Yesterday Billboard Insider published a story about an ACH scam which Michael Bates (mbates1477@gmail.com) pulled against TDO Outdoor. Bates has attempted to scam at least 9 other out of home companies. Here’s what Billboard Insider knows.
- Bates says he works at Kidde-Fenwal, Inc, 400 Main St, Ashland MA 01721 yet he uses a gmail address. That should put you on your guard. Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. declared bankrupty in 2023.
- Bates refuses to pay with a credit card which is no surprise because fraudulent credit card transactions can be cancelled.
- Bates doesn’t forward creative. We sends a huge upfront payment first.
- Bates overpays an ad contract, asks for an immediate refund, and simultaneously cancels the payment.
A midwest out of home exec writes
The article about ACH payments is a familiar story for us. This same Michael Bates, saying he represented a company called Kidde-Fenwal, reached out to us recently and wanted to sign a contract for an expensive digital campaign. He would only communicate via email, claimed he couldn’t pay with a credit card because of a “first of the year external account audit” and it HAD to be an ACH transfer. We thought it was suspicious and after further conversations we opted not to proceed and after hearing this story I’m glad that we did. I’m very sorry to hear that TDO was taken advantage of, and I hope they were able to get reimbursed somehow.
Bates attempted a scam in Las Vegas…
I just wanted to put it out there that we had been contacted by him as well in case he’s trying to swindle more independent OOH companies with the same trick.That scam sounds the same as what almost happened to us… and…digital billboards Vegas last year in April….Starts with wanting a large contract – then sends payment but overpays. In our case – a wire payment. We caught it and identified the scam before making any “refunds” to the scammer.
An East Coast Out of Home company says this…
We recently had a transaction with the same Michael Bates who prepaid a $27,000 media contract, then said he had to cancel the order and asked us to refund the order less a cancelation fee. We told him we couldn’t issue a refund right away and would issue a refund within 30 days. He called to say it was urgent that we issue a refund. In a few days the ACH was reversed by him. The only notice I received was that the payment had been disputed through the payment processor (Intuit), not my bank (BA). The bank showed the deposit into your account and it looks as if it has cleared, but the payor can have up to 10 days to dispute the charge and have it reversed. In the end, we didn’t lose any money except the processing fee, in this case $419.43.
Another east coast out of home exec says…
He tried this on us in New York
A Texas operator forwarded to Billboard Insider a chain of Bates emails. Bates had sent a $15,000 check in payment for a $4,000 contract and was trying to get an immediate refund. Here are two of Bates emails.
On 03/20/2024 8:20 AM CDT Michael Bates <mbates1477@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
How are you doing today?
This is regarding the payment i have instructed my Account officer to issue the payment to the information you provided and here is the tracking number (9102805213683077484626) You can track it on usps.com to know when it will get to you.https://m.usps.com/m/TrackConfirmAction. I will be looking forward to hear from you soon. Thank you,
Kidde-Fenwal, Inc. 400 Main St, Ashland, MA 01721, M:316-835-1732m E:mbates1477@gmail.com
In the sequel to my telephone conversation with my account officer regarding the payment, I was apprised that the account officer included the payment for another vendor based on the purchase order given for payment without adhering to payment instructions. According to my account officer, it will be very challenging to issue another check since the present one is still valid, also since the check was drawn in your company name, it can not be cashed by nobody except your company, and the reason being a check procured with the amount, it is akin to cash. If you decide to void it. Firstly, it will take up to 90 days to get the refund from the issuing bank as it is drawn on your company name. Secondly, It will be very confusing to effect a transfer now as the external auditors are carrying out this year’s first quarter auditing on account, so all outgoing transactions are on hold, this is more reason he effected the payment by check which is as safe as a transfer.n. Finally, it should take less than 3 working days to cash the check because it is procured with the amount and it has been debited at the issuing bank according to the client. In conclusion, you are hereby advised to proceed and deposit the check to your account, get me informed once the payment is cleared in your account, and then you assist me in paying the difference to the other vendor directly.Kindly revert back to me as soon as possible.
Thank you,
A south-central out of home exec says this…
We were also attempted to be scammed by him. I told him we had to discuss by phone, he had a thick accent that I could not locate, I thought sort of Caribbean or Central African was it. We did not pay him as he requested.
A midwest out of home exec writes…
He tried pulling this same scam on us! A $60K contract that he “overpaid” by sending us $90K. I hope someone catches this guy.
An east coast out of hone exec says…
We had a similar run in. Same scam attempt and same company name but used Caicon Job <caiconjob147@gmail.com>. Would never answer the phone because they were “too busy” and only responded via email.
Hello, The price is cool by me and also it is within my budget. As i will be making payment through my business account with wire transfer. Here are the information needed to initiate payment.
Account Number:
Bank Name:
Bank Address:
I will be looking forward to read from you soon.
Thank you,
Job
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This is similar to a scam that targets attorneys. The scammer asks counsel to help settle a large case, or draft a purchase agreement for a large piece of equipment. The scammer’s partner “pays” the settlement or purchase price and tells the attorneys to take their fee from the proceeds and forward the remainder to the scammer. The scammer reverses the payment or pays with a phony cashier’s check.
You can protect yourself by insisting on payment in “good funds” or “immediately available funds.” That is, a wire transfer. You can also protect yourself by running from a person who insists on immediate refund or payment before the incoming money has had a chance to clear.