Granite Falls School District catches on to textbook scammer

Published 9:29 pm Tuesday, September 9, 2014

GRANITE FALLS — Something was just off with the invoices that the Granite Falls School District received last month for math workbooks.

The vendor, Scholastic School Supply, claimed it was owed nearly $2,000 for books it had sent to three schools. The district was asked to mail the payments, each $647.50, to New Jersey and Nevada addresses.

“It looks like an official invoice,” district spokeswoman Elizabeth Holderman said.

An accounting technician was suspicious. The amount was the same for books allegedly for three different grade levels. She also didn’t recognize the vendor’s name.

Granite Falls deals with longtime publisher Scholastic, which specializes in educational materials and brings book fairs to students.

It’s common for scam artists to choose names similar to well-known businesses to seem credible, according to a news release from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

The Granite Falls employee didn’t send any money but instead called the Better Business Bureau in Nevada.

Her call was one of 51 complaints the Nevada watchdog agency received from people in 22 states. It also received more than 2,000 inquires regarding the fake invoices. The BBB was unable to find any records showing that the business is legitimate, the press release said.

School employees say the phone number listed on the invoices eventually leads to a voice mail saying it’s a busy time of year and it may take awhile to return the call. Email messages are not returned.

It’s unclear if any other schools in Washington have received the fake invoices.

Schools are being advised to contact the Federal Trade Commission about any suspicious invoices.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.