Scam Spreading Westward, Modus Operandi Changing

Larry Ornelis with National Glass and Mirror in Youngtown, Ariz., contacted glassBYTEs.com yesterday to report that the glass scam first reported almost two months ago has spread westward with some variations.

Ornelis told glassBYTEs.com that his company received a call on Friday from a person by the name of John Brooks. The call came from a local number and was not made through a relay phone system such as those used by members of the deaf community. The credit card did not come back as stolen and aside from the volume of glass being ordered, Ornelis said there was nothing that raised his suspicion about the transaction.

What caught his attention, however, was the call that came in yesterday with the shipping information and the destination of the glass-Guyana.

Remembering the reports that ran on glassBYTEs.com in late August and early September, Ornelis contacted the bank that would have helped verify the reliability of the customer. Bank employees put him through to the fraud department, where Ornelis found out that none of the information provided by Brooks matched the credit card being used and that the card itself had been put on hold over the weekend for "increased suspicious activity."

Ornelis contacted glassBYTEs.com to share the news and "let everyone know the scam is moving westward," he said. It also no longer involves the use of a relay phone system.