Our company has been contacted by three subsequent individuals attempting to perpetrate the same scam. We even attempted to liaison with our PI and the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police to set up a bogus delivery to catch the perp. I spent endless hours on this attempt to no avail.

First, the perp got spooked by our stall tactics. Second, getting the authorities to take action is like pulling teeth. Finally, if it is not done by the book (which takes time) they won't take action, fearing it won't hold up in court. In addition to those who contacted us, I have spoken with three other a/v dealers who were also scammed, or almost scammed.

If you do fall victim, be absolutely certain you spread the word as much as possible. Awareness is the only way we as an industry will wake up and stop being the victim. Make certain your manufacturers know also, you never know when one of your stolen serial numbers will come in for service! Hasn't happened to me yet, but you never know.

I also fell upon one of my contemporaries up North who was given a $150k counterfeit cashier's check. Watch for those too. When you are given a cashier's check as a form of payment, contact the bank who wrote it and verify its validity. It takes just a second, and could save you thousands!

Remember the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

I would like to commend you and KNews for running the first story. When this horrendous event happened to us, I contacted the Dallas Business Journal, Extron, Panja/AMX, Creative Presentations, and every manufacturer with whom I dealt asking for assistance in spreading the word. PLUS (the manufacturer for the projectors that were stolen) sent out a broadcast email, and Extron did a blurb, but yours was the first publication that gave the topic any real consideration. I find that particularly amazing, as this type of repeated crime and repeated loss could potentially have a devastating ripple affect throughout our industry. Kudos to you!

Tracey Westbrook
A Visual Image, Inc.

 

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