There are black sails looming over the horizon for businesses of all sizes, a scurvy scheme known as the Toner Pirate Scam.

Recently, some of our own clients have reported incidents involving these scheming sea dogs trying to rip them off with fake invoices and harassing phone calls. Fortunately, there are many ways to ward off toner pirates to avoid being pillaged and plundered by their scam.

 Before we share how your business can make the toner pirates walk the plank, let’s talk about what the toner pirate scam is.

Telemarketing scammers that call pretending to be representatives from larger equipment dealers or national toner suppliers in order to trick people into buying their toner. They will try to conduct surveys requesting detailed information about your business and your office technology. Usually, they will ask for model numbers of your office equipment or who you purchase supplies from. Sometimes, they will even pretend to be employees of your print provider! Their “reasoning” for seeking this information is typically for updating records or creating an updated manual for the machine.

 Once they have this information, it will be much easier for them to call back at a later time since they’ve established rapport and will appear trustworthy. The toner pirates will place a lot of pressure on employees to make a hasty decision to purchase toner by offering one-time only discounted rates and limited time discounts. Some scammers don’t even call back and just send supplies and a fake invoice with enough seemingly valid company information to seem legitimate. The unlucky organization almost always ends up with low-grade toner and an inflated invoice (nowhere near the price described over the phone) for supplies they may or may not have even ordered.

The call(s) can many forms, but they typically occur in this order:

 Call One: “Hi, I’m taking a survey and would like to know who supplies your toner and office technology, like your printers and copiers?”

The second call could follow the first, or the first call could be skipped entirely. 

Call Two: “Hello, I’m sorry to bother you. I’m calling from Advanced Business Systems. We’ve had some issues with our system, and we lost some of our records, so I’m just calling to ask for the make and model of your copiers and printers to restore our systems.”

Call Three: “Hello, this is Captain Scammer (Okay, maybe not but how often do we get to include pirate jokes in our blog posts?) with Advanced Business Systems. I’m so sorry to communicate this information so late, but we’ll be raising our toner prices soon. My manager told me to mark you down for this special deal on toner before the prices go up and we just need your authorization. Sound good?”

There are a number of ways to avoid being pillaged and plundered by the toner pirate scam.

First, you should learn how to identify what the toner pirate scam looks like. You can suspect that you’re sailing through murky waters if an unsolicited caller exhibits any of the following behaviors:

1. The caller is pressuring you to act right now. You can’t delay or have any time to think about it. It’s a limited time offer and you must act either right then and there or at some point during the same day. They might even throw in a free gift for extra incentive.

2. There is little to no background information available on this company. They won’t give you references nor will they provide you with any prices in writing. Their office is typically located out of state and they won’t share an address with you.

3. They do whatever they can to seem legitimate, from picking a company name that sounds suspiciously close to your equipment dealer’s name or one that sounds like a government agency. They may even call pretending to have worked with you or your equipment dealer in the past.

Once you’ve learned how to identify the toner pirate scam, you must teach your employees not to purchase supplies from unsolicited callers or share company information over the phone. Trust your gut. If something seems fishy, it probably is. If you’re ever unsure about the validity of a caller claiming to be associated with your equipment dealer or your IT department, ask for details only you and your office technology dealer or IT leader would know. Keep your account number next to your phone as well. If someone calls saying they’re affiliated with Advanced Business Systems, for instance, ask them for your account number to confirm you’re speaking with the right person. As an extra measure of security, ask for the date of your most recent order. Usually, the reply will be a dial tone.

Organizations without a strategic process for managing their print fleet are more vulnerable to the toner pirate scam, since scams can fly under the radar easily if you aren’t aware of what your technology needs, how much it normally costs, and so on.

If you think you’ve been plundered by the toner pirate scam, the most important thing to do is remain calm and do not give in to any demands made by the scammers. Instead, contact the authorities or contact your printer dealer and have them do it. You can contact the following agencies to report toner pirate scammers:

Federal Trade Commission 

Fill out a form online explaining the incident. The FTC cannot resolve issues, but they will share your report with law enforcement officials and let you know what steps you can take going forward.

Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau offers a ton of resources to assist with scams and incident reports, including a Scam Tracker, where you can keep track of incidents reported in your area, or the File a Complaint option where you can report scams and incidents to the right authorities.

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

Report cases of mail fraud to the U.S. Postal Service by visiting their website and filling out a form online or by filing a complaint over the phone at 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).

 By following the tips above, you will be able to keep your business from being boarded and pilfered by scheming toner pirates. Stay alert, trust your gut, and most of all, protect your booty (Last pirate pun, we promise).

If you’re looking for a reliable way to manage your print fleet and take the stress away from ordering new supplies, it’s a good time to learn more about managed print services. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can take the chaos out of resupplying your print fleet and implement cost-effective strategies to help your business advance!