Get the FACTs

Previous    Main Menu

• Office Supply Scams: Getting Nothing for the Cost of Something
  
  
• Pamphlet

---

Office Supply Scams: Getting Nothing for the Cost of Something

You may have received an email at some point with a deal on office supplies that you couldn’t let slip through your fingertips! You were offered 40% off the regular price of a specific brand of printer toner that guarantees 8,000 copies, by a new company trying to promote its product. Toner is usually pretty expensive, and there’s little difference between brands, so you decide to buy it!

The email was professional and the company seemed legitimate so you ordered the toner, and gave your credit card number to the operator over the phone. You promptly received the toner and after some time you received your credit card statement. Your credit card was charged, and the amount you were charged for the toner was significantly higher than what you normally pay. This didn’t make any sense, because you were supposed to be getting it at 40% off. You decided that for toner advertised to make 8,000 copies, you could live with the price; you just decide not to buy from this company any more. That was until you saw one of the employees changing the toner because it had run out after only 200 copies! You tried contacting the company. You were unable to get through to anyone, and you were upset. Nothing you were told about this toner was true. Is it possible that you got scammed?

You, as a business owner, are not alone. In fact, the Competition Bureau estimates that businesses and charities are losing millions each year to scams. The reasons these scams work is because they are so simple, and often appear like any other legitimate offer you receive.

Here are some tips to help you protect your organization from fraud:

• Closely examine any ads or offers and ask questions about anything that’s unclear. Review all unsolicited offers with a critical eye.
  
  
• Inform yourself about the product or service offered and don’t be pressured to act immediately. Take time to do your research.
  
  
• Report it to the Competition Bureau
  
  
• Always ask for a copy of the offer in writing.
  
  
• Before paying, make sure you get what you ordered. Don’t be bullied into paying for something because of threats to damage your credit rating.

Email scams are finding new creative angles every day, so question the legitimacy of every inquiry, no matter how official looking it may appear. The key is to recognize it, report it and stop it.

Pamphlet

Criminals know how to appear as organized, courteous and professional as your organization does. Why? Because they know that the secret to fooling you is to gain your trust and appear above reproach. It’s that apparent legitimacy that makes thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations fall prey to scams every year, ordering goods – often repeatedly – from fraudulent vendors and then paying invoices for services that are never rendered.

(PDF; 992 KB; 2 Pages)