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SCAM ALERT!
Whether you are a manager of a department, an accountant, or any other
employee at the University, you are considered prey for these fraudulent
vendors. More and more of these vendors are lurking at the end of
your telephone lines and on the Internet.
Some of the following links are to Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. If
you are having problems viewing these files make sure you have the
most current version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed on
your computer. A free version of Adobe Reader is available here.
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How to Avoid Scams
Take the following steps to avoid falling victim to the scams below.
Advertisements
Watch out for advertisements in unknown publications, usually touting
a "good" cause - veterans, minorities, and the like. Don't
be fooled by this.
Recent Example:
A department received demands for payment, stating that the Chancellor
had approved an ad to be run in their paper. No such authorization
had been given by the Chancellor or anyone else! The paper, American
Black Journal, insists otherwise. Such callers are trained to fool!!
When Purchasing contacted them, they promised to send a list of their
circulation. No such list has arrived.
USE ONLY KNOWN PUBLICATIONS FOR YOUR EMPLOYMENT ADS. DO NOT
PAY INVOICES FROM UNKNOWN NEWSPAPERS.
Copier Toner Sellers
BEWARE: These are the most prevalent fraudulent vendors at
this time. They often have information about you before they
call or they smoothly get information from you about your equipment
and then contact someone else in the department to make their pitch
as though they are your regular vendor.
There is no let-up in these types of "toner-phoners." Never,
never buy from them!! Purchasing from unknown toner scammers just
promotes their interest in the University of Minnesota.
Fraudulent Vendors List
Purchasing Services and Disbursements work together to prevent payments
to known fraudulent vendors. Most of these companies employ fast talkers
or send out "invoices" for unapproved orders. Here is a
list of vendors about whom University departments have contacted Purchasing
to complain about their unethical practices. Since this type of company
frequently changes its name and address, this list cannot be kept
current or complete. Order only from reputable suppliers.
Click here for
a Fraudulent Vendor List (.pdf)
Office Supplies
Office supplies from vendors with a tale of woe - going out of business
- "someone died and we have to liquidate" - "a misdirected
trailer is sitting close to the University and we'll practically give
you the stuff," etc.
All of these scam artists are out to steal your money! When checking
out their pricing against what we pay to the reputable vendors like
U-Stores
or U-Wide
contract vendors, their prices have been found to be anywhere
from 2 to 10 times higher than you would pay from
these other reputable vendors! Quality and warranty are also issues
since these "companies" change their names and move from
location to location continually.
Trapped Funds in Nigeria
A few years ago, many departments received messages regarding"Trapped
Funds in Nigeria." This strategy has not disappeared. Their scam
message continues to get through the U's screens for this type of
mail. The letter is available here to view
(.pdf).
Value Office Supplies
Watch out for a vendor named "VALUE OFFICE SUPPLIES." They
called a department and said they knew one of the department's employees
and gave the employee's name. Then they said the firm was moving to
Florida. They needed to get rid of office supplies before they took
off and said they would meet the University's prices but couldn't
quote them because their computer was packed up. The scammer went
on to say that her brother-in-law would drop off the supplies in "good
faith" and send an invoice later. The package came, postmarked
Florida and the invoice followed with a price 150% over the U's usual
cost.
Web and E-Mail Marketing
What about buying from Web and e-mail Markets?
It would be unfair and untrue to say that the increasing numbers of
web sites selling products are all scams. Many of them are not. And
ordering from Internet and e-mail marketers is not, usually speaking,
a formidable thing to do. CAUTION MUST BE OBSERVED, AND THE BEST INTEREST
OF THE UNIVERSITY MUST BE THE FOREMOST CONSIDERATION WHEN SHOPPING
ON THE INTERNET.
Ordering from web sites of familiar vendors may be OK. But you may
be paying extra money if these companies offer discounts to the University
that they don't offer to the public. These discounts may not be offered
on public sites.
Toners from e-mail messages
Some toner scammers have moved to email. These do not necessarily
represent the typical "scam". Scams are companies selling
products advertised to be a "great deal" but in fact are
overpriced items, much more economically available from the University
Stores or local providers.
Purchasing discourages ordering through e-mails such as this because
of the risk involved. As good stewards of taxpayer funds, departments
should take care to order from vendors with established reputations
of competitive pricing, guaranteed quality and performance, and dependable
delivery.
Instructions for Scam Victims
If you are a victim of one of these scams, document as much of the
situation as possible. Forward the scam information via email
to the Vendor Performance Coordinator or fax it to (612) 626-0366.
Stop these vendors quickly! Once they scam one department, they will
target other departments assuming there is a weakness in our controls. |
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