12/07/2023
Howdy y’all! We’ve been plugging away at caterings and holiday parties recently. And in doing so I want to give you some insight into what we deal with: scammers.
I received a catering request Tuesday from a lady in Conroe. I was skeptical at first, but I sent her our website for more info and she sent back her menu with an address, date, and drop-off time. It seemed (mostly) legit, so I sent off a quote. It wasn’t until it came to payment that things felt sketchy.
First, she asked if we accepted credit cards (we do), but come payment she asked for any payment system other than Square (we do, provided in the invoice I sent her). She then said she would send a check, for nearly triple the amount of the invoice. Huge red flag 🚩🚩🚩
It all went downhill from there.
When I finally Googled the Conroe address, it showed an empty field. When I Googled the Magnolia address, it showed an intersection with a shopping center 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Finally, I got fed up and called her out on her BS. I haven’t heard from her since.
I’m sharing this for other small businesses who may be contacted by scammers like this. I admit I probably played this too kindly, but I didn’t want to burn a legit customer looking to surprise her mom. But, I admit, the red flags were there from the beginning. Look at how she tried to suck me in with a personal hardship of her “phenomena.”
If it’s not battling rising food costs or insurance rates or the daily cost of doing business, it’s dealing with ridiculous scammers like these people who prey on not only small businesses but the most vulnerable among us. It’s sickening. I wish I could find these people and — well, I’ll leave it at that.
This is a waste of time, resources, and potentially a lot of money. It’s infuriating that these people can casts these wide nets in hopes of capturing one person on business. And even worse they get away with no consequences.
