Complaint Review: Janice Dean Interiors Design & Decor

We were contacted by Janice Dean from Interiors Design and Decor located in Sarasota, Florida.

She attempted to place an order with my company for furniture that was supposedly for an unnamed client in Florida.

This was a very professional and elaborate scam attempt. She provided an official purchase order signed by someone else who was supposedly the owner of the design firm and included a credit card number.

I became suspicious because of several "minor" inconsistencies and questions:

1) After Jan's initial general inquiry by email all other correspondence was conducted by fax. The fax number listed was for a Sarasota, FL address, but the actual number of the fax machine indicated Minneapolis, MN.

2) I could not find any listing or website for an interior design firm named Interiors Design & Decor at the Florida address that was given.

3) Emails and phone calls sent to Janice were never returned.

4) There was no email address or phone number given for the supposed owner of the firm who "authorized" the order and supplied the credit card information.

5) When I searched the internet for information about the firm I found the Ripoff Report detailing this individual's long history of scams involving interior design clients. The previous complaint had listed Minneapolis as the source of the scam. This matched up with the actual fax number that was used.