A book scam?

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rrh

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We get a booking for a couple for 2 nights. He later calls and says his secretery mistakenly had some books sent to our Inn. He would be sending mailing lables to return them. We have received 3 books now from various college book stores and Amazon. No mailing lables yet. One store called and had heard of some kind of scam with books and B&Bs but, thinking this legit, sent it. We refused more book deliveries from DHL yesterday. The couple did not show last night and the credit card they reserved with has an invalid expiration date. We opened one box and it is a calculus book.
Anyone heard of something like this?
r
 
scratching my head over this one.
all i can think of is someone ordering books with a bad credit card. having them mailed to you (having no intention of staying with you) in hopes that you will send them on to them before the places that sold them catch on. and maybe the sellers will try to get payment from you because you accepted delivery?
weird.
 
This sounds very much like the "the camera was mailed to you by mistake" scam. I don't recall how the scam works, exactly. I would be careful.
RIki
 
We talked to the book store owner across the street about it and she is puzzled as well. She says there is no way she can think of to make money from a book scam.
Would book stores ship before verifying the credit card?
r
 
No but I appreciate the heads up! Sorry it happened to you.
How could you mistakenly have them sent to an inn? and...from more than one source. That is the first red flag that something is not right.
Please keep us posted on this one. You should contact your local PD, they like to keep abreast on these type scams.
 
PS We had mentioned on the old forum that nothing good comes from someone posting something to your inn. I stand by that sentiment. This is another example, and it will not be as simple as it has started out, guaranteed. Pls report it to your local authorities.
 
If they call back, which they may not, tell them everything has been returned to sender because they didn't show for their reservation. And, BTW, they owe you for the nights reserved. (Heads up, always check those expiry dates, the rez software doesn't always pick them up.) And, if the number is otherwise vaild, run it for the same month, 3 years hence.
ie- 09/10 run it as 09/13 and see what happens.
 
we accept some of our guests mailing stuff as they come to exhibit at trade fairs so know when they are comming and it saves them a ton of money in excess baggage. Makes no sense to pay for the thing and never get it seems a waste of time. If they had already sent the forwarding address I could see the point.
 
We talked to the book store owner across the street about it and she is puzzled as well. She says there is no way she can think of to make money from a book scam.
Would book stores ship before verifying the credit card?
r.
rrh said:
We talked to the book store owner across the street about it and she is puzzled as well. She says there is no way she can think of to make money from a book scam.
Would book stores ship before verifying the credit card?
r
Hey I'm in a college town here. Have you priced books for university courses recently????? If they got just 10 books out of this it could be hundreds of dollars to them selling on the black market to students.
riki
 
Talking of posting have had no lost property for ages now a ton to post in a week! all charge to card I might add!
 
Since I sell used books on Amazon, I think I know how this scam would work. Use another's ID to order new college textbooks, which are around 100 - 350 dollars from a college bookstore. Have them shipped to an address (your B&B) where the true scammer cannot be traced. Is hoping you don't record the info from his convenient mailing labels, so that he cannot be traced. You're supposed to just slap those labels on and ship them out. The address he gave you for his credit card is not his. Probably someone's stolen credit card info. The reservation never shows. Then he resells on Amazon and makes hundreds, perhaps thousands, depending on how many books he has ordered.
Geez, hell is going to be crowded!
 
I can see that. I just left voice mail at the local PD. Will keep you aprised....
 
The credit card was probably "good" at the time the order was processed and at the time of shipping, in other words it had not YET been reported stolen - so the book co ships the books to a "gift" address and then sends you some forwarding labels prob to a PO box address. By the time the person reports their card lost / stolen / never received or reports fraudulent charges, the books have already been forwarded, received and the PO Box closed .... and then they sell the books for $$$. It does not "signal" either the book co's or the cc co's because the $ amounts are small .... and there is no "signal" on the "ship to" address either since it is being shipped to a residence or a business from the book co.
 
The credit card was probably "good" at the time the order was processed and at the time of shipping, in other words it had not YET been reported stolen - so the book co ships the books to a "gift" address and then sends you some forwarding labels prob to a PO box address. By the time the person reports their card lost / stolen / never received or reports fraudulent charges, the books have already been forwarded, received and the PO Box closed .... and then they sell the books for $$$. It does not "signal" either the book co's or the cc co's because the $ amounts are small .... and there is no "signal" on the "ship to" address either since it is being shipped to a residence or a business from the book co..
So the local PD sent an officer over to talk to DW (I'm at my day job). At first he was just kind of blowing the deal off and said to just send the books back to the book stores. DW says - We want to catch this yahoo! Let's send the email that we have the books and see if the lables come and possibly we can track him down. So officer Barney gets more enthused and says to do it. So we'll send the email that should trigger the label mailing and see what happens....
 
Yeah, using the mail to defraud, that's what I was thinking!
 
lightbulb.gif
 
Interesting - I just got the same series of emails this week!
Guest books two nights, two guests. Uses the OTHER guest's CC#. When I email to clarify who exactly is staying, and that I would need to call the holder of the CC, I get the email ignoring my clarification and blaming secretary for mix-up sending books, etc.
He states he will send FEDEX labels, and can I re-package, slap labels on, re-send.
Here's my reply:
"Sorry, but we do not forward items from/for a third-party. Unfortunately, there have been dealings like this reported to local authorities as scams.
You can pick the books up when you arrive for your overnight stays. You did not answer my questions about the guests' identities."
I don't expect to see the guest(s). RRH: How did your scam turn out?
 
rrh said:
We get a booking for a couple for 2 nights. He later calls and says his secretery mistakenly had some books sent to our Inn. He would be sending mailing lables to return them. We have received 3 books now from various college book stores and Amazon. No mailing lables yet. One store called and had heard of some kind of scam with books and B&Bs but, thinking this legit, sent it. We refused more book deliveries from DHL yesterday. The couple did not show last night and the credit card they reserved with has an invalid expiration date. We opened one box and it is a calculus book.
Anyone heard of something like this?
This is a scam that's been around for a while. I think it has to do with purchasing expensive college course books with stolen credit cards and having the business receive them and send them on.
Riki
 
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