Monster Arts Inc (APPZ)

[AMJoe]

APPZ app TAVG MAIL FRAUD EXPOSED! HUGE FINE

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PHONY INVOICE SCAMS The anatomy of a typical phony invoice scheme is as follows: The Call: While there is no set formula for these invoice schemes, most involve the use of an initial telephone contact. The call helps the swindler obtain the names of key business contacts, as well as some important details about the operation of the business and its products or services. The persons making these calls are, for the most part, remarkably smooth operators. Often brazen and forward in their approach, they have been known to talk their way through a chain of receptionists, secretaries, assistant managers, supervisors, and vice presidents to gain access to heads of companies. In most cases, however, they need gain access to only lower-level employees.

The Invoice: The con artist's next contact with the intended victim usually comes in the form of a phony invoice sent through the mail. The invoice, which includes names, figures, and other details that add to the appearance of legitimacy, may be paid unwittingly along with a number of other routine bills. In many cases, the amount of the invoice is just small enough to slip by the check writer's attention. The swindler has had considerable experience calculating the most effective dollar amount, depending on variables such as the size of the firm, and the control it seems to have over its management system. Thousands of mass-mailed invoices, each for a small sum, may prove more lucrative for the con artist, than several large invoices. The Scare Tactic: Scare tactics sometimes are used to increase the odds of success. A phony invoice, or past-due notice, stamped "Pay This Bill Now" or "We Are About to Start Action" may intimidate the victim into rushing to make out a check without carefully investigating the supposedly delinquent charge. SOLICITATIONS AS INVOICES One of the most common variations of the phony invoice scheme are solicitations disguised as invoices.

These documents, which are actually solicitations for the purchase of goods or services, are carefully designed to look like legitimate invoices for goods or services ordered and received. In some cases, the small print may identify the bogus bill as a solicitation. The deceptive solicitation may be received through the mail, or it may be presented in person by a con artist who visits a business office on the pretext of saving the company handling charges. The business that pays a solicitation disguised as an invoice may receive the merchandise or service it was duped into ordering; more often, it will not, and efforts to trace the fraudulent firm that issued the "invoice" will prove futile. PHONY AD SOLICITATIONS In the case of phony advertising solicitations, the "advertising salesperson" may make the transaction seem routine, asking if the business wishes to renew an ad allegedly placed "last year."

Often the invoice is supported by fabricated proof of the ad's placement-a trumped-up "clipping" created by the con artist using an actual company ad. Most advertising solicitation schemes involve the issuing of invoices for ads in magazines, newspapers, or directories targeted at specific special-interest groups. The promoter may try to manipulate the victim's emotions, or create embarrassment in order to sell an ad. Often the sales pitch implies that part of the advertising revenues will be used to support community programs. In another twist, the businessperson, fearful of appearing uncooperative, may be pressured into placing an ad in a phony law enforcement publication. One red flag is an unusually flexible salesperson that quickly reduces the advertising rates when a customer seems hesitant. BOGUS YELLOW PAGES BILLS If you receive an invoice for renewing your advertisement in a local business directory, beware of the scam in which solicitations disguised as invoices for yellow pages listings are mailed to businesses by hundreds of copycat directory publishers. These con artists take advantage of the fact that neither the logo nor the term yellow pages is a registered trademark. Businesses receiving "invoices" for yellow pages listings are advised to scrutinize them carefully.


Complaints have been centralized from over 20 major destinations around the world!