posted
By the time Scott Wilson realized how badly he'd been suckered, there was already a warrant out for his arrest and boxes of stolen Bibles piling up in his guest bedroom.
Wilson had fallen victim to a reshipping scam, an Internet confidence crime authorities say costs retailers more than a half-billion dollars annually. Hired to send and receive packages, the 38-year-old Las Vegas father had unwittingly become a fence for stolen merchandise; his townhouse a depot of purloined goods.
Nevada is indeed the scam artist captial of the nation. I remember some 15 years ago there was a telephone scam operating out of Las Vegas from a marketing outfit called American Premier Marketing. They were working on behalf of a company called Sierra Pacific and Legacy which sold sundry items from vitamins to ceramic figurines. They would call people by phone and tell them that they were guaranteed fabulous expensive prizes. There would be a choice from five different categories: jewelry, a car, an expensive trip, a stereo, or the like. Within a month the scam victim would receive another call and the caller would supposedly select a prize at random--roulette well style--and the "prize" would be announced. But during the first call the month before, the victim had to "try out one of the company's products." This would cost the victim hundreds of dollars. However, when the prize was "selected" upon the second call, it would turn out to be very cheap, in the area of only 30 dollars or so! Not only that, but the same victim would be contacted several more times and conned over and over again!
Fortunately, this scam was discovered and the scammers were arrested and prosecuted. The company, Sierra Pacific and Legacy went out of business.
Barbara R.
Posts: 378 | From: Boonville, Missouri USA | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
So, if you end up unwittingly falling for a scam like this, how do you get your life and reputation back?
- Pseudo_Croat
-------------------- "At all events, people who deny the influence of smaller nations should remember that the Croats have the rest of us by the throats." - Norman Davies, Europe: A History
God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts. Posts: 4578 | From: Sunrise, FL | Registered: Apr 2002
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He could probably start by handing all the bibles and information over to the police. The only reason Mr. Wilson currently has a warrant is because he's not paying his child support, and I really can't feel sorry for that. Paying child support should always come before hair-brained get-rich-quick schemes.
Posts: 439 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
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Well I couldn't read the article but some bibles are very nice ad very expensive so I could see thm not being hard to see at slashed prices.
-------------------- Excuses satisfy only those who offer them. Your enemies won't believe them and your friends don't need them. Posts: 211 | From: Ponce, Puerto Rico | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by magpie: He could probably start by handing all the bibles and information over to the police. The only reason Mr. Wilson currently has a warrant is because he's not paying his child support, and I really can't feel sorry for that. Paying child support should always come before hair-brained get-rich-quick schemes.
He's not purposely not paying the child support though; and he didn't get behind until after he got stuck in this whole never-ending circle of the scam. I feel kinda bad for him. He might have been "stupid" and "naive" but (from what little I could gather from the article) he didn't seem like he was a "bad" guy.
-------------------- Licorice of the Lord! This is classy stuff...Should I be wearing a tie? Or, at least, pants? ~I'mNotDedalus Posts: 975 | From: New Jersey | Registered: Jun 2005
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