your account.
    F: She has her own.
    Me: Again, we are loathe to believe this. You have to go through collections at this point. We simply want you to stop calling us to place orders, as it is no longer of profit to us. Please just stop calling us.
    F: But I can make it work, I have the money, I will send you a check.
    Me: I am terminating the call miss, please do not call us back, ever. And please pay the amount when collections calls you.
    *click*

    Didn't call back, I think we scared her off. She sounded a little unnerved that we caught her and that someone called her on it. Also proposing that we block her addresses from the system so that we don't deal with her anymore.

    And the final thing I want to include, a list of her known stories. She would often use these alone as well as mix and match at her whim. She would also throw them out at random intervals in a call, in an effort to confuse and bewilder us, much like an octopus and ink.

    "My father is a Vietnam Vet/Gulf War Vet and has Agent Orange cancer, so my family is all here for him, thats why the order is so big." (This one pissed me off to no end.)
    "We have a ranch and have several animals, its like a farm."
    "We are ordering for an entire apartment complex."
    "I am disabled and on meds, I have no other way to pay."
    "My sister/brother/mother is mentally handicapped, I have no other way to pay."
    "We are going to a flea market" (This one probably what they were doing in reality)

  • #2
    I'd be pissed about the first story too. Kudos to the pwnage.
    Ridiculous 2009 Predictions: Evil Queen will beat Martha Stewart to death with a muffin pan. All hail Evil Queen! (Some things don't need elaboration.....) -- Jester

    Ridiculous 2010 Predictions: Evil Queen, after escaping prison for last years prediction, goes out and waffle irons Rachel Ray to death. -- SG15Z

    Ridiculous 2011 Prediction: Evil Queen will beat Gordon Ramsay over the head with a cast-iron skillet. -- FireHeart

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    • #3
      You mean, your system has the ability to block addresses and she wasn't blocked after the first $2000?!?
      "Always stand near the door." -- Doctor Who

      Kuya's Kitchen -- Cooking, Cooking Gadgets, and Food Related Blather from a Transplanted Foodie

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      • #4
        From the way she still tried to wear you down to accept her *cough* fraudulent *cough* check, she didn't sound very intimidated to me. I'm sure something was conveyed by her tone, I suppose?
        A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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        • #5
          ok first- what an evil awful person who deserves to be shot and killed
          i believe she owns nothing
          second- her stories made me think of this
          Henry Blake: The father dying, right?
          Klinger: Yes, sir.
          Henry Blake: [takes out a stack of papers and reads them] Father dying last year. Mother dying last year. Mother AND father dying. Mother, father, and older sister dying. Mother dying and older sister pregnant. Older sister dying and mother pregnant. Younger sister pregnant and older sister dying. Here's an oldie but a goodie: Half of the family dying, other half pregnant.

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          • #6
            Will she be prosecuted for theft if she doesn't pay? Heck, they could probably throw a few mail fraud charges in there too, on top of attempting to use a stolen debit card...

            Wait ... why isn't this fruitcake in jail?
            "You mean you don’t have the one piece of information you actually need? Well, stick your grubby paws in the crayon box, yank one out and colour me Fucking Shocked Fuchsia." - Gravekeeper

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            • #7
              Wow... That last "2 million money order" part tends to make me think she is a mythomaniac and should be in a padded room.
              "I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

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              • #8
                I must admit, I thought of the Klinger bit as well.

                As far as scaring her, it was the tone more than anything. I have a feeling it was the first time she was called on a scam of hers. And as further evidence, when I got in this morning, there were no angry emails from my boss yelling at me for harrassing the handicapped or refusing sales, so she didn't call back and try and get someone else the next day.

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