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The Great International White Van Speaker Scam

By brettd in News
Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 04:39:07 PM EST
Tags: News (all tags)
News

An interesting scam has resurfaced in the last few years, taking the world by storm. It is at least a decade old scam, remarkably well organized, bordering on mafia-like proportions. There are many slight variations, but the scam is mostly the same- two guys, in a white truck(hence the name) approach you in a mall or store parking lot. Perhaps at a stop light, or they wave at you frantically as you drive down the highway. "Hey buddy, wanna buy a set of speakers?" Sounds absurd, but all manner of people fall for it all across the world.


The scam works as follows. Two guys, often wearing nice uniforms, possessing realistic looking invoices, business cards, and many of the trappings of a legitimate business, try to sell sets of speakers out of a van; it's white, because those are usually the cheapest to rent. The vans are often unmarked but occasionally have professional-looking graphics on the side which could be nothing more than temporary sticker or magnet signs. They will set up in a mall parking lot, at gas stations, large chain store lots or, alarmingly, ATM/bank parking lots. As stores and police departments catch on, techniques have shifted towards trying to hook people at stop lights or by waving them down on high traffic two-lane roads.

They look for luxury cars or other signs of disposable income. They look for young men, by themselves(especially without girlfriends or wives). They can be extremely aggressive and intimidating. Don't bother with made up excuses, simply say "No". If you say you don't have cash, they'll helpfully offer to follow you to the nearest ATM(why anyone in their right mind would allow themselves to be followed to an ATM is beyond me). If you're about to walk away, they'll get in your face, ask what price you would pay for them(or what your daily withdrawl limit is), and then "cave in" to that price.

The premise is that they are audio system installers; stories usually involve supposed jobs installing home theater systems or sound systems in bars, resteraunts, theaters, or often the local sports arena. They claim someone("the warehouse", for example) or "the computer" messed up and they got "extras". Another popular line is that "speakers are usually sold in pairs, but these are studio speakers!" Even more dubious, they want to unload them "before they get back and the boss finds out"; it is a common theme that they're "just broke hard working guys" and they hate their boss, for the sympathy angle. If nothing else, their willingness to tell a stranger they want to steal company property should raise warning bells all by itself, and remember folks- if the story were true, buying stolen goods is illegal anyway.

The speakers appear to be decently made, in part because most people wouldn't know what to look for in a good speaker if it said "Hello" and bit them, and much of what makes for a good speaker is hidden from view or difficult for the layman to evaluate. Such as:

  • Are wires inside soldered, or using spade connectors?
  • Is there internal dampening materials?
  • Is the cabinet properly sized, reinforced, and made of sufficiently strong material to not excessively resonate?
  • What materials are used in the speaker cone, the surround?
  • Is the crossover(the electronics which seperate high and low frequency sounds for the different sized speaker drivers) properly designed?

Often the company or model names involve common numbers like "5.1", a reference to 5.1 channel surround sound, and the speakers have impressive sounding names that either attempt to coin in on established, respected companies, or essentially made up at random using common audio terminology in an attempt to be generic. A sampling of the many, many names that I have come across on various websites and web forums where people have reported getting scammed or approached:

  • Audiofile
  • Acoustic Monitor
  • Acoustic Response (not to be confused with the company Acoustic Research, which involved the famous and respected Henry Kloss, who went on to found KLH and Cambridge Soundworks), Acoustic Image, Acoustic Lab Technology
  • Denmark (not to be confused with Denon)
  • Dogg Digital, Digital Dogg Audio (reportedly very popular on eBay)
  • Dahlton
  • Dynalab (not to be confused with Dynamat)
  • Epiphany
  • Grafdale
  • Digital Pro Audio, Pro Audio, Digital Audio, Digital Audio Professional Speaker Systems, Digital Audio Skyline Digital Research
  • Epiphany Audio
  • Omni Audio
  • Protecsound
  • Pro Dynamics
  • Paradyme (not to be confused with Paradigm)
  • PSD (jokingly referred to as Paid Scam Drivers). Not to be confused with PSB.
  • Theater Research

They often come in fancy boxes, carrying sticker price tags(since when did goods from a warehouse carry price stickers?) of anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per speaker. Yes, that is a LOT of money for a speaker.

Your eyes glaze over at the pricetag, and ignore any cheap construction which would set off immediate warning bells (such as a paper speaker cone, or a very light and flimsy enclosure). There certainly wouldn't be a 'glitch at the warehouse' regarding the quantity, at these prices (yet another warning sign!) But, they've got invoices. They've got sticker price tags. They probably have any number of brochures and supposed reviews by major audiophile magazines. Our driver/installers are remarkably well equipped for a sales presentation, aren't they, and since when did brochures come laminated?(yet more warning signs). They've even got a website address for the manufacturer (which has been set up by the ringleader of the scam) and a phone number for the factory where they will happily tell any caller that, yes, those units retail for $2,000 per speaker.

If they think you're an easy mark, these guys are your new best friends, and they want to just make some fast money. What do you know, they'll sell you them for "only" a fraction of the price. They'll let you "drive a hard bargain", ultimately going no lower than about $125 to $200. Your ego is swelling; you've bargained them down to what you think is an insanely low price. Your mind is racing, ignoring the fact that you are buying goods you know nothing about; nothing but greed fills your mind. From people you no nothing about. In a parking lot. Literally off the back of a truck.

If you're wishy-washy and nervous, looking easily intimidated, they'll go into high-pressure mode. They may use intimidating body language, get angry, notch up the sympathy play, and so on. This is actually good, particularly if you're in the parking lot of a bank or ATM; you're afraid they were trying to rob you, right?

You're getting incredibly cheap speakers- or worse, wood boxes that look like speakers, with bricks in them- which you won't discover until you try to plug them into your sound system(which you should never do without checking the impedance of the speaker, to make sure it doesn't short out your amplifier). If they're actually speakers, construction will be cheap with poorly made components and cheap materials throughout. They might even sound half OK to the average person. Sit that same person in front of a real set of $200-$400 speakers, point out the differences, and they'll be left wondering how they could be so stupid.

Despite the fact that anyone who falls for this routine gets exactly what they deserve, (unless of course they were intimidated or felt threatened) don't let this happen to you. Don't let it happen to your friends, family, or coworkers. It's as simple as tomorrow saying to a friend "hey, there are these guys selling speakers out of the backs of vans in mall parking lots, they look like they're a steal but they're crap. Don't fall for it!" These operations move from region to region, moving on once local authorities, newspapers and radio stations catch on, which takes a while.

Some people give up there, and throw them in the attic or the trash. However- just as there are people who are utterly lacking in morals selling the stuff, there are plenty of people who will try to at least recoup their loss, or even worse, make a profit. Here in Boston, these speakers have recently started appearing on the community website Craigslist, as people who have been suckered into buying them realize what they got, and try to get -anything- for them. The degree of honesty the poster displays varies from "I got suckered, does anybody want these" to a near replay of the original scam.

What to do? Well, not much, except spread awareness of the scam. They're not doing anything illegal with the sale itself, so they need to be caught on other grounds. For one, anyone selling goods on private property is liable to get into a lot of trouble with the store owner, so there's an easy trespassing charge; this is why many of the operations have moved to flagging down people on the road or at stoplights. You can try playing along- look interested, maybe take a business card, make a note of the plates on the van- and say you'll think about it while you go and shop or after you check out their website or call the factory. Instead- walk straight to the store customer service desk, mall security, or call the police. Even if the cops have little to to work with, they can be very creative in finding something wrong; air freshner hanging from your rear view mirror? Illegal use of equipment, believe it or not. The first thing the officer will ask for will be identification (and if they're holding fake IDs, they'll probably get arrested for that alone). Perhaps you'll be lucky in that one of these shady characters will have an outstanding warrant. The police officer can also run the plates on the van(during which it will probably be discovered that the van is a rental or lease), and so on. All of that information will be of use to others who got scammed one it is in the police department's records.

The problem is that many police departments have given up trying to go after these fly by night companies, mostly because they're shady, but not illegal "enough". They need to be caught doing other things- trespassing(ie, trying to sell on private property without the owner's permission), assault(ie, physically intimidating or threatening you), speeding or reckless endangerment(such as leaning out the window and trying to flag down cars), etc. The best strategy, if you are scammed, is to go after the scam artists for violation of your state's consumer laws. Such laws, however, often have many clauses which are designed to protect legitimate businesses from unreasonable customers, but instead provide loopholes for scam artists(these include most commonly time limitations and whether you attempted to get a refund). You can also complain to your district attorney, and generally TV stations love to set their "consumer watchdog" reporters on this sort of stuff.

These speakers are made or resold through a complicated reseller network. Some of the many company names involved, consisting of companies in the US, Canada, England, France, Germany, and Australia:

  • Audio Wood Products
  • Century Distributors PTY LTD
  • Dynalab
  • Global Audio Network
  • JAM Entertainment/JAM Enterprises, now known as Kelfi Distributors
  • Millennium Speakers
  • Omni Audio or Omni Audio Products
  • Orca Distributors
  • Republic Distributors, Inc. (parent of Omni and Dynalab) or Republic Distributors Of Canada or Republic Distribution GmbH
  • Sound Illusion Production 

There is at least one class action lawsuit and reportedly one lawfirm has already received a judgement of about $45,000 against Audio Wood Products for failure to pay a company which supplied cloth for the speaker grills.

Remember, folks. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

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The Great International White Van Speaker Scam | 239 comments (223 topical, 16 editorial, 3 hidden)
I bought some speakers that way once. (2.40 / 5) (#1)
by fn0rd on Fri Apr 09, 2004 at 10:53:04 PM EST

$80. Acoustic Research sub with a pair of satellites. They sound ok. I still have them, but they're boxed up, having long been replaced by something better. That was about 9 years ago, so maybe the scammers have figured out since then that selling decent speakers is far less lucrative than selling bricks.

This fatwa brought to you by the Agnostic Jihad

My Urban-Legend Radar is Getting Set Off (1.50 / 16) (#2)
by Baal on Fri Apr 09, 2004 at 10:58:32 PM EST

Any proof this has actually happened beyond an anecdote from a friend?

Oh by the way check this out. I was buying food at Taco Bell this one time but the only money I had was a two-dollar bill. The dumbass clerk thought it was fake money and refused to accept it. I had her call the cops to prove my money was legit. To make a long story short now I get all the food I want from that Taco Bell for free. Cool huh?

They hit me up in Boston while I was in my car (2.50 / 6) (#5)
by MichaelCrawford on Fri Apr 09, 2004 at 11:29:40 PM EST

I can attest to this happening. Fortunately I didn't fall for it, but it was more because I didn't need the speakers than that I suspected they weren't legit.

While waiting at a traffic light, behind the wheel of my car, two guys in a van in the next lane offerred to sell me the speakers they had in the back of their van.

And yes, they did say they had extra after doing an installation job.


--

Live your fucking life. Sue someone on the Internet. Write a fucking music player. Like the great man Michael David Crawford has shown us all: Hard work, a strong will to stalk, and a few fries short of a happy meal goes a long way. -- bride of spidy


I came close to falling for this scam once. (2.80 / 5) (#13)
by Psycho Dave on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 04:27:34 AM EST

This was about eight years ago. I certainly wasn't driving anything that screamed "disposable income" (a beat up '86 Subara Brat). They pulled up to me at a signal.

I followed them into a parking lot and let them run through their spiel. Didn't have enough money on me so they offered to put the speakers in the back of my Brat and follow me to the nearest ATM.

The devil started whispering into my ear. Since they were screwing their boss, why should I feel obliged to pay them anything. If they were going to put the speakers in my pickup before getting the money, couldn't I find some way to lose them on the road and get the speakers for free? Hmmm.

The angel on my other shoulder got the better of me, and just told me to walk away from this bad situation. I wish-washed my way out, leaving the two assholes acting all exasperated. I guess there was no sense in stealing something that was worthless anyway.

What I want to know is, who is behind these little ghetto kids they send through my neighborhood selling cheap candy, tea, and candles at outrageous prices so they can "win a scholarship" or "go on a ski trip". No one should be sending little kids door to door alone in the neighborhood I used to live in.

Boo fucking hoo (1.40 / 5) (#14)
by ShadowNode on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 04:55:11 AM EST

Greedy morons are relieved of their money. Why is this bad?

Quality (2.83 / 6) (#17)
by ffrinch on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 10:54:19 AM EST

There are some reviews here. All of the reviewers mention buying them from white vans, but not all of the reviews are negative. Yes, they could all be shills, or they could all have deluded themselves into thinking that the speakers are good, but I doubt it.

It's more likely that to the non-audiophile, they just don't seem as bad as you're making out. It's a scam, but unless they get stuck with bricks, most of the people who get caught out won't ever know or care. You overestimate the average person's ability to discern "good" and "bad" sound quality. (To me, my $15 speakers sound fine...)

Arguably, that the scammers are doing people a favour, making them feel happy about getting such a huge discount on high quality gear!!!!11one ;)

-◊-
"I learned the hard way that rock music ... is a powerful demonic force controlled by Satan." — Jack Chick

My stepdad bought some that way. (2.62 / 8) (#22)
by romperstomper on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 12:16:42 PM EST

Probably not worth what he paid for them, but as far as quality, they sounded fine to me.  

Far more satisfying though, was the way he painted "SUCKER" on his face by bragging about what a good deal he got, as though he'd really bought 1000 bucks worth of equipment for 300.  

Dipshit.

dear God (1.00 / 9) (#28)
by reklaw on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 01:58:03 PM EST

why are people so fucking stupid? I despair for humanity, really I do.
-
so that's what that was... (2.66 / 6) (#38)
by dirvish on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 07:21:54 PM EST

I had some guys try this driving down a busy road a few weeks ago. They were so obnoxious and distracting that they could have easily caused an accident. The guy in the passenger seat was leaning out the window yelling at me, asking if I wanted to buy some speakers. I just stared at them, dumbfounded that someone was trying to sell speakers to random people while driving down the road. I had no clue that it was a widespread scam. I didn't actually stop my car to talk to these jokers. I think they were driving a Blazer or Durango. It looked new, so probably a rental as you described. Thanks for the info!

Technical Certification Blog, Anti Spam Blog
Who cares (2.16 / 6) (#40)
by power guido on Sat Apr 10, 2004 at 07:30:37 PM EST

about stupid compulsive shoppers?

It's not like this sales technique is illegal or something, it's basically how all telemarketers and infomercials sell their useless crap. The line between that stuff and scam is very thin indeed. Bose Audio anyone?

+1, Informative (2.36 / 11) (#44)
by egg troll on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 12:11:20 AM EST

I'm hoping you write other pieces similar subjects. Perhaps one on what to do when you wake up in an ice-filled bathtub in a strange hotel room AND DISCOVER BOTH YOUR KIDNEYS HAVE BEEN STOLEN!

He's a bondage fan, a gastronome, a sensualist
Unparalleled for sinister lasciviousness.

Sometime I'd like to see a story (2.84 / 13) (#45)
by craigd on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 12:36:02 AM EST

on how to pull off a good scam. With disclaimers that it is highly illegal, of course, but it would be entertaining.


A man who says little is a man who speaks two syllables.
I got approached on this one (2.87 / 8) (#47)
by lazloToth on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 01:07:05 AM EST

I was by myself after having lunch with some people I used to work with. A young white guy in a van looking like every guy I hated in high school and college asked me if I wanted to buy a set of speakers. He called me buddy, which is the best way to get me to hate you if I don't know you. After 1/100 second of thought, I realized no way was this in anyway a good thing, imagining rolls of masking tape in the van and flashing on the pawn shop scene of Pulp Fiction, said no, sorry, and walked off.

This article is totally wrong (1.60 / 38) (#49)
by foon on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 01:13:26 AM EST

I purchased a pair of Dynalab speakers from a friendly man operating out of a white van, as described.  The price was very reasonable, just about $150.  I consider myself an audiophile and have a high-quality Bose stereo system (retail price: $6000), and premimum Monster Cable interconnects.  The quality of these speakers is nothing short of amazing by comparison to the stock Bose speakers, you really get a sense of atomsphere and color, and the bass is powerful.  Everyone else who has heard them has been amazed.  The detail advantage comes out especially well with 24-bit SACD recordings.  I have seen models identical to them in recording industry catalogs at prices over $4000 per speaker (the list price quoted by the salesman in the van was only $2000...even that is a steal).  Don't believe the hype; if you get a chance to buy some of these, there is no better value.

And Kuro5hin is Trolled Once Again... (1.03 / 32) (#51)
by Baal on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 02:20:26 AM EST

This "article" is getting voted up without any fact-checking from those doling out "+1 FP's." This of course comes as no surprise to an intelligent troll aficionodo such as I. Kuro5hin is a refuge for the type of man often characterized as "book-smart but not street-smart."

Here we have a "story" full of anecdotal evidence. Evidence of a huge international crime syndicate who's sole purpose is to con novice "audiophiles."

Yet there is no hard evidence of this international conspiracy. An intellectual such as myself would think that such a far reaching scam would have been reported by a prestigious organization such as Yahoo NewsTM. Of course such evidence is lacking from this half-hearted troll.

The day that the average "Kuron" "wises up" to this "tomfoolery" is the day that I leave this site permanently. That will be the day that I have to "move on" and find a new group of "pseudo intellectual wankers" to lord my "superiority" over.

Happened Twice To Me (2.66 / 6) (#53)
by n8f8 on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 04:28:16 AM EST

I've been approached twice in the past. Once in Norfolk, Virginia back in 1991 and another time in Berkley, California. More recently I've seen and been approached by scammers selling crap paintings out of a van. One guy had the balls to go office-to-office inside a big corporate building I was working in. That one additionallly raised my interrest because everyone in the building was a government contractor and it would be a clever way of getting bugging devices into the building.

Sig: (This will get posted after your comments)
This is absolutely fascinating. (2.75 / 4) (#56)
by Vendor on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 07:39:10 AM EST

I'm actually totally stunned. I had no idea these guys were out there. Sure, I've been offered items on the street/at traffic lights by guys who wanted to sell watches/headsets/coathangers/tennis balls/fruit/etc, but never the kind of guys that you mention here. I don't understand how anyone can fall for something like this. Why would anyone buy a product like this without a demo and/or some kind of warranty/garantee???

This must be really widespread. (2.75 / 4) (#61)
by interrobanger on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 11:32:23 AM EST

Last year my roommate and I were in his car (he was driving) here in Tallahassee and this guy in some kind of pinstriped uniform shirt, driving a white minivan, started gesturing to me at a stoplight. I put the window down and he started asking if we wanted some speakers, said he had some left over from a job. It immediately struck me that having speakers left over from a job isn't exactly like putting together furniture and having a couple of screws or something left over, but I didn't figure it was a scam, just figured he and the guy with him were crooks who were trying to fleece their boss and get creative with the inventory.

My computer has 5.1 sound and so does the living room TV, but I wasn't even tempted. I just said no thanks and put the window back up in the middle of his spiel when he started to get angry/pushy. The whole thing struck me as pretty stupid.

I don't get how so many people fall for crap like this (or the 419 scams or whatever).


===============
God Hates Figs!
A guy I know fell for it.... (2.50 / 4) (#67)
by Cloud Cuckoo on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 05:09:10 PM EST

He was stopped walking down the street by two guys who had these awesome "Audofile" speakers they they just had to sell, even at a loss. They even showed him some printed reviews that must have made it seem like listening to these speakers was better than sex. He ended up paying $200 for something that sounded like it was worth 20. I was informed that the week before he was scrounging to pay for tuition....ehe.

A Similar Experience (none / 3) (#68)
by Houston T on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 05:16:34 PM EST

Something like this happened to me in the northeast US about 6 years ago. Some guys with a white van, in broad daylight and in the busy parking lot of a department store, offered me a bunch of audio equipment for free. They had some story about moving it for a band, and having to leave it behind. There was nothing shady or threatening about their manner, but taking the equipment undoubtedly required me climbing inside some strangers' van, and the situation itself was so unusual that I declined. Did the scam work differently earlier on, or did I just follow my instincts out of a bunch of free stuff?

HAHA, my last boss got SCAMMED!! (none / 2) (#71)
by zcat on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 05:52:59 PM EST

A guy I did some cash work for traded me a pair of speakers instead of $50 he owed. He claimed that he originally paid $1000, and that they were worth twice that. I figured he was just bullshitting me because they looked to be worth $150 at most.. they're OK party speakers, but that's about all. They're not 'studio monitor' speakers for sure! Anyhow, I finally got around to looking up the brand "acoustic studio monitor". There's no manufacturers website, but there's a bunch of them on auction sites and at least one reference to the 'white van' scam. I'm starting to think he really did pay $1000 for them!

Don't buy anything off the back of a truck (3.00 / 6) (#72)
by sakusha on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 05:57:44 PM EST

A friend of mine fell for a similar scam, quite a few years ago. Someone was selling VCRs out of the back of their car. He had a demo model out of the box to examine, and several units in sealed boxes that looked like they were factory sealed. So he bought one for $50. He got it home and opened it up, there was a couple of bricks inside the box, no VCR.

I bought some (3.00 / 4) (#73)
by fridgemagnet on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 05:59:20 PM EST

In Edinburgh, must have been a good eight or nine years ago now, when I was a student. Not something I'd ever do now, and I probably could have got speakers just as good for less, but they were pretty decent to my untrained ear. Big studio speakers, good bass able to shake my trousers in another room, didn't distort - I kept them for several years after that, and only got rid of them when I left the country.

There were quite a few people at the same time who fell for the same thing. The theory going round was that they were kit-built. Whoever built them seemed to have been at least competent if that was the case.

I've been ripped off for far more money than that in my time. I'm not that bothered.

---
"bugler of incongruity"


I was scammed too ! (2.83 / 6) (#76)
by jim.fr on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 06:58:16 PM EST

Berlin, Germany, beginning of 1997. I was riding my mountain bike across town. A white van stops besides me and the drivers asks me for directions. As I begin to answer, he asks if I would be interested in hi-fi speakers at incredible prices. I thought, why not take a look. I was worried about security, but this was a reasonably busy street in a good part of the city, so I told them I would take a look. They showed me big boxes. I asked them for technical specifications, they had none, but the side of the boxes had quite impressive numbers written on them. I am not very knowledgeable about hi-fi, but enough to be impressed by some of what I saw. They explained me that they were delivering the stuff, but because of an accounting error they had a pair of speakers as extra inventory and they wanted to offload them on the black market instead of taking them back to report the error. At that point, I should have broken contact, but I was young, naïve and opportunistic, so I decided to play along. Believing that it was stolen goods and that they had therefore no costs I knew that there was much bargaining space. They offered me a price, and I haggled it down to 40% of their initial offer. I was quite proud of myself, but in fact I paid only a bit less than I would have paid in a shop for speakers with their advertised specifications and much more than for than I would have paid in a shop for speakers with their actual performance. We chatted a bit, and they told me they were Dutch, boasting about the quality of the dutch ganja. I asked them to follow me to where my apartment complexe was and paid them DM350 once they dropped the boxes in front of the building. They disappeared never to be seen again. At every step since I met the guys, I was quite worried about security, and I guess that's how I lost enough of my judgment to buy on impulse. Years of experience have taught me never to buy on impulse, but that time I did, and I guess that the results helped the lesson sink in even more. I then went looking on the Internet for more information about the hardware and found out about the scam. I was pissed. I tested the boxes (Omni Audio 12.3) : the sound was clearly low end. I kept the boxes since them as party hardware for garden parties or parties wild enough that I fear for the hardware. All in all I was not too badly conned and I learned a good lesson for less money than the same sort of lesson usually costs... If it looks too good to be true, give it some time to think about it and do not buy on impulse. Dood deals do exist, but good deals that put pressure on you to buy right now without thinking are generally scams.

A page with information about the scam :
http://www.shawnbehrens.de/omniaudio/index.htm


Yep, I've seen this twice (in the UK) (2.85 / 7) (#78)
by mahood on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 07:07:08 PM EST

First time was in Bristol, in a car-park 'off the beaten track'. It must have been in around 92-93 - and it was exactly as described here. I was with a friend, and he seemed keen to buy, but we decided not to bother, and walked off before they got too involved.

The next time was in Guildford, on a main road. A white van screeched to a halt (I was walking) and two guys got out, offering speakers. The spiel was a little different though - they'd been to a trade fair, and they (somehow) had these speakers 'already sold, as far as the factory was concerned' so they could let me have them for next to nothing. I never did get them to explain how the factory had sold them to the trade fair organiser, but then he'd not wanted them - it sounded very suspicous to me, so I start to walk off. They produced paperwork to 'prove' that they were sold to the trade fair, and that 'I wouldn't get in trouble' because 'no-one would notice'...

Interestingly, they then admitted they were just making a fast buck - that none of the cash I handed over was going to their company or their boss, but they were going to split it between them... I must have looked amused, and they took this as a good sign, and asked how much I was willing to pay. I said I only had 10 pounds on me, so they started the 'we'll go to a cash machine with you, or we can give you a lift if you prefer' and at that point, I feared I'd wake up in an ice-filled bathtub, so I left! :)

They had gotten quite pushy though, and I was starting to feel intimidated - luckily it was on a main road through town, so I wasn't in any actual danger...

When I told this story to my friends, I heard of a similar scam with watches - again the 'trade fair' angle - they were 'samples' that were 'already sold', though why the buyer hadn't bothered to hang on to these £500 watches was never clear.

Strange that there are such similarities across continents; and this isn't a 'friend of a friend' story - it happened to me! I even have a witness for the first incident.

Mark

I knew a guy who was running this scam. . . (2.57 / 7) (#80)
by Fantastic Lad on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 07:15:14 PM EST

Back in the early nineties. He actually talked a mark out of a gold heirloom necklace to help finance the wonder-speakers. He was not a particularly swell guy. Interestingly, he'd been screwed by life many times himself and was trying to return the favor. He didn't seem to recognize that the whole thing is a big ugly cycle. But anyway. . .

I was approached last year in an alley by two similar dorks in a van, and I wasn't thinking fast enough.

All I said was, "I know that scam."

To which the reply was a confusing, "My name's not Sam," and they drove off. They were obviously fishing, and shrugged me off with a degree of impatience.

If I'd been on my toes I would have commented, "Nice job you've found, there. Is this what you wanted to be when you grew up?"

Steer clear of these guys. The one I knew was self-destructive, lost and wallowing in hate and hurt. --The kind he'd share with you if you let him. I was always sort of counting the days until he exploded and took several people with him. I wonder if he ever managed to get off the Bad Karma Merry-Go-Round. . .

-FL

Hah (none / 2) (#81)
by strlen on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 07:42:10 PM EST

Had that happen to me about a year ago. I was heading out from a BofA bank/ATM in Cupertino, CA (San Jose general area, home of Apple Computer) and was approached by two guys in a van.

They told me about the story about extra set of speakers, but I declined saying that I'm not familiar enough with audio systems to make the purchase right there and then.

Seems like an interesting scam, never realized this was more than just an occasional occurance.

--
[T]he strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone. - Henrik Ibsen.

It's a scam, eh? (none / 2) (#82)
by skim123 on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 08:48:24 PM EST

I had this happen to me once, two guys in a van, saying they had stereo equipment "for sale." I just said, "No thanks," assuming the "merchandise" had been stolen from the factory. Kind of neat to learn that those guys were (likely) up to more than just petty theft. Anyone can steal something, it takes a bit more (admittedly, not much more) brains and balls to con someone.

Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master.
PT Barnum


Warning To All Ladies! (2.00 / 25) (#87)
by it certainly is on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 09:42:58 PM EST

Don't let this happen to you. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS.

IF A MAN COMES TO YOUR FRONT DOOR AND SAYS HE IS CONDUCTING A SURVEY AND ASKS YOU TO SHOW HIM YOUR BOOBS, DO NOT SHOW HIM YOUR BOOBS.

THIS IS A SCAM. HE ONLY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BOOBS.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

kur0shin.org -- it certainly is

Godwin's law [...] is impossible to violate except with an infinitely long thread that doesn't mention nazis.

Fell for it, got my money back (3.00 / 9) (#88)
by obi on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 09:46:23 PM EST

I had this happen to me about 7 years ago - and I fell for it. It taught me something about myself - my willingless to close my eyes and overlook the provenance of the equipment, ie. my greed made me almost lose a good deal of money. A humbling experience, especially considering I thought of myself as someone who wasn't greedy at all. In my defence, I was still quite young and had never been scammed before.

I knew I was scammed the second I opened the box. Before buying I had made sure I knew what company these guys were from, so I contacted them, and after confirming that it really was a scam ("we don't have an official listprice for our product - we let our salespeople determine the price") made sure I'd get a full refund. After driving up there and confronting them, they gave me my money back without any problems (which surprised me a bit).

Apparently most of their victims were too ashamed to admit (even to themselves) they were scammed, and ask their money back. The company was just a temporary front, and apparently since the short time they were in operation the local cops had received quite a number of complaints.

In the end, I lost no money, but came out of it a bit more humble and a bit less greedy.

Your appeal to the police... (1.75 / 8) (#90)
by My Dupe Account on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 10:37:46 PM EST

makes the Libertarian baby Jesus cry.

--

"Very funny, Scotty. Now beam up my clothes."
Heh (none / 2) (#93)
by CaptainSuperBoy on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 11:18:13 PM EST

I was in a shopping center one time, and my car was parked in front of K-Mart. As I was walking back to my car this guy walked out of the K-Mart and tried to sell me some Adidas cologne he'd just lifted. It's a good business I guess. Springfield cops are too busy getting paid overtime to guard road maintenance, they have better things to do than arrest thieves.

--
jimmysquid.com - I take pictures.
Amazing (2.00 / 5) (#96)
by ShiftyStoner on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 11:24:43 PM EST

 Most people on K5 would not fall for this. I don't think so anyway.

 Most people seem to be borederline psychopaths around here. Don't really feel any sympathy for anyone. Probly couldn't kill somone but ripping people off...

 In other words, you are not preventing anyone from getting riped off. If you are it doesn't matter because your telling a bunch of psychopaths a completly legal workable scam. More harm than good is what i'm saying.

 I mean, I want to try this out of curiosity.

 I always find it funny when the news goes into detail about how people are pulling off popular scams. Like going to a car lot, taking a car for a test drive, getting copies of the keys, coming back at night and taking the car.

 Not vary many people are going to see it, chances several of the people that do will do it.  
( @ )'( @ ) The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. - Adolf Hitler

I've seen this so many times I loose count... (none / 2) (#102)
by grokmiskatonic on Sun Apr 11, 2004 at 11:47:35 PM EST

I live in the DC/Baltimore area, and I've seen these guys in the white van, and heard their pitch lots of times. Sometimes stopped in traffic, sometimes coming out of best buy, or some other store. One day I even ran into them twice! Luckly I have no interest in home stereo stuff, or I might have listened for more than a few seconds.

Almost got done. (none / 2) (#118)
by Wulfius on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 08:26:36 AM EST

Bloody hell. I remember this scam pulled on me in Australia around 6 years ago.

Guy in a white van tried to flag me down in the City at the lights, telling me this story about speakers for sale.

Just as well I had deep reservations about buyig anything from the back of the truck (hence the expression). Besides the guy looked dodgy.

Trust your instincts :D


---
"We must believe in free will, we have no choice."
http://wulfspawprints.blogspot.com/ - Not a journal dammit!

WOW! this happens way too often.... (none / 3) (#126)
by zerocommazero on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 10:22:39 AM EST

I've had a similar experience. But my mommie always told me that no one would sell quality speakers out of a van, in a parking lot of a department store, not wearing a uniform, without first offering you candy. So I said NO! to them guys....I feel NO sympathy for anyone who falls for this scam. Great deal or not something has to ring off alarm bells in your head as soon as a van with several guys pull up to you in a parking lot.
"I have a few truths for the men in this audience. It's your fault for all the violence in this country and it's your fault for all the crime in this country."-Peter Griffin at the Million Man March
Don't mean to be rude... (2.14 / 7) (#127)
by clarkcox3 on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 10:25:41 AM EST

...but anyone dumb enough to fall for such a scam deserves what they get.

If the scam is really so ingenious that no one could be expected to see through it, then sure, I'd feel sorry for the victim. But if the scam is as transparent as this one, then I have absolutely zero sympathy for the "victims".

I can't imagine the thought process of someone who is convinced to buy something by a total stranger in a van, against which they have no possible recourse. If this scam is truly as widespread as this story makes it seem, then I weep for humanity



Hmm... (1.21 / 14) (#135)
by LilDebbie on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 11:23:54 AM EST

Story about a scam that's older than dirt. Check.
Obviously skipped the Edit Queue as evidenced by the numerous and obvious spelling and grammatical errors. Check.
Appeals to the sympathies of dumbass kurons who know nothing beyond their computer. Check.

Yep, looks like Front Page material to me.

My name is LilDebbie and I have a garden.
- hugin -

Why is this on the front page? [n/t] (1.10 / 10) (#141)
by mr strange on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 11:52:35 AM EST



intrigued by your idea that fascism is feminine - livus
Been going on a long time.... (none / 2) (#148)
by nne3jxc on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 01:44:58 PM EST

I remember being approached in about 1984 at the Methuen Mall. (Methuen, Massachusetts)
Same thing -- a van-load of speakers and some story about having too much inventory. I remember thinking, "WTF? If they're good speakers why are you in a MALL parking lot trying to sell them....?")

some specifics on how bad these are (3.00 / 6) (#151)
by shrubbery on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 01:58:44 PM EST

Some of these cheap speakers look nice but they are really aweful. I hang out at the audio and home theater forums alot and one of these White Van scams approached an owner of a boutique DIY speaker company. He literally laughed his ass off. He posted some measurements for the "Digital Audio Titan Line 3810SL" speakers. Take a look at the response plot. Its bad.. really bad.

Click

Here's a link to the original thread over at Home Theater Forums talking about this scam.

HTF

ha! happened to me. (none / 3) (#153)
by RelliK on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 02:10:59 PM EST

When I was in university I had this happen to me, twice. I was walking home one day, when one guy in a van, stopped at the intersection, offered to sell me speakers. I said no, and that was the end of it. About 6 months later I saw the same guy on the same intersection in possibly the same van offering to sell me speakers again, to which I also said no. I had no idea this was a scam. I just thought it was some dumbass trying to get rid of his junk. He didn't try to intimidate me or anything, but I thought it was odd for a guy to ride around in a van asking people to buy speakers. My Question is: does this scam really work? I didn't need speakers, but even if I did, why the fuck would I want to buy them from some guy in a van I'd never seen before?
---
Under capitalism man exploits man, under communism it's just the opposite.
They tried this with me (none / 3) (#154)
by sherbang on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 02:11:59 PM EST

Waved me over at a stoplight. Told me some story about they were stereo installers from some local company and they tried to deliver this setup and the customer refused it.  I think it was a complete surround sound system.  They tried to tell me that they can't bring the system back with them for whatever reason and just have to sell them now. Of course by this point my bullshit detector is telling me there's something really not right with this whole thing and I just start saying no and drive away really confused.
Now I know what the deal was.
This was in Agawam, MA about a year ago.
White van 2 guys, don't remember much else.

The way the guy originally started talking I thought he was trying to _give_ them away.


I knew a guy who did this (none / 3) (#155)
by kidzatrisc on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 02:39:25 PM EST

I knew a guy when I was in high school who did this. He was/is a fairly amoral individual, equally at home washing dishes as say, stealing from starving children. His MO was just like the article says, but apparently he wasn't very good at it, not pushy enough to excel at scamming people. They would sometimes trade people's cell phones or jewlery for the speakers. The company eventually moved him to DC. Apparently the headquarters was very hip and full of cool toys. When he descriped it I kind of pictured the bad guy's lair in Teenage Mutent Ninja Turtles. Anyway, he eventually got fired for sucking. Now he works for a company disconnecting people's phones for non-payment.

Same situation only speakers for free? (none / 2) (#161)
by Rojareyn on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 04:18:13 PM EST

I was approached in a Northern Virginia strip mall in much the same manner. Same M.O. Non-descript white van. Two young guys. Selling speakers. The only thing is that I remember they offered the speakers to me for free. I turned them down for a number of reasons:
  1. It sounded too good to be true
  2. Why wouldn't they simply keep the speakers, unless they were broken or of inferior quality.
  3. I suspected the speakers were stolen and they were trying to offload them before they got caught red-handed.
This article definitely shed some light! I was always curious about that incident.

I like that. (2.16 / 6) (#167)
by jope on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 05:26:22 PM EST

Anybody falling for this is so pathetically dumb that he deserves to get punished. These guys have more creativity and energy than any of the suckers who give them their money will ever have. Now lets relax and play this easy card game: I will shuffle these three cards - just remember where the ace of spades is and you will win back double your bet!

Nothing new. (2.50 / 8) (#171)
by the77x42 on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 07:04:37 PM EST

Companies scam consumers exactly like this on basically every product. Ever get a sound demo at Future Shop or Best Buy? Why don't you ever buy the first model they show you, always the second?

Sales is fraud.

I am interested in why it seems to always be audio equipment. Maybe it's because people think they are experts with their senses and must know audio equipment. Kind of like those people who think CD's sound better than vinyl played on decent turntables. Also noted below are scams involving paintings... hrmm...

When my friend and I were in our early teens and had just gotten our parents' cars handed down to us. The first thing we thought of was getting a system installed for our "awesome" music. This local store had an old man as the clerk. Everyone knew him. Buy any amp in the store, and you could return it when you wanted to upgrade and he would give you a new one less the original amount you paid. I had more than a couple friends do this and they all got good deals. It actually was legit.

So we bought these pretty cheap amps that didn't sound great, but were incredibly loud and did the job for the $200 we paid for them. The guy even admitted they were cheap. No worries, we could return them for full price to upgrade.

One year later we went in and some pencilneck sleazeball was working the counter. You could tell this guy paid for hookers. He just laughed at us. "That old guy wasn't the owner, he was an employee! Lots of you kids thought he was the owner." When we asked about returning them he said, "I have a whole closet full of those fucking things after what that old man did! You guys are stuck with them."

Who knows if this guy was lying. He probably was to some extent, but I still found it amusing that the old guy probably was fucking over his asshole boss. :)

Anyway, the point beyond my little story is that you are basically going to get ripped off for 99% of the goods you buy. Gas, cheese, bottled water, software... it's all just one big capitalist scam.


"We're not here to educate. We're here to point and laugh." - creature
"You have some pretty stupid ideas." - indubitable ‮

Another scam with the same twist (3.00 / 4) (#173)
by christiansimon on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 08:06:03 PM EST

I have been approached by the white van guys. It's an intimidating experience when you're traveling and in an unfamiliar city. Part of the power of their sales pitch is the percieved physical threat.

Another scam I have avoided was the dent repair scam. My car had a dent on the door from a parking lot accident. While going into a dinner, I was approached by two guys --on more then one occasion-- to have the dent repaired while I ate! There was definately an agressive character to the sales pitch and the attitude was that they are giving me such a great deal that I'm practically insulting them if I refuse.

This scam is also about the buyer not being fully informed. While they can repair the dent, they do not paint the car. If they muck up the job, you'll have a fight if you decide not to pay.

Actually, this is an organised scam (none / 3) (#176)
by Stavr0 on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 09:54:55 PM EST

http://www.scamshield.com/Feature.asp?id=1
- - -
Pax Americana : Oderint Dum Metuant
brisbane, australia (none / 2) (#177)
by Fuzzwah on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 10:17:09 PM EST

It must be about 2 years ago now, but I was approached by two guys in a white van selling "extra" speakers, while stopped at a red light. I told them I wasn't interested but did go home kind of pondering whether I'd just missed out on a great deal.

In the end though, as the author of this article finished with, I concluded that if it seemed too good to be true that it probably was.

--
The best a human can do is to pick a delusion that helps him get through the day. - God's Debris

Whoa (1.62 / 8) (#178)
by theElectron on Mon Apr 12, 2004 at 11:32:51 PM EST

If you say you don't have cash, they'll helpfully offer to follow you to the nearest ATM(why anyone in their right mind would allow themselves to be followed to an ATM is beyond me). If you're about to walk away, they'll get in your face, ask what price you would pay

You offer to walk me to an ATM and I'll offer to call you an ambulance. Virginia is a concealed-carry state and my .45 is going to leave a hole in your front pocket that no amount of ill-gotten cash is ever gonna fill.

--
Join the NRA!

Fascinating (3.00 / 4) (#181)
by NFW on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 12:49:47 AM EST

I've heard of this once or twice before but never gave it much thought (other than, "yeah, scams happen"). This finally got me a bit curious, and google led me to this page.

About halfway down is a first-person account from someone who worked (very briefly) for a local franchise. Further down is a surprisingly long list of companies involved in the scam.

Choice quotes: "something to sit on while listening to your speakers."

"Their despicable tactics have to catch up with them sooner or later. I wonder if they have medical coverage for their employees selling this junk. When I went to the warehouse for a refund they were unloading a tractor trailer load of these pieces of crap."


--
Got birds?


people need to learn to say no (2.00 / 7) (#183)
by spiritraveller on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 01:36:40 AM EST

All it takes is a simple, "get the fuck away from me before I blow your brains out you worthless piece of shit con man!" ... to get them off your back.

Don't buy anything out of van (2.50 / 4) (#185)
by Belgand on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 01:56:23 AM EST

Seriously. It's either stolen, shady, a scam, or somehow illegal. I mean, honestly, where do you think these sorts of things come from? Just don't, don't stop, don't talk to these sorts of people, don't even walk on the same side of the street as them. Just keep on going and leave them the fuck alone.

To reiterate: never, ever, ever buy anything out of van, off the back of a truck, from a guy on the street, directly out of a warehouse, etc.

This boggles the mind. (2.00 / 5) (#187)
by finality on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 03:17:11 AM EST

I knew the average intellect of people other than me was low, but the fact that this kind of thing can be successful leads me to believe that the average man-in-the-street is in fact staggeringly retarded.

I don't even purchase my illegal drugs from random people in the street, and this is a field where one expects chicanery from vendors. Would you purchase a computer from a man who shouted at you from the next car over at a traffic light? Would you purchase remote virtual hosting from somebody on the side of the road? I expected the average kuro5hiner to have more than a little common sense, but the fact that this story needs to be on the front page astounds me.
This account has been anonymised. If you can give a good reason why, email rusty@kuro5hin.org, as he is obviously lacking one.

A Similar Scam Used Against Old People (3.00 / 5) (#194)
by Fantt on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 12:05:54 PM EST

My parents live in a neighborhood of mostly retired people. While I was visiting, a plain white van pulled up and two pretty scary looking white guys got out and rang their door bell. My mom answered the door and they gave the same spiel mentioned in the article, but they're selling "extra" furniture instead of speakers. Seems they were to deliver the furniture to some little old lady's house, but she died, and now they have a truck full of furniture that's already been paid for, but they don't want to take it back to the warehouse. They offered my mom a really sweet deal on some brand new furniture. Fortunately she had the sense to say no, but she had to say no three or four times to get the guys to go away. We watched them leave and approach the house next door. My mother-in-law who lives in Sun City (near Phoenix, AZ) says that this scam is very prevalent through their neighborhoods. There really are old people that die out there every day and there are lots of bargains at estate sales and whatnot. These scammers take advantage of that fact and probably make a killing. There are a LOT of retiree neighborhoods near here.

I used to buy shit off of trucks all of the time (none / 3) (#195)
by mrcsparker on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 12:17:55 PM EST

When I worked near a port I bought a ton of boxed appliances off of backs of trucks.  Of course, they were made by reputable companies and I never asked if the items fell out or were taken out of a container.  This was years ago, but I can prtty much guarantee in any city that has a major port this is going on.

I have also purchased things like tools from crack heads at gas stations.  It is pretty sad to see a guy hand over his set of tools for $5, but I also knew that the tools would go to someone else if I did not buy them.  I even purchased some really nice wrenches from one guy who ran out of gas for a few dollars.

Areas like ports are pretty contained areas, though.  People running scams generally stay away, as many of the potential customers have little to lose.  Plus, the people that sell things on the backs of trucks are always the same people and want to keep the customers happy.

I have been approached by a ton of people trying to scam me.  This usually happens when I am alone and in a nicer area (but not a great area) - usually in the parking lot of a large generic store.

Painful memory (none / 2) (#197)
by lurker4hire on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 01:23:34 PM EST

... thanks for reminding me :(

Dec 31st, 1999: Wallet full of cash 'just in case' and I was moving into a new apt! Unpacking from our truck into new apt, when approached with this scam... Scammers weren't especially pushy, and I did feel proud of bargaining them down to a low low price, until as they were driving away my roommate came running out with "you didn't just buy speakers did you?". Seems he was suckered on this one when he was younger (he's 5 years older than me, I was 21).

Learnt a valuable lesson on that one... bout a $150 lesson, could of been much worse (scammers started at $750).

The speakers did work, but they were crappy. Left them in an alley near our apt, they were gone the next day... someone got them for what they were worth.

Was on This American Life (none / 1) (#200)
by coljac on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 07:56:00 PM EST

NPR's "This American Life" did an episode called suckers. One of the parts (2) was about a guy who fell for this scam and then ran into the same guys 11 years later. It was interesting listening. It's available in RealAudio here:

http://207.70.82.73/pages/descriptions/02/222.html



---
Whether or not life is discovered there I think Jupiter should be declared an enemy planet. - Jack Handey

The White Man is at it again. (1.85 / 7) (#202)
by ninja rmg on Tue Apr 13, 2004 at 11:33:47 PM EST

Once again, the White Man rears his ugly head. When he isn't busy killing and raping the orient, he's exploiting the simple, trusting nature of the working man. With characteristic, demonic cunning, he swindles the poor young man born of earth and sweat out of even the pittance he earns working the fields.

Once again, the White Man shows himself for what he is. Whether he is swindling the poor, killing Iraqi children, or lynching defenseless negroes, his nature is clear: He is the Great White Satan. Likewise, our course is clear: We must kill, kill, kill the White Man.



Oohh transatlantic crap-scammery (none / 1) (#206)
by Hairy Hippy on Wed Apr 14, 2004 at 05:49:17 AM EST

Some guys tried this on me up in Lancaster (UK) a few years ago. Obviously I told thedm to get lost but interesting that this is a global thing..


"A subversive is anyone who can out-argue their government..."
I used to get this all the time in London (none / 2) (#207)
by nebbish on Wed Apr 14, 2004 at 06:14:05 AM EST

To the point where every time a van stopped and someone leant out of the window I'd say "No I don't want any fucking speakers". You should have seen the look on their faces.

---------
Kicking someone in the head is like punching them in the foot - Bruce Lee

Happened to me (none / 1) (#212)
by dcturner on Wed Apr 14, 2004 at 09:50:53 AM EST

Twice. I am a student. I dress like a student. I do not look like i am rich. I don't even look like I am likely to buy audio equipment, quality or otherwise. I don't understand.

Incidentally, there's nothing wrong with paper speaker cones. Just don't spill drinks on them.

Remove the opinion on spam to reply.


happened in denmark (none / 1) (#217)
by pantagruel on Thu Apr 15, 2004 at 06:58:37 AM EST

had a couple guys try it, claimed that they had been making a big delivery from germany and they had some left overs so they wanted to make a little bit of extra cash. which is a little different in that they were in fact claiming to be ripping off their employer.

Happened to me (none / 1) (#223)
by billt on Thu Apr 15, 2004 at 09:31:50 PM EST

once... i was eating my lunch in a parking lot and about to lean back to take a snooze when suddenly some jerk was yelling at me in Dudespeak. I told him I was on my lunch break and to come backin about 45 minutes after my nap. He never came back...

I had a friend... (none / 1) (#226)
by Flave on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 04:25:47 PM EST

... who worked at a fruit-stand in an open-air market call me and tell me to HURRY, and I mean HURRY, to the market RIGHT AWAY. These guys in a white van were selling high-end speakers for a TENTH of their price and they weren't going to stick around for very long. So I asked him for the speaker brand name and did a web search. Which quickly brought up all sorts of info on this scam. He still blushes when we talk of this.

One week after reading about this... (none / 1) (#227)
by Tau Neutrino on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 10:05:40 AM EST

It happened to me in a CVS parking lot in Ann Arbor. Late-model, unmarked white van, asian woman driving and talking, goon riding shotgun.

Luckily, I had been forewarned (and was in a real don't-mess-with-me mood anyway). I said No and kept walking.

Had I been in a better mood at the time, I probably would have messed with them: "Hey I know all about you guys! I work for the Ann Arbor News, and everybody in the newsroom talks about you guys all the time! Can I take your picture?"

Or something like that.

--
Theater is life, cinema is art, television is furniture.
London (none / 3) (#230)
by akadruid on Mon Apr 19, 2004 at 11:24:08 AM EST

London is practically the world capital for this scam, and some areas are inundated with it. I've had it when walking through Mayfair some 6 or 7 years ago, before I had heard of it happening. Fortunatly I said no, but it took 3 attempts to get rid of them. Another one to watch out for is 'private auctions' where people pick up 'end-of-line' stock for amazing deals. Some friends of mine paid £2 just to get into one of these, and were so impressed by the people around them picking up wide-screen televisions for a tenth of the retail price that they handed over £20 each for sealed, unlabeled 'suprise' boxes. Even after discovering the contents of the boxes were hair clippers worth just a few pounds even at a respectable outlet, they were keen to attend the next auction to be held nearby a week later. Needless to say, there was no auction the following week, and the event recieved some small coverage in the local paper. I would estimate that the 4 or 5 people running this scam took home in excess of £2000 profit in just a couple of hours. Sickening how people will fall for these things.

Scammed the Scammer (none / 0) (#238)
by effluvial on Wed Aug 11, 2004 at 12:44:49 AM EST

I'd encountered these guys a few times way back in the 80's and had a feeling it was a scam. I then encountered them again in 1999, in San Francisco. It was one guy, white van, etc. He asked me if I wanted some speakers. Again, feeling it was a scam, I asked him if he was just giving them away and, to my surprise, he said yes. We unloaded them from the van and then he asked for a $50 "donation". I didn't have $50 on me but he let me have them anyway after I gave him my cell phone number...I said I'd pay him in a public place. Anyway, he called a couple of times and I named a couple of very public places, but he'd never agree on the time and place. Then, he just stopped calling. For free, the Acoustic Response speakers aren't bad if you're just using them as TV speakers.

Jerkies (none / 0) (#239)
by trashpicker on Fri Nov 19, 2004 at 10:23:00 AM EST

I worked a job for 3 summers that put me in convenience store parking lots every day promoting products. I saw this scam constantly. Fortunately I knew it was a scam so I never fell for it but that didn't stop the guys from tryng again and again. I eventually got so fed up that I started saying "I bought speakers from you last week!"

The Great International White Van Speaker Scam | 239 comments (223 topical, 16 editorial, 3 hidden)
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