I just recieved an invoice for $175.00 with 80 and on it. had billed them for services not rendered - for $175, the same amount mentioned on our invoice: Though the primary complaint was about wages, the comments included people complaining that UST Development, Inc. I Googled 'UST Development, Inc.' - with the quotation marks, which helps exclude useless returns - and hit immediate paydirt: a report on Scam Informer. This is not a statement for services rendered but for preventative maintenance.' What does that even mean? Does it mean it is not a statement for 'services', but is a statement for 'maintenance'? It was a while before I noticed the semi-coherent and inconsistent disclaimer: 'Thank you for your business. She indicated we had no record of services rendered by them, and our outside IT firm had not heard of them. This story starts with my firm's office manager sending an email asking if anyone knew of work performed by UST Development, Inc. I'm going to discuss using Google, using PACER (which allows access to federal court records), using state court records, and taking effective action against scammers.Įvery story has starting point. I've also decided to write about the investigation, and use it as an opportunity to discuss con man culture and how anyone with an internet connection, a few bucks, and some time can investigate an attempted scam - or, preferably, conduct due diligence on a suspected scammer before they can even try to con you. I've decided to dedicate some time and money to investigating this scam and the people and companies responsible for it. Maybe it's because after I sent an email to the scammer's lawyer, the scammer himself called me and tried to run a con on me. Maybe it's because the weasel-worded disclaimer designed to give them a defense to fraud claims is so perfunctory and lame. Maybe its because the fraud is so blatant.

It appeared to be a variation on the classic toner scam, discussed here.įor some reason, this one seriously pisses me off. I mentioned yesterday that my firm received what I believe to be a fraudulent pseudo-invoice for services not rendered.

Popehat twitter trolling scam