Pre-Pay Shipping

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 WHAT ARE THE SIGNS THAT THIS IS A SCAM?

 Your business is contacted via phone to order a large, heavy item, particularly merchandise you don’t sell very often. The caller pays for the item with a credit card, which appears to go through, and the caller then asks that you pre-pay to ship the item to a P.O. box at a distant location.


HOW CAN CONSUMERS PROTECT THEMSELVES?

Don’t ship any products to a buyer on a pre-paid basis, no matter how large the order is.


HOW TO REPORT IF YOU'VE BEEN A VICTIM

Ohio Attorney General's office: If you think you’ve been scammed out of shipping charges, contact the Ohio Attorney General's office (800) 282-0515) to report the fraud.

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you believe you are the victim of an Internet crime, you may contact the IC3 at www.ic3.gov. The IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center. Complaints submitted to the IC3 cover an array of cyber crime and fraud schemes.