Who Knew Getting Sued A Lot Would Turn Out Useful?
I once encountered a variation on many of the scams listed on this site. A letter arrived in the office from a company I had never heard of, threatening to sue us over an unpaid advertisement. The company had never used any form of advertising that I knew of, being a small regional office of a much bigger multinational business, but we were a truck sales operation, so it wasn’t impossible that the sales department had chosen to try something new on a local basis.
I rang the number on the letter and asked to speak to someone about the supposedly unpaid invoice. I ended up talking to a very aggressive individual who insisted that it was a valid charge and that they even had a recording of the phone conversation placing the advert.
Me: “Can I listen to that recording?”
I got to hear a scammer taking advantage of an inexperienced receptionist who shared the same office as me.
Not once did the caller actually ask her to place an order. Everything was phrased, “Your manager asked for this. Can we just confirm the details?” Yes, she confirmed our address, phone number, etc., but all she was doing was agreeing that the information was correct, never actually asking them to do anything. She was led through a very slick spiel intended to be used as a threat to demand payment.
Unfortunately for this company, prior to working here, I had spent an entertaining three years working for a company constantly on the brink of bankruptcy, and threats of legal action were by now water off a duck’s back. I’d had so many court summonses arrive on my desk that I didn’t care anymore — nine from one company in the space of a month once. But I had also learned somewhat about when aggression actually meant, “I’m lying and hoping you will give in.”
So, after listening to the call and the following threats, I asked for something that the caller appeared not to expect.
Me: “Can I see the adverts?”
Scammer: “They’re on a calendar printed for the truck industry to be given out to potential customers with numerous suppliers advertising on them.”
Me: “You have nothing from us that proves that we placed an order, just confirmations of information. But if we see the calendar and like it, we might be prepared to pay. Just send me a copy.”
There was a brief pause from the other end, and then the phone went dead.
We never received a copy of the calendar.