VENDOR SCAMS

Throughout the year, and particularly at the beginning of each semester, departments receive calls from telemarketers attempting to sell office supplies and, in particular, toner cartridges. These callers may initially just inquire about the types of copiers and/or printers used in your department (and who services them) or they may simply ask for information about another department. After gathering this information, they will hang up and call back at a later date with a sales pitch that usually starts out with something like “I’m calling because my company recently sent a duplicate shipment to a customer in your area and we would like to redirect the order to you at a discounted price…” If the telemarketer has learned the name of the company currently servicing your equipment from a previous call, they may go as far as to mislead you into thinking they are calling on behalf of that company.

Please do not let these telemarketers (a.k.a. “toner phoners”) mislead you. What they are proposing is a scam and the cost of the supplies they are selling will be several times higher than what you would normally pay through one of the College’s regular suppliers.

If you receive a suspicious telephone call like this, please tell them you do not give out this type of information over the telephone and redirect them to the Purchasing & Central Services Department at 245-5100. Usually, they will hang up and never call the Purchasing. If you have any new employees or students working for you, please alert them to this vendor scam as they are usually the most vulnerable and may innocently give out this type of information. Thank you, in advance, for your attention to this matter.