Office supply scams are a tricky type of vendor fraud that generally use behavioral psychology and often depend on poor intraoffice communications for their “success.” Although they may not result in huge financial losses for defrauded companies, falsified invoices can add up to many thousands of dollars. Fortunately, you can help prevent them. How scams are perpetrated Office supply schemes typically begin as telemarketing fraud, with someone calling your business to obtain your street address and the name of an employee. Callers may: Ask for the “person in charge,” Claim to need information to complete an order, or Pretend to verify an office machine’s serial number. The goal is to get a name that will lend legitimacy to bogus shipments and invoices. For example, a supplier might ship...

When Dan received a large shipment of highlighter markers, he was confused. He didn’t remember ordering them — and he was the company’s sole office supplies buyer. Yet when he received an invoice for the markers a week later, he approved it for payment. After all, employees were already using the highlighters. Dan fell for a typical office supply scam — and his company paid for the mistake. Here’s how to protect your business from this type of fraud. Common features Office supply scams typically begin as telemarketing fraud, with someone calling your business to obtain your street address and the name of an employee. Callers may ask for the person in charge, claim to need information to complete an order or pretend to verify an office machine’s...