SVP sounds channel fraud alarm
Online reseller warns channel to be on guard against fraudsters trading under its name
Fraudsters have attempted to place orders in excess of £30,000 in SVP's name with overseas suppliers
Online retailer SVP has urged the channel to be on its guard against fraudsters attempting to place orders in the company’s name.
For the past two weeks, rogue traders claiming to be SVP have attempted to place orders worth more than £30,000 with overseas suppliers in Greece, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The imposters are understood to be London based and have been contacting suppliers via email addresses that closely resemble those used by SVP’s staff.
The matter is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police and SVP is keen to hear from anyone who may have been contacted by the imposters.
Andrew Meikle, owner of SVP, said: “It is proving tricky to unravel because SVP is based in Scotland, the other firm is in London and the companies affected so far are from overseas.”
SVP sells PCs, components, peripherals, networking, gaming kit and consumer electronics from a host of A-brand vendors. As far as the online VAR is aware, none of the companies which have been targeted by the fraud so far have sent out any products.
“There is a fear that more companies have been targeted and left out of pocket, but have not come forward yet,” Meikle added.
To assure the firms they are targeting, Meikle confirmed that the imposters have been contacting companies using his name, too.
“I have called the number they are giving out myself and asked to speak to the person in charge, only to be told I need to speak to Andrew Meikle, but he’s in a meeting,” he said.
Meikle thinks SVP was chosen at random by the fraudsters and fears other VARs could fall prey to similar scams.
“There is so much information available on the internet about companies and their directors, including personal details, which makes it easy for people to pass themselves off as others,” he warned.
Phil McCabe, a spokesperson for the Forum of Private Business, said the case highlights the importance of employing credit checks when embarking on business deals.
He said: “It is really important that businesses use credit check facilities to ensure the people they are doing business with are who they say they are.”