Toner Cartridge Scammers Go to Prison!

It's amazing how much money they made doing this.

[larrybolhuis]

Scamming the scammer is a game. Waaaay back in 1982 when I was a pup the secretary at one of my customers was a woman who was awesome at this. They would ask for things like the copier type and copier serial number. She would say: "I'm happy to help you, where would I find that information?" Of course the caller would tell her and she would put them on hold while she 'went and looked for it.' In reality though she was ignoring them and logging how long they would stay on the phone. Occasionally she would pick the phone back up: "I'm sorry I've looked all over and I can't find that." Then try again. Her record was wasting nearly half an hour of some guys phone time. :-)

[phookadude]

So they pull some random guy with 2000 in his pocket and they seize the cash because it could be part of a crime, but they catch and convict a guy who has stolen millions and get a pittance from him.

[LADETROIT]

I was a printer tech for Xerox and Canon for over 35 years in LA and Detroit This was a big problem 20 years ago. At times these scammers would send substandard toner that would cause poor copies and damage. You cant imagine how complicated that was.. This was a huge Pain in our butts. 4 years jail time is not enough

[rickoshay]

For longer than I can remember, I've operated with this simple principle: "If something requires a salesman to convince me I need it, I don't."

[Shauma_llama]

My parents, in around 1968, got sold an Electrolux on a payment plan by a door-to-door salesman. But you know what? They used that darned thing THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. It was a beast. 😎 When they passed recently, my step-sister asked me about stuff outta the house I might want. Only thing I asked for? The Electrolux. 😊

[ammm]

It's a lot more common in retail stores. The average employee answering the phone gives up way too much info and they will record their answer of "yes" and use that as evidence that they wanted it shipped and agreed to their price. Scammers like this need to go to prison for a long long time.

[martinlohne]

Considering the amount of money taken in, the fine and prison time were insufficient.

[radianttadpole]

I always tell these scammers that I need to go look at the printer, put them on hold, then go about my day.

[RobinRobertsesq]

This prosecution took many years. Hardly something DOJ should be bragging about.

[antonfarquar]

it happens on E-bay also - you buy a spare while you still have an operating cartridge - when your old cartridge runs out you open the box only to find you have a used cartridge that is empty.

[Jadiaz-evhm]

I desperately needed Girl Scout cookies and got a knock on my door 5 minutes later, and the price was spectacular. So I've had it happen, Steve!

[makingtechsense]

Excellent video. As an IT professional, I get cold calls like this all the time. People asking what kind of equipment we use, what kind of software we use, etc. It is a HUGE security risk to give out information to random people over the phone. I perform our internal IT security trainings and I have a section on never giving out information over the phone.

[oculosprudentium]

The fine of $200, 000 is not even 1% of the money he ripped off from the people.
He deserved a much longer time

[Midlife_Manical_Mayhem]

i remember my first secretarial jobs in the late 80s. one of the first things they would tell me "don't tell anyone who calls anything about our copiers!". now i see why.

[brianwest]

This is the definition of "too little, too late." Why did it take decades and hundreds of thousands of complaints to convict someone of such a simple scam? It doesn't take much investigation. It's not hidden. It's all very plain and clear.

[ewanduffy]

I thought this was going to be a story about the racket that is the price of OEM toner. One can dream!

[missydg]

I oversaw a very secured building. No name on building and no trespassing signs. Had a Toner Salesperson entered the building small lobby area. Security told the toner salesperson to leave immediately. After some screaming I was called. When I entered the security office I gave security officer the signal to lock the lobby doors and press the silent alarm button. Than I told the toner salesperson they were trespassing and placed under arrest. The small lobby was a secure man trap with bulletproof glass and walls. Turns out the police were looking to the team selling fake toner cartridges.

Loved this story. Steve has great great stuff.

[sonictech]

I, for one am grateful that our fearless law enforcement jumped on this so quickly.

[geosutube]

Oh, my, you have been so lucky. When I was selling encyclopedias door to door, more than once the homeowners were looking for an encyclopedia for their kids in school. We made many sales on the spot. The marketing department would confirm the call, securing the purchase. I sold some sets on call-back, but most were on the spot sales. The brand I marketed was Merit Students Encyclopedia, a division of Macmillan publishing. Some sets are sill out there, perhaps. That was back in 1977-78. They were good encyclopedias, too. Affordable and well made. They were in many local libraries.

[patriciablue]

You know I remember being offered a job doing this bout 30 years ago. I knew it was a scam and didn’t take it. Wow. Two years doesn’t seem like much time in prison for all the damage.