I talk a lot about the scamsters and their relentless ways, but it's usually a place of business that is perpetrating the fraud. This time it's auto repair shops who are the victims. True to form, the scam artists have managed to create an odd scenario with enough compelling elements to make some shop owners fall victim. The scam apparently goes like this: A shop gets a phone call from a man or woman who claims to be a teletype translator for the hearing impaired. If you're unfamiliar, teletype services simply translate typed messages to voice so the hearing impaired can make a phone call. They're legit, most of the time. In this case the translator informs the shop owner they are calling for a stranded motorist. They can actually be heard typing in the background. They need their car towed in but "for some reason" the towing company can't run their credit card. The translator asks the shop owner to run $3500 on the credit card for them, and take a $1000 deposit on the repairs for his trouble. He will then send the remaining $2500 by wire to the potential customer who will be there in the morning with the car. I'm sure you know what's next. The credit card company declines the charges and the shop is out $2500. It won't always work because some shops run the charge right through, but older systems will have a lag time and that's who gets nailed. Ouch.
Read more in the Ventura County Star.
I’m not understanding how the shop is out the money. Are they loaning the scammer the 3500?
The Repair Shop will get it back by scamming their regular consumers……
This does not compute!
Well they say “what goes around comes around”, I agree with Charles.
I had the same thing happen but the guy wanted be to ship him three or four, water and fuel pumps for his Jaguar.
This is a true scam! I have been working with the scammer for over 2 weeks now! I have not ran the cards but have told him they are declined. He has given me 9 cards so far! I turn them all in to the police. Every card I get from him is just one more American that I can help minimize fraud exposure to. I plan to wear this guy out of card!
My service manager took a call almost identical to this. Tow my car-here is my credit card-needs ac work and brake work-keep $1000 and western union the $1980 to me-I am in the hospital-need my car when it is done-gave an email address-faxed a phone number-ALL done through a relay call! The kicker is that she claimed to be in Texas and wanted her car towed to Minnesota….SCAM
Already got that phone call 6 times. Tell them to bring you cash that makes them stop calling for a least a few months.
They are calling vehicle wrap companies now. Ive gotten 3 calls in the last two days. I asked for them to send me an email and they did. It stated:
The cars are with the shipper in Ca State but i live here in state so that is why i want my cars towed back home for the signage in good time so can i have your shop address so that i can forward that to the shipper so they will have the car delivered to the front of your shop for the job and i want flames and bubbles on the cars ….flames design on the Camry and bubbles on the Ok fine… what types of credit cards do you accept for payment, …Because am yet to pay the shipper that will deliver the cars to your workshop because he does not have the facility to access a credit card…. so i will need a little favor from you in respect to that pls..Hope u can do it for me in respect I will be giving you my credit card now to put through for an amount of $3500 while you keep $1000 as a deposit of the grapphic and have the remaining $2500 send to the tower via western union money transfer as they receive payment upfront, so they can have the vehicle tow down to your place for proper estimation .you keep $1000 as deposit…and have $2,300 sent the tower (Via western union money transfer or money gram), the remaining $200 will be your transport fee to western union to send the money and a little gift for the stress of helping me sending the payment the shipper and once they receive payment upfront, so they can have the cars shipped down to your place for proper estimation and signage.
Sherry
5+ calls in the last week. ‘Do you do auto detailing on Cadillac Escalade?’
Small shop in Alaska.
What they don’t know when they’re trying this on us is that we are on an island.
Pretty easy to pick up on the B.S. when they’re calling to have a car dropped off from Arizona. Don’t blame the teletype operators. The operators sound legit to me, as I have taken care of a deaf customer before, and I even stayed on the line and talked to a supervisor once. I think these guys are just utilizing the teletype services provided by the phone companies. I have to admit, the first time it lended a lot of credence to the scam.
I always start my conversation with the teletype operator with “I hope this isn’t another scam.” Lead with “There have been a lot of scam teletype phone calls recently.” Usually the next thing I hear is the teletype operator telling me the caller has hung up and they thank me.