Miss-Delectable
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Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Online : Scammers pretending to be deaf target city
One Better Business Bureau is warning local businesses to watch out for scam artists using TTY or text telephone yoke.
The common practice of Nigerian e-mails, letters and faxes seeking to defraud people and businesses has a new variation that has targeted at least one Cheyenne business.
The Mountain States Better Business Bureau is warning businesses to watch out for scam artists who use a TTY, or text telephone yoke, relay operator so the caller can pretend to be deaf or hearing impaired, thereby hiding his identity.
"Right away, they're kind of pulling at the heart strings when you think you have a hearing-impaired person on the other end," said Barbara Read, communications director for the Better Business Bureau in Fort Collins, Colo.
Barbara Haynes, a customer service representative at Carpet Works on East Lincolnway, said she received a TTY phone call on Nov. 16 that immediately struck her as odd.
She said the caller pretended to be the Rev. Walter Fisher from the Calvary Baptist Church in Cheyenne. The caller asked for the store's e-mail because he wanted to order some hardwood.
"It was funny, I couldn't figure out why they were using the TTY machine," because the church is located close to the store, she said.
When an e-mail arrived the next day from calvarybaptistchurch@kittymail.com, she said it was filled with misspellings and grammatical errors. She also noticed the e-mail first requested 2,000 square feet of hardwood and then later referred to 2,300 square feet. Both quantities were too large of an order for the church, she said.
Haynes called the church and learned there was no minister there by that name.
"And we're like, this is a scam," she said. She has since notified other local carpet and flooring stores of the hoax.
Read said most of the time the scammers use a stolen credit card to buy merchandise and have it shipped out-of-state or to a foreign address so a business never receives payment.
The bureau offers several suggestions to keep from being deceived by the scam, including:
-If a customer uses a TTY operator, ask for a full name, address and telephone number.
-Ask the customer to provide the name of the issuing bank and the toll-free customer service number printed on the back of all credit cards. Also ask for the three- or four-digit card verification code found near the account number on the back or front of the credit card.
-If the caller refuses to provide the information, say you are not prepared to do business that way and end the conversation.
-If the buyer insists on paying with a certified check, wait until the funds are in your bank account before shipping the merchandise.
One Better Business Bureau is warning local businesses to watch out for scam artists using TTY or text telephone yoke.
The common practice of Nigerian e-mails, letters and faxes seeking to defraud people and businesses has a new variation that has targeted at least one Cheyenne business.
The Mountain States Better Business Bureau is warning businesses to watch out for scam artists who use a TTY, or text telephone yoke, relay operator so the caller can pretend to be deaf or hearing impaired, thereby hiding his identity.
"Right away, they're kind of pulling at the heart strings when you think you have a hearing-impaired person on the other end," said Barbara Read, communications director for the Better Business Bureau in Fort Collins, Colo.
Barbara Haynes, a customer service representative at Carpet Works on East Lincolnway, said she received a TTY phone call on Nov. 16 that immediately struck her as odd.
She said the caller pretended to be the Rev. Walter Fisher from the Calvary Baptist Church in Cheyenne. The caller asked for the store's e-mail because he wanted to order some hardwood.
"It was funny, I couldn't figure out why they were using the TTY machine," because the church is located close to the store, she said.
When an e-mail arrived the next day from calvarybaptistchurch@kittymail.com, she said it was filled with misspellings and grammatical errors. She also noticed the e-mail first requested 2,000 square feet of hardwood and then later referred to 2,300 square feet. Both quantities were too large of an order for the church, she said.
Haynes called the church and learned there was no minister there by that name.
"And we're like, this is a scam," she said. She has since notified other local carpet and flooring stores of the hoax.
Read said most of the time the scammers use a stolen credit card to buy merchandise and have it shipped out-of-state or to a foreign address so a business never receives payment.
The bureau offers several suggestions to keep from being deceived by the scam, including:
-If a customer uses a TTY operator, ask for a full name, address and telephone number.
-Ask the customer to provide the name of the issuing bank and the toll-free customer service number printed on the back of all credit cards. Also ask for the three- or four-digit card verification code found near the account number on the back or front of the credit card.
-If the caller refuses to provide the information, say you are not prepared to do business that way and end the conversation.
-If the buyer insists on paying with a certified check, wait until the funds are in your bank account before shipping the merchandise.
