Yo ho ho, mateys! It’s HUMP DAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I know, I am a day late with this post, but better late than never. Today, we’re going to talk about an issue that plagues thousands of businesses every single day: Toner pirates.
WHAT IS A TONER PIRATE: A toner pirate is a person, or a company that will ship you a toner for your machine, completely unsolicited, without you requesting it. They will also send you a BILL for this toner. While CopyLady does send you toners without you requesting them, we do not bill you for that since it is part of your service contract.
Toner pirates do their best to impersonate a legitimate print service provider, all the way down to branding. Many will ask for payment up front, while others will just send toner, then try to bill you for it. In the document imaging industry, this is hands down one of the most diabolical scams around.
HOW DID THEY KNOW WHAT MACHINE I HAVE: Information like this is obtained hrough information gathered from an unsuspecting employee. This is known as social engineering. The employee is usually presented with a pretty flashy offer, such as a gift card or other “reward”.
SPOT A TONER PIRATE: Now that you know what happens, Here’s what to look out for:
* Random calls about toner: Toner pirates always start with a phone call to your business. They will either impersonate your dealer, OR they will say they are working with your dealer. They will try to groom as much information as they can about the make and model of your copier. While CopyLady does call at times about toner, it’s usually only to confirm your current toner stock. We already know what equipment you have, so we will not need to ask that. If you have multiple machines from us, we will provide the equipment ID that we are calling for. You can put a stop to it right here by educating your staff.
If in doubt, ask them to provide the equipment ID of the machine they’re calling about. This is guaranteed to thwart their attempts as they will generally not know this, or try to tell you that they already have your equipment pulled up. (If they have it pulled up, they should have ZERO issue confirming the ID)
* Unsolicited toners arriving at your business: This is another thing to look out for. If you’re seeing this, and it DOES NOT have CopyLady branding, or your machine’s equipment ID on it, that means someone in your company fell for the scam, and signed you up. If this happens, refuse the delivery. 9 times out of 10, these toners are not OEM toners like what CopyLady sends, but off-brand generics. If someone already signed for the toners, you can send them back.
NOTE: While CopyLady is currently adjusting how toners are sent out, they will still arrive with CopyLady branding, and all info about your machine, including the Equipment ID.
* Invoices for toner: This is where they get you, by making you PAY for what they sent you. Remember, Unless you are purchasing a toner from us, CopyLady will NEVER send you an invoice for toner as it is included in your service contract. If you refused the shipment, you can refuse the invoice.
Remember: Invoices from CopyLady will ALWAYS have our branding and contact info on them, along with all details about your equipment, as well as the contract number for your account. If you do not have a contract with us, you can also refer to the Sales Order number. CopyLady does NOT send invoices out via mail or any courier service. All CopyLady invoices are sent electronically, and made available in your online portal. If you have opted into automatic payments, the invoice will be paid for you.
STOP THE PLUNDERING: Well, now that you have the information on how to spot a toner pirate, it’s time to stop em in their tracks!
* DUMP THE CALL: If you are called by someone claiming to be from CopyLady, and they are trying to sell you toner, Just hang up, then call us at 239-939-5383. Take note that when CopyLady calls, your caller ID will always say CopyLady INC, and should be from 239-939-5383. Only time we will call about toner, is if we are confirming that you already have a toner that our system is indicating your machine will need soon.
* REFUSE THAT TONER: If you receive a toner, and it does NOT have CopyLady branding, or your equipment ID on the package, Make the delivery person take it back. Refuse the delivery.
* DON’T PAY THAT BILL: Remember, Unless you are BUYING A TONER from CopyLady, we will NEVER invoice you for it as it is included with your CopyLady service contract! Send it and the ill shipped toner right back to the source. You are under no obligation to pay that invoice. To make this easier, we would like to remind you that copylady DOES NOT send invoices via mail or any other courier. These are delivered to you via email, and can also be found in your CopyLady payment portal.
* DON’T USE THAT TONER: You may be getting low on tone, and it may be very tempting to use the one that got randomly sent by some unknown company, but, in the words of one of our local furniture stores: DON’T DO IT!
9 times out of 10, the toners pirates send out are cheap, inferior generics that can cause harm to your equipment. These are not tested by the OEM for quality. While generics aren’t as bad as they seem, it’s always best to stick to OEM supplies. CopyLady only provides genuine OEM toners and inks.
With this at hand, The next time some random toner shows up, along with an invoice for said toner, You’ll know what to do. The best way to avoid becoming a victim of the toner pirates, is to educate your employees against the dangers of falling for this well known scam.