Over the last month, janitorial and cleaning supply companies have been targeted by scammers in six states – Montana, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois and Maine. The scheme involves, Waterford Management, a company with a bogus address listed in Minneapolis, MN. The company orders cleaning supplies, either by phone or online, to be picked up by a third-party shipper. The company keeps prospective vendor’s suspicions at bay with spotless credit applications and plenty of supporting documentation. They also created three fictitious online entities to vouch for them as references and appear to have a bank account Minnesota. The company kept a small amount of funds in that account, so the bank will confirm that they do have an account there. To date victimized businesses have lost more than $150,000 in this scam.

Be on the alert for anyone who tries to place an order for products in the name of this company. Inform employees to look out for this scam and what should be done. Best Practice: Require any company placing an order for the first time to pay upfront via credit card. In this way, you will be able to confirm payment before shipping the order. Source: Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota

For more information on this scam, check out BBB Sounds Alarm on Waterford Management. To report a scam, go to the BBB Scam Tracker. To find trustworthy businesses, go to bbb.org.