PCB Blog - Con-Artists
Con-Artists |
| 2011/05/18 |
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Melanie Veness: PCB CEO Every day con-artists are inventing new ways of deceiving people. And when they are exposed, in a manner of speaking, a con man highlighted the vulnerability of upstanding members of the business community trying to make an honest living. So brazen was the con man that he felt compelled to remind a Pietermaritzburg businessman, and one of his latest victims: “Don’t let this make you feel special, I do this every day, all day – this is what I do – I con people like you." The arrogance is astounding. And what is frightening, is that it centers on the knowledge that he knows he won’t be caught. And the con is ingenious. One would expect someone to steal money or electrical appliances, but would you expect someone to con you out of reams of paper? This is exactly what happened. The con artist ordered a significant amount of paper, then sent through confirmation of an EFT payment. The “payment” was from a bank other than the one that the victim banks with, so there is a delay in seeing the funds appear in one's account. Not unusual, and the EFT confirmation is very convincing. Soon thereafter, a courier in an unmarked van calls to collect the goods. There is no reason not to release the paper - R34 000 of it. The con is repeated immediately, while there is still a window of opportunity to exploit the weaknesses in the system – this time, a deposit is made using a stolen cheque for a similar amount - total loss: R61 000. Why would anyone steal paper? It’s quite simple really: because they can, and because it is virtually untraceable. Even if the con-artist recovers 10% of the value of the goods, it’s worth the effort. There are several lessons to be learnt: Firstly, no-one is immune, so be careful, because there are people out there constantly scheming and conning. It certainly also opened my eyes to the fact that anything that has value can be stolen, and that it is much easier to steal things that people don’t expect you to steal. In addition, you can’t trust that a payment has been made into your bank account, until you see that the money is in your account and you have checked that it has, in fact, cleared. Finally, one should probably not release goods to someone presenting themselves as a courier company, without establishing their credentials. You have the right to record the details of people that you are releasing goods to, and it is highly recommended that you do. As the conned businessman ruefully reflected: "It's a lot easier to stop the crime from happening that chasing after the criminals afterwards." |
| Tags: Con(1) artist(1) Bank(2) account(1) Payment(1) |
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