Beware of Fraudulent Orders During Holiday Rush

As booksellers gear up for the holiday season, all staff members should be advised to be on the lookout for fraudulent orders. In recent months, a number of booksellers have contacted ABA to report that they had received phony orders via telephone relay systems developed for use by the hearing impaired, and others have received handwritten orders via postal mail, accompanied by checks for several thousand dollars. These orders usually originate from somewhere in West Africa or Southeast Asia, and the books being ordered were medical reference texts or bibles.

In the past, fraudulent orders have typically taken the form of an e-mail, or an order placed through a store's online shopping cart, for a large number of books, with the purchaser being based in a foreign country.

Booksellers receiving overseas orders that are suspect should report them to the closest local field office of the U.S. Secret Service. For the telephone number of your local field office, go to www.secretservice.gov/field_offices.shtml.

The Secret Service has also posted a warning about similar schemes at www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml.