White Van Scam
My phone rang a short time ago.
A friend was on the other end. Would I look up a particular type of stereo system online?
He was headed into Best Buy, and was stopped by a young man who asked him if he was interested in buying an all-in-one stereo system. "It's a Genesis G-506, worth $2 thousand. Here, take a look," said the young man, thrusting a magazine into my friend's hands.
Sure enough, there it was in a full-color brochure. The "MSRP" was $2000. How much was the young man asking?
"Just $200. I've got a system, I don't need this, I just want to get rid of it. Come on, we'll plug it in and you can hear it."
So my friend called me as they were driving "somewhere" where the unit could be plugged in.
"Don't get out of the car," I said. "Where are you going? What if he jumps you and takes your wallet?"
He asked me again to look up the system, and I did. Here's what I read on a forum, first return when I Googled Genesis G506:
"Did your friend happen to get these speakers from some guys who flagged him down at a shopping center or somewhere simliar? Probably gave some story about a warehouse error or extra set they did not use? Then probably said they are just looking for some extra money?
Do a search on the net on these or even here on the forums. These are what are called White Van speakers. The entire set up is a scam. Search around the net for White Van and you will get all kinds of information.
A friend of mine here at work got suckered into these. They are very poor speakers. I'm no audiophile in the least and they sounded horrible to me."
When my friend told the young man he was on the phone with me and I was checking out the deal, the young man laughed and packed up the system which he had been starting to unpack outside his garage. He knew he'd been tagged. My friend drove away.
The scam is actually quite sophisticated: it's being run in Canada, the U.S., Australia, U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland, at the very least. Writes one scam-busting website: "Most shocking is that it appears to be some kind of franchise operation for cons with impressive brochures, van decals, and a bogus website to delude you into believing you have gotten quite a deal."
Basically, the system is a low-end model that has been "dressed up" to look like high-end goods. Scammers sell the units out of their cars, or often they are in a van with a stereo installation logo on it - and the guys in the van are pretending to be installers who got an extra unit through a warehouse error, and they just want to make a couple of (illegal) dollars to both your benefits.
So repeat after me: if it looks like a deal, sounds like a deal and acts like a deal that's too good to be true, what is it? Not.
A friend was on the other end. Would I look up a particular type of stereo system online?
He was headed into Best Buy, and was stopped by a young man who asked him if he was interested in buying an all-in-one stereo system. "It's a Genesis G-506, worth $2 thousand. Here, take a look," said the young man, thrusting a magazine into my friend's hands.
Sure enough, there it was in a full-color brochure. The "MSRP" was $2000. How much was the young man asking?
"Just $200. I've got a system, I don't need this, I just want to get rid of it. Come on, we'll plug it in and you can hear it."
So my friend called me as they were driving "somewhere" where the unit could be plugged in.
"Don't get out of the car," I said. "Where are you going? What if he jumps you and takes your wallet?"
He asked me again to look up the system, and I did. Here's what I read on a forum, first return when I Googled Genesis G506:
"Did your friend happen to get these speakers from some guys who flagged him down at a shopping center or somewhere simliar? Probably gave some story about a warehouse error or extra set they did not use? Then probably said they are just looking for some extra money?
Do a search on the net on these or even here on the forums. These are what are called White Van speakers. The entire set up is a scam. Search around the net for White Van and you will get all kinds of information.
A friend of mine here at work got suckered into these. They are very poor speakers. I'm no audiophile in the least and they sounded horrible to me."
When my friend told the young man he was on the phone with me and I was checking out the deal, the young man laughed and packed up the system which he had been starting to unpack outside his garage. He knew he'd been tagged. My friend drove away.
The scam is actually quite sophisticated: it's being run in Canada, the U.S., Australia, U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland, at the very least. Writes one scam-busting website: "Most shocking is that it appears to be some kind of franchise operation for cons with impressive brochures, van decals, and a bogus website to delude you into believing you have gotten quite a deal."
Basically, the system is a low-end model that has been "dressed up" to look like high-end goods. Scammers sell the units out of their cars, or often they are in a van with a stereo installation logo on it - and the guys in the van are pretending to be installers who got an extra unit through a warehouse error, and they just want to make a couple of (illegal) dollars to both your benefits.
So repeat after me: if it looks like a deal, sounds like a deal and acts like a deal that's too good to be true, what is it? Not.
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