Distributor Sniffs Out $130K Drinkware Order Scam

Sharon Zwaagstra was having none of it.

The president of Huntington Beach, CA-based Print Experience Incorporated said the order request that came in through her website was riddled with the red flags of a scam.

Ultimately, she wasn’t fooled by the con artist’s request for approximately $130,000 in branded drinkware and has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Still, Zwaagstra didn’t want to let things rest there; she felt a duty to raise awareness among industry peers that this type of scam remains very much alive.

“I find it annoying that these criminals might get someone else in our industry,” Zwaagstra, whose firm specializes in print/packaging, promo and sign/display solutions, said in sharing her story with ASI Media.

Pidcock Spoofed Again

For years now, ASI Media has been reporting on scams that follow a pattern in line with the would-be crookery that Zwaagstra experienced.

The scheme centers on scammers contacting distributors through email/website order submission forms and posing as actual buyers for universities, businesses, nonprofits, household name brands and other organizations. The aim is to trick the merch pros into providing what often amounts to five or six figures’ worth of products for which the crooks will never pay.

The criminal pros have frequently spoofed the identity of Michael Pidcock – an actual procurement specialist for Ohio University – in their swindle attempts aimed at merch firms. Pidcock, of course, is a victim too and has nothing to do with the con.

Pidcock’s name was again the identity of choice for the fraudster who tried to victimize Zwaagstra. The swindler requested what amounted to about $130,000 worth of branded drinkware, saying it was for Ohio University fundraising purposes.

Still, Zwaagstra swiftly saw through the ruse. “The size of the order was a red flag,” she said. “The fact that I’m in California and this is a state university in Ohio raised my suspicions; I doubt they’d go out of state for product. Also, the IP address this came in from was in Florida.”

There were other tells: A request for net-30 payment terms on a first order and an email address that didn’t match actual Ohio University addresses, though it was doctored to give the veneer of validity, being purchasing@ohio-education.org. The “Dear Sir/Ma” opening with its overly formal tone and incorrect spelling was another tip-off.

One thing that did give the request some semblance of authenticity was that it was for a specific BPA-free tumbler with a powder-coated finish and attached screw-on leak-resistant lid and loop handle.

Zwaagstra said local police told her they get thousands of complaints per month related to various scams. She doesn’t expect a resolution in her case but still felt compelled to file a complaint with the FTC.

“I got a generic response from the FTC saying they’d add it to their Sentinel database but they don’t resolve individual claims,” she shared.

While Zwaagstra emerged unscathed other than having her time wasted, other promo pros have been victimized, sometimes sustaining six-figure losses. Even seasoned professionals with decades of experience say variations of this scam have been so tricky that they were nearly taken in.

In March, ASI Media reported that scammers are also posing as promo suppliers to advance malware-driven theft plots. Some industry executives believe organized racketeers are targeting promo.