USGNN Staff Receives Industry-Targeting Scam Calls

The last working day before a widely-celebrated holiday is usually quiet at the office of Key Communications Inc., publishers of USGlass magazine and the USGNN newsletter. Today, however, started off a little differently than most.

In the first hour after opening, the company received three calls through relay services requesting information about purchasing glass-specifically 15- or 19-mm glass. Two callers asked for glass by dimension and item number, the latter one asking for item number HG200 40 001. The first and last callers hung up when they were informed that the company did not sell glass, while the second caller did not respond after asking to have the company name repeated. The delay in answering, which lasted several minutes, seemed to frustrate the relay operator. Key Communications staff members conferred with her and deciding to end the call rather than continue to wait.

Members of the staff who were working today contemplated how those perpetrating the scam chose which companies to call. Theories abound, from the possibility that those making the calls are using a list that contains information about glass shops or glass-related companies, to the idea that they are using a system that is trolling the internet for companies that have the word "glass" in the title-such as USGlass.

CLICK HERE to join the discussion about the scam on the USG/USGNN message boards.

The calls to USGNN headquarters today indicate that the targets for these calls are chosen indiscriminately. They are, however, still getting through to many shops.

Minutes before yesterday's newsletter was issued, USGNN staff received an email from Pam Koons of Autoglass MD in Silver City, N.M., who related her recent experience with the scam as well:

"Our shop has also experienced this same scam. I received a 'relay' phone call the other day and decided to just have the woman email me her request for a quote on some glass. She did and gave me two credit card numbers to pay for the glass. She also gave me her phone number, which was local, but in trying to reach her, it was not a working number. She related that someone would pick up [the glass] for her and I was trying to reach her to let her know her order was ready. I finally emailed her back to let her know and she replied that she needed it shipped to Ghana, Africa. We immediately refunded the money on the two credit cards and have put the glass back into our supplies for future use," Koons wrote.

For more on this subject, see also:

• Scam Calls to Glass Shops Remain Steady, Often Frequent
• Glass Scam Still Haunting Industry, Point of Origin Differing Per Incident
• News Show Highlights Scam Dogging Glass Industry
• Scam Targeting Glass Shops Getting Worse, Not Better
• Heartland Being Hit by Telephone Scam
• Scam Spreading Westward, Modus Operandi Changing
• More Glass Companies Reporting Telephone Scam
• Glass Shops Beware of Ordering Scams