Julie Ali

Okay, I know that we are all aware of the internet type scams where some weirdo says that they are from the UK and that you are the long lost relative/heir to this massive fortune and all they need is your most detailed information to wire the money to your bank account, etc., etc. Well, thankfully I've never fallen victim to that type of scam, but I ALMOST fell victim to a different type of scam that I feel compelled to share with all my fellow Thirty-One ladies!!

I'm pretty new to selling Thirty-One, just started when the freeze was lifted back in July of 2011. I absolutely LOVE the company and everything about it! However, there are quite a few ladies that sell Thirty-One around where I live, which can sometimes make it difficult to make that many sales per month. In spite of the mass majority of sales reps that are local to me, I still enjoy selling for Thirty-One and will hopefully be able to continue for many years to come, because I love the products and what the company stands for! :-)

I pay every month to have my Thirty-One website active, because I find it very helpful for placing orders and sending out updates to all my customers. Well, a couple weeks ago I received an e-mail from a lady that said she found my information (e-mail and name) from my website. She said that she had a previous Thirty-One rep, but that she moved out of the country with her husband and hadn't been able to find another rep. She said that she was 53 years old and deaf, but that she could read and write...(this kinda sent up a red flag, but I thought that there could sincerely be a person out there that would fit this description). She said she had been wanting to place an order as a surpise for her grand-daughter since before Christmas for 3 items (and she had the item numbers and everything, and to my surprise they were some of the more higher-end items that Thirty-One carries), but that she was unable to find a rep that would help her (I would later realize WHY...). She also said that she would Fed-Ex a check from her "financial clerk" (yes, another red flag), but I figured if anything I could deposit whatever check she sent me and wait 5-7 business days to make sure it wasn't a bad check and then place her order and have it shipped that way I wouldn't be out any money...

Well, I immediately responded back to the lady and said that I would love to help her out, and requested her full name and mailing address so that I would be able to come up with the taxes and shipping. She replied saying her address was in Michigan (which I thought was odd, because doesn't the website direct shoppers to the closest reps to them?--I'm located in VA). Anyway, I came up with a total for her and we continued to e-mail back and forth, as I had to find out exactly which patterns and if she wanted to add personalization to any of her products, etc.

After a few days without a response, I was wondering if she had decided not to order so I kinda just didn't think about it. Then I get a frantic e-mail from her saying that she had been in an auto-mobile accident and that she was lucky to be alive and on top of that her "finiancial clerk" (also referred to as a "debtor"--someone that owed her money) had sent more than they were supposed to as a check to me. She was frantic saying that she would need the extra money back ASAP, because she was in the hospital and that she needed to pay the doctor for her "treatments", etc... (Yet another red flag, but I was finding myself feeling genuinely concerned for the lady). I assured her that her money was in good hands, and that I would make sure that after her order was placed that all the extra money would get back to her ASAP safe and sound.

Okay, so today I got the check Fed-Exed to me, and it looked very legit at first glance. I was amazed at the total though, $1,900!!! Her order was $312 and some change... So that meant that I was gonna need to get her around $1,600 back. Well, almost immediately after Fed-Ex knocked on my door, I received an e-mail from her saying that she knew the check had been delivered and instructed me to deposit the entire check into my bank account; then wire transfer through Western Union the difference minus her Thirty-One order and the Western Union transfer fees to her doctor's account (which the doc had a weird name and was located in Manhattan, NY)...(Yep, you guessed it, another red flag...). I thought all of this sounded weird, but strangely believable. I thought...Okay, what if she really was in a bad auto-accident and had to be med-flighted out and for some reason was in NY...? I don't know...Well, needless to say, I went to my bank, First Bank and Trust, and they deposited the check, no problem (see, I told you it appeared to be legit), then I was literally on my way into the Western Mutual when I saw my sister, Tabitha, parked outside and she honked to say Hi to me. I walked over to kinda tell her why I was there, cause I guess I felt compelled to (thank God!), and she immediately said that I should STOP, and that it was most definitely a SCAM! She said that anytime someone sends you a check and requires you to wire transfer money back (usually through Western Union), it is always a SCAM!....I was pretty bummed, felt embarassed but incredibly fortunate that I had ran into her before going into the Western Union and completing the transaction!
So, at that point, I immediately went back to my bank and told them the whole story and that I thought the check was not good, etc. After looking at the check in more detail, there were a few other red flags...On the bottom of a check where the numbers are, it's usually: Routing #, Account #, then check #...Well, on this one the first group of #'s was the check #...Odd. Then there were a few other typos that just set off too many alarms and even my bank didn't feel comfortable, so they were thankfully able to just cancel the entire transaction entirely! Sheewww....I just feel SOOO played and ignorant, but at the time with all the e-mails going back and forth, I really thought (and maybe was just praying and hoping) that everything was going to work out and I was going to get a nice Thirty-One order...

I wanted to share my experience, because I truly think that this woman (and probably many more) are targeting Thirty-One reps, because we are a Christian company and preying on those (like myself) who are just not aware of this type of scam. I have since e-mailed the lady and said that my bank would not deposit the check as they said it was "bad" and that if she wants to still place an order that she would need to send me a money order or use a credit card, etc. I hope that this information is helpful to some and/or all of you out there and that it can stop any further scams from taking place!