Once again, our market area is under attack from con artists commonly referred to as "Toner Phoners."
These out of state, illegal, phone-room scammers are trying to rip off unsuspecting/uneducated companies by implying that they are the “normal supplier”. Here’s how the scam works:
First, they survey to gather some basic inside information knowing that the person answering the phone has been instructed to be helpful and pleasant to all incoming callers.
“Good morning and thank you for calling FDS. This is Cindy; how may I help you?”
“Hi Cindy, this is James – at the warehouse. Hey we messed up here and were wondering if you could help.”
“Sure! What do you need?”
“We lost the model numbers off of your equipment, you know, the copiers, could you get them for us?”
“We have three; which ones did you need?”
“I’m sorry, like I said we lost them all; what models do you have?”
“Well, we have the new one in the copy center- the LD275. We moved our old Ricoh 1060 into Accounting, and I have my little LD016f here at my desk.”
“That’s right; I thought that’s what you guys had. Hey Cindy, thanks for your help. Oh wait, before I get off the phone I forgot to ask, you’re the one who orders the toner aren’t you?"
“No, Ron orders the copier toner.”
“That’s right, I should have known that. Hey Cindy thanks again for your help.”
Now that they have some inside information they can make a pitch to the toner buyer. They will now call and ask for the buyer directly.
“Hello, this is Ron.”
“Hello Ron, this James over at the warehouse. We messed up over here and need your help. We just had a price increase on our toner and we forgot to let you know. My supervisor said that if you ordered some today we could send it out at the old price.”
“Who are you?”
“James, over at the warehouse, you know. We supply you with the toner for your copiers, and I guess when you were looking at your new Lanier LD275, we forgot to send you the notice, you know, because we still had you listed for your old Ricoh 1060. We’re sorry for the mistake, but we’re willing to send you a carton for each of your copiers- even Cindy’s little LD016, at the old price, does that sound OK?”
“Well okay; I guess we’ll need it. Go ahead.”
“Great Ron; we’ll get that sent right out and put your name in the P.O. field. Have a great day!”
Again, there are different scripts these people will use but the scam is always the same. Survey for information, then call back later pretending they are the authorized supplier. If the customer asks, they will never give a call back number, they lie and claim that they are the regular supplier, or they just hang up. What they also fail to mention is that their “normal price” is often 2-3 times above suggested retail.
No one from Fisher's Document Systems will ever call and ask for your equipment model numbers, as we already have that information on file. If we do contact you to replenish your copier, fax or printer supplies, we will always identify ourselves as being with Fisher's Document Systems and are happy to provide you with a local call-back number.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to contact us at (208) 375-4410.
-Bill Comstock, Fisher's Document Systems Printer Sales Specialist