Many Schedule 70 and Schedule 75 Holders Affected

The General Services Administration (GSA) recently notified Schedule 70 and Schedule 75 vendors that scammers pretending to be federal buyers have placed falsified orders to GSA vendors.  They used actual federal employee credentials but fake emails with stolen credit cards to mostly buy printer toner cartridges.  Investigators are saying that scammers are now trying to place fraudulent orders for laptop computers using Department of Defense domains.  Although these scams have mainly affected Schedule 70 and 75 holders, scammers may begin targeting additional Schedules.

What to Watch Out For

Scammers have successfully impersonated government buyers but there are often signs that will help reveal who they really are.  These are steps to take to ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate government customer:

• Be aware of customers with declined credit cards or multiple credit cards
• Watch out for unusually large orders especially those to new or unusual shipping addresses
• For new customers, check the shipping address to ensure it is not a residential address
• Call the end user to verify the order
• Of course, always have a detailed record of data for every customer

Should you have any questions, feel free to contact Coley GCS.