How to avoid toner scams

Aug 24, 2012

It seems inevitable that scams will be with us in all aspects of our personal and business lives. We as consumers need to know and understand the signs before we become a victim. Century Business Product is committed to educating our customers and potential customers about the happenings, whether good or bad, in the office equipment industry. The following information will focus on the TONER scams happening recently within our industry and educate you on how to protect yourself from the barrage of scams happening on a daily basis.

How do these Scams Start?

  • Someone at your business will receive a call asking the name of the person ordering toner for the company.
  • They will want to verify the make, model and number of copiers or printers in your facility.
  • They may ask the locations of these machines.
  • They may verify the company servicing your equipment.

The Next Step in the Scam

  • You will get a call, supposedly from your equipment servicing company (Scammer).
  • They will ask for the purchasing contact, (by name), from the prior call.
  • They will talk intelligently about your current products and maybe the locations.
  • They will tell you the manufacturer will soon be increasing the price of toner/supplies and urge you to purchase before the increase takes effect, saving your company money.
  • Once ordered, you might receive the toner, but you will get invoiced at 4-5 times the amount quoted on the phone. You’ve been scammed!

What can you do to avoid being scammed?

  • Ask who is calling, usually the scammer will hang up, they don’t like being questioned.
  • Train staff to never give out any information about the office equipment.
  • Check for fraudulent invoices. Make sure you have a centralized person to order toner.
  • Put a note on the copier stating it is under contract and toner is included, to order call…
  • If you receive a toner that includes an invoice, box the toner back up and return to sender. DO NOT PAY THE BILL!

Things to Know about Your Servicing Company Providing Maintenance Agreements!

  • The servicing company knows what products you have, they installed and wrote the contract.
  • The servicing company has a contact name of the person ordering the supplies.
  • The servicing company would never call with toner deals or threats of price increases, the cost is calculated into the maintenance agreement.

If you have additional questions, comments, concerns on this article, please contact us.