How the scam works:
Scenario 1. If you work at a rental facility and have limousines on your lot, you might get a phone call or an email from a wedding planner requesting a limo for a wedding that takes place the following month. An agreed price is set after negotiations. The check finally arrives five days before the wedding.
You deposit the check in the bank and then prepare the limo. Three days before the wedding, the planner calls you saying that the wedding was cancelled, because the bride got seriously sick or her grandma died suddenly.
They ask for a refund, but say you can keep 10% to pay for your trouble. Very nice, you think, and send them the refund less 10%. The following week your bank contacts you to say the wedding planners check has bounced.
Scenario 2. You agree on a price of $1,200 but the check they send you is for $4,500. You call the client and tell them. They apologize for the mistake, but suggest that you go ahead and deposit the check, sending them the difference of $3,300. Naturally, their check for $4,500 bounces.
How to avoid the Limousine Service scam:
Never issue a refund until the check has cleared and the money is in your bank. Honest clients will be quite happy with that.
How to report the Limousine Service scam:
Make your family and friends aware of this scam by sharing it on social media using the buttons provided. You can also officially report the scammers to the Federal Trade Commission using the link below:
Report To The FTC Here
How to protect yourself more:
If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You'll receive periodical emails and we promise not to spam. Last but not least, use the Comments section below to expose other scammers.
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There is another common scam we see where people email us about reserving a limo for a group of people coming to town and will need to go to a number of places over a couple of days, or some variation. The key is that they always ask if you take credit cards. This is a major tip off that it it a scam. Be very careful of these. All the best from http://www.limocolumbia.com