Billboard Insider reader Ken Wingate of Wingate Outdoor writes..
I have a situation that has me wondering if it is exclusive to me or if it may be an industry wide scam. I get at least one email a day similar to the attached file. They all have the basic same text with a different name and company. I feel certain that it’s a scam but I wonder if any other Outdoor companies have fallen prey to it.
Billboard Insider’s take:
This email is spam from someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. .Block the sender and delete them. One of the worst side effects of the ai and email automation is the explosion of spam from dealmakers or lenders. It’s gotten easy mass email people and then to instruct your mailbot to send a series of followup emails (e.g. just a nudge…you didn’t respond…appreciate a response…)
Three tipoffs that this email is spam.
- It’s a firm or person you haven’t heard of. Out of home is a specialized industry. A novice won’t know how to sell your company. Why would an experienced private equity firms want to use a novice to get leads on what out of home companies to buy. Here’s an alphabetical list of legitimate out of home brokers:
- The person has a jr sounding title like Analyst. Analyst is an entry level position. Principal, Vice President, President are senior positions. Senior means someone who is experienced and knows what they are doing. Title isn’t foolproof. Some of the bots try to make up impressive sounding titles.
- No phone number or address or firm logo. This email may have been generated by a bot. Real people are quite happy to talk with you on the phone. Their email usually includes a link to a company webpage which you can visit to see if the firm is legit.
What to do if you get something like this.
Don’t respond. You will be deluged by more emails which will waste your time. The email sender will try to extract listing fees from you instead of the usual success fee which a broker charges to sell your company. Block and delete the sender and if you are really interested in selling your assets contact one of the brokers on our list above.
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I also am getting at least one a day, if not three. I have never responded, total scam. If you respond, it confirms your email is valid, and they will sell it and you will be blasted with more scam mail.