Watch out for the White Van Speaker Scam!!
Friday, October 20, 2006
There is a scam that is happening across America everyday and people are falling for left and right.
The scam goes something like this. You are minding your own business in a grocery store parking lot putting away your grocery's or simply walking into or out of the store when a vehicle approaches you and rolls down their window.
Usually the vehicle is a van typically white in color to make it look like a company vehicle which is part of the scam. I have been approached by other type vehicles but the van seems to be most popular with the low life scammers.
You will then hear their sales pitch "Hey do you want to buy some speakers?" or "Hey do you want to buy a Home theater system?" followed by "I just got done installing a set of these and I was given an extra set by mistake" The scammers make it look as if they are a professional Home audio install team complete with a white company van. They will tell you that they can sell you a set of speakers for $300 and then tell you the list price is $1000 on the set.
If you show the least bit of interest the scammers may even have a phony catalog to show you the set and the list price. They also may have invoice papers with a phony company name on top of it. If you don't have the cash on you they will gladly follow you to the ATM.
The speakers will have fancy names like:
- Audiofile
- Acoustic Monitor
- Acoustic Response (not to be confused with the company Acoustic Research, which involved the famous and respected Henry Kloss, who went on to found KLH and Cambridge Soundworks),
- Acoustic Image,
- Acoustic Lab Technology
- Denmark (not to be confused with Denon)
- Dogg Digital, Digital Dogg Audio (reportedly very popular on eBay)
- Dahlton
- Dynalab (not to be confused with Dynamat)
- Epiphany
- Grafdale
- Digital Pro Audio, Pro Audio, Digital Audio, Digital Audio Professional Speaker Systems, Digital Audio
- Skyline Digital Research
- Epiphany Audio
- Omni Audio
- Protecsound
- Pro Dynamics
- Paradyme (not to be confused with Paradigm)
- PSD (jokingly referred to as Paid Scam Drivers). Not to be confused with PSB.
- Theater Research
Man what a great deal you think!! Not so fast.........
You may wonder where is the scam in all of this. Well the $300 you are about to shell out is going towards a crappy set of speakers that cost them $75. Or you may get home and open the box and have it full of rocks or junk.
Don't fall prey to the white van speaker scam that is happening all over America. I have been approached Grand Rapids, Mi in the Meijer parking lot on Alpine twice, and twice in the parking lot of Rogers mall in Wyoming, Mi.
Here are some more links if you want to read more about it:
http://www.scamshield.com/Feature.asp?id=1
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/4/9/224439/1810
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