Fraud alert: Dodgy 'reseller' targeting channel - UPDATED

Another target of London-based 'reseller' Camcorp which attempts to order high value kit, steps forward

Another VAR has come forward after being contacted by fake reseller Camcorp UK.

Yesterday we spoke to a Rotherham-based VAR who warned others to be on their guard after it was targeted by the firm, which attempted to order £50,000 worth of APC equipment.

The firm, allegedly trading as Camcorp UK since 2000, claims to be based at 226A Brownhill Road, London, selling a "wide variety" of tech from vendors such as Kingston, Microsoft, HP, Cisco, Toshiba, Transcend, and Intel.

Cliff Cheetham, business development director at VAR Secure Power, smelled a rat when the firm sent him two years' worth of accounts unprompted, and when he saw where the office was located.

"Even before we asked, they sent us a copy of two years' worth of company accounts, and when I communicated with them via our IM facility, it was obvious that English was not their first language. They are based at a residential address. He also ordered a load of APC kit, but no accessories, which is very unusual.

"I've spoken to a few people and they have also had this firm trying to place orders. Plus they told us they had a £100k credit line with Comstor, which i since found out is untrue. Perhaps if they had been less keen and haggled on price, I may have believed them a bit more."

Now, Russell Barley, managing director of Prodec Networks, said he had been contacted earlier this week.

He told CRN: "Henry Bennet from Camcorp UK contacted us two days ago wanting a quote for 20x Cisco Switches (WS-C2960+48TC-L) After I had quoted him, he replied asking me to confirm I would give them 30 days credit.

"I told him we would have to do a credit check first, and then he sent me his accounts. We quickly realised this was most likely a scam, Google earth was very useful."

Camcorp's "office" when viewed on Google Maps (see image below) is a residential flat above a bar.

The directors are listed as Henry Benett (corr), Malcolm Richards and Peter C Bale, and its website at first glance looks fairly slick (see screenshot below).

Henry Benett also has a LinkedIn profile, listed as managing director of Camcorp - but he has no connections and no information about either himself or his company.

CRN attempted to ring the number listed on the website, but there was no answer, and an email sent to the contact address on the site bounced straight back.

Secure Power's Cheetham was keen for channel players to be on their guard. "I have seen this type of thing happen before and it can have a devastating impact on a company and the people who work for it. This business is hard enough as it is. If someone is busy and in a rush, they could easily fall for it."

Clive Hailstone, practice lead UK and Ireland at Comstor, confirmed that the company has never heard of Camcorp UK and that Camcorp does not have any credit lines with them.

"We are not trading with them and we haven't heard of them," he said. "We are very diligent about this sort of thing and only trade with registered Cisco partners. If there is anything unscrupulous, Cisco's brand protection will get involved. They are also not listed on Cisco's partner locator."

CRN also contacted several of the vendors listed on the Camcorp website, and so far none of them have heard of the company.