“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 1

PART 1

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

This is a scam originating out of Ghana (West Africa) regarding an overseas organization needing banners. Variations of the scam involve wanting custom printed glass sheets, signs, vinyl banners, or other typical sign shop product.

The organization, claiming to be a charity based in Europe, contacts your company via email (usually to info@yourcompany.com or web form) requesting a quote for around 50 items to be printed. This is the first part of the scam. What they want printed is typically simple, such as “Feed the Children” or “Food Needed for Child” in blue text on a white background. This seems to be legitimate up to this point, as most people would have no use for “Feed the Children” banners, and the whole charity aspect gives them some credibility. You should simply ignore these requests, as it is NOT cost efficient to ship such banners overseas (regardless of the value of the dollar).

If you reply to the RFP, or their request for quote, the scammer will send you a very kind email accepting the bid and requesting payment information. This is the second part of this scam. The scammer will ask if you can please take their Visa, MasterCard, or other credit card as payment, regardless of whether or not your quote clearly contains information on your payment policy. This is another red flag.

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 2

PART 2

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

If you let them know you will accept credit cards, the scammer will write back to request a shipping quote from their preferred shipping company (a fake shipping company), telling the fake shipper the number of packages, their weight, and your location. This is the third part of the scam. The scammers will tell you that this (fake) shipping company will make sure they don’t pay any taxes or import fees on the product, and / or is the only shipping company that can locate their church / compound / refugee camp. This is another blatant red flag, as it is highly unlikely that only one company in the whole world has figured out the horribly complex international shipping and tariff situation from your country to theirs.

When you contact this shipping company, they will reply with a quote and also offer services such as crating and packaging the shipment. Once you reply to the original scammer what their total price of product plus shipping is, the scammer will email you their credit card information. They will send their name, billing address, 16 digit card number, expiration date, and CVV but no other supporting documentation (red flag). The scammer will also instruct you to charge the entire amount to their card and send them an invoice or receipt when you have done this. Usually, if you process the compromised or stolen credit card the scammers gave you it will be approved by the AVS system. This is the fourth part of the scam. Once you have charged the card, the scammer will coerce you to proceed with the shipment as soon as possible, citing some rush or critical date.

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

“Feed the Children” Banner Printing Scam - Part 3

PART 3

Warning and information on the West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria) "Food for Children" Banner Printing Scam. Beware of this if you are a sign shop, copy shop, or printing company.

The fake shipping company will tell you that you must pay them for the shipment before they will schedule delivery. This is the fifth part of the scam. The fake shipper will tell you that they only accept credit cards for domestic shipments, and for international shipments you must prepay with a wire transfer (red flag). They will recommend you bring cash to Western Union and to email them the confirmation number from the wire transfer so they can schedule a pickup. If you contact the original scammer and ask to use another shipping company, they will insist they use their fake shipping company or cancel their order entirely. What is a better policy in dealing with international transactions is that both the buyer and the seller request quotes from their preferred shipping agents.

Once you have irrevocably transferred thousands of dollars overseas to their fake shipper, you will most likely never hear from anyone involved up to this point again. When the owner of the credit card receives the bill in 15-30 days they will dispute the charge with their credit card company and most likely win. This is the sixth step of the scam. This is typically were the scam ends, with you losing the money wired for shipping plus your time and cost of producing the products. If you find yourself with 50 “Feed the Children” banners, go ahead and contact your favorite charity and donate them, please.

OVERVIEW AND REVIEW OF
THE FEED THE CHILDREN BANNER SCAM

1. You Receive email from overseas requesting price on ~50 items valued around $3,000
2. Scammer asks if you will take their Credit Card as payment
3. You contact fake shipping company requesting a shipping quote and they send you a shipping cost. You send total to original scammer.
4. Scammer emails their Credit Card info and you approve their card for total amount
5. You wire the shipping money overseas via Western Union and never hear from either of the two parties involved again
6. The true owner of credit card disputes their charge (See #4), they win, and that money is automatically deducted from your account

Banner Printing Scam Part 1
Banner Printing Scam Part 2
Banner Printing Scam Part 3

Mountain Dew Gallery - Green Label Art Review

The Green Label Art Gallery, featuring Chuck Anderson of No Pattern, went off flawlessly at Country Club Chicago on the North side of the city. Thanks to everyone who came out, despite the horrible snow and weather conditions. Thanks to Mountain Dew and Seed Communications for the amazing give aways (including a silk screening kit for everyone there, with stencils, t-shirts, and paint) and all the Mountain Dew you could drink from the awesome Green Label bottles.

Pictures:

http://elevateprinting.com/chicago/2008-mountain-dew-green-label-gallery/

http://everyoneisfamous.com/pizza/013108/1.html

Rights Managed Images vs Royalty-free vs Exclusive Rights

Check out the recent article I wrote about Image Licensing options at the Lakeshore Branding Blog --

Royalty-free images vs rights-managed images

Update on my Two Huge Printers for sale - Z6100 (HP) and 11880 (Epson)

*************** UPDATE ***************

The 64" Epson 11880 has been sold. Thanks for your interest.
The 42" HP Z6100 PS is in final negotiations.