Scam Alert: Fraudulent Orders and Other Deceptive Practices Making the Rounds

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In response to a recent uptick in reports from ABA member stores receiving bogus orders, here is a brief rundown of some frauds and scams:

  • Fraudulent orders from abroad or out of state for expensive medical and law textbooks, technical books, Bibles, and even frontlist titles have been a constant. Any time a bookstore receives a large order, whether it’s by phone or over the Internet, it is good business to call the customer to confirm the order as well as the card number. Also ask for the three-digit security number on the back of the card. A call from a staff member who explains that, for the cardholder’s protection, he is calling to confirm the order, will likely be appreciated by honest customers. Chances are, if the card is stolen, the phone number will not work or will be a wrong number. To learn more about recent activity, check out this ongoing discussion about fraudulent orders in BookWeb’s Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum.
     
  • Several booksellers in the Southeast have recently reported a scam in which they are contacted by someone who claims to have purchased a book at the store while on vacation only to find on the trip home that the book was missing 20 or so pages. Though a bookseller’s immediate reaction might be to shoot off an apology and a replacement copy, one astute owner reread the communication, which came in via the store’s IndieCommerce contact form, and looked back at the store’s inventory history to discover the claim was false.
     
  • In January 2016, several ABA members received e-mail communications that appeared to be phishing attempts by potentially malicious parties seeking to acquire sensitive information. Some of these e-mails included falsified Google Doc invitations. To help booksellers identify these fraudulent e-mails, ABA System Administrator Josh Harding offered tips on what to look for in a true Google Doc as well as a link to further information about phishing scams.
     
  • A scam from the past that’s decidedly tailored to bookselling involves someone pretending to be an author who is scheduled to appear at the store, or who may have recently appeared, calling to request the bookseller wire him money because he is stranded somewhere.

The inventiveness of crooks knows no bounds, so it’s good business practice to be proactive: Teach staff that if something about an order seems fishy, it’s store policy to take the time to look into it.