I got this invoice at my work and I think it’s a scam. The book’s ISBN doesn’t even exist. Couldn’t find anything online, so thought I’d post. No answer at the company. (Please leave a comment if you got this scam letter, too. ). Update 9/15/14: This story was picked by NBC News! You are encouraged to contact your Better Business Bureau if you receive this.
Life with Leo 
We received the same notice at our school today. Same order and same total bill- although interestingly the Scholastic School Supply inc on our invoice had a different address located somewhere out of Las Vegas. It most definitely is spam as I am in charge of book orders and did not place that order.
They must be sending out hundreds of these, I am sending the one I received to the Florida State Attorneys office.
We are in FL and received a similar invoice in today’s mail….for Math Concepts….spelled a rat immediately. Luckily, we are a small school, so I know everything we order. Definite scam. I imagine larger schools might be fooled. Mine had the NJ address on it.
Got one at our school too.
We are a medium size school district in Washington State. We’ve received at least 10, to different schools and departments. All for the same thing, math workbooks for $647.50. Remit address in NJ. the bill does not have an authorized purchase order number, so we were already questioning it when we found out it was a total scam.
call your local postmaster —
Some solicitations disguise their true nature. Others identify themselves as solicitations, but only in the “fine print.” In either case, protect your company’s assets by withholding payment until you have verified whether your company actually ordered and received the goods or services reflected on the document. If not, do not pay. You may have received a solicitation in the guise of an invoice.
A solicitation whose appearance does not conform to the requirements of Title 39, United States Code, Section 3001, constitutes prima facie evidence of violation of the federal False Representation Statute (Title 39, United States Code, Section 3005). Therefore, solicitations in the form of invoices, bills, or statements of account due which do not contain the large and conspicuous disclaimer required by the law will not be carried or delivered by mail if they come to the attention of the Postal Service, and will be disposed of as the Postal Service shall direct.
Con artists often make large mailings of illegal solicitations. Even if you are not fooled, you can help the Postal Inspection Service learn of such mailings by reporting the receipt of non-conforming solicitations to your local postmaster or the nearest Postal Inspector. The Postal Inspection Service may be able to prevent other business people from being victimized.
We also received an invoice with the Las Vegas, NV address dated 8/14/14. It’s identical to the one posted with the exception of the address.
As reported here: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/bogus-bills-shady-company-scams-schools-26-states-n201226, authorities are recommending that anyone, who actually sent payment to the bogus vendor, file a complaint through the United States Postal Inspection Service, online at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/contactus/filecomplaint.aspx
Got it at the school I work in too. Exact same letter as yours just a different number for the school code. Definitely a scam. Thanks for posting!
We received the exact same invoice, after calling the number and it being disconnected, I googled the company and found this post. Thank you!
Thanks for posting this. We just received this invoice also. We plan to report it to our state attorney general.
Where else can we report these guys? I don’t get fooled often, but the timing was good/bad since lots of invoices come in at the beginning of school. I wouldn’t have caught it if a second invoice for another campus came in and then things started to add up like no shipping address, fake ISBN number, fake domain name, etc. I think we were able to stop payment on the check. I looked up the Las Vegas address on Google Maps (shady-looking warehouse complex) and it confirmed that this person was trying to take advantage of schools. I don’t know how he/she would cash the check unless they washed it and put their names on it.
Thanks for writing this, Derrick.
Search online for your state’s Attorney General office and “File a Complaint”. Do the same with the attorney general’s office in state the invoice shows the company being located in (Nevada or New Jersey) AND the Better Business Bureau for the same state. These steps were recommended by my state’s attorney general’s office as the way to take these people to justice. It will give them the documentation needed to bring the case to court.
I received an invoice for the same title from the same company, same amount due, but a different mailing address. Completely fake.
I received the exact same invoice at my school. It’s so a scam. Glad I found this.
And the return address on my invoice was in Las Vegas. I called got no answer all day.
Yes. I received a similar invoice, but the address was in Las Vegas.
We got the same letter, except the address of the company was 1350 E. Flamingo Rd, Ste. 820, Las Vegas, NV 89119. No one on our faculty placed an order from this company and coincidentally (or not!), the amount due was indentical – 647.50.
We received it as well but from the Las Vegas Address. I am turning it in to the Post Office Inspector to have them investigated for mail fraud, which is a felony.
Received the same invoice, same ISBN, quantity and price. I actually contacted someone asking for more info about the order and they had the name of a former employee as placing it. Very strange. Definitely a scam.
Same letter…different book. We are a PreK program so an English book doesn’t quite fit our needs. That was a glaring error on their part. The other was that they have the ‘order process date’ as 7/5/15??? The jig is up. I would like to confront them with the 60 Minutes crew!
They got me until I was double checking how much we spent on consumables and I looked at the invoice a little harder. We were able to stop our check. We need to let McGraw Hill and the Everyday Math people know. I think their client list has been compromised.
We aren’t on the McGraw Hill client list, so I don’t think that’s it.
On Tuesday, August 26, 2014, Life with Leo wrote:
>
We got it, too. We’ve used these books so at first we thought it was legit!
I am the bookkeeper at a school in Stillwater MN and we received this same invoice!
Our School in Michigan received the exact same invoice for the exact same amount with a different date. I think they are counting on the purchasing office and the payables office being disconnected. We received no product.
Our charter school in Idaho received the same invoice with the address to remit payment to Las Vegas, Nv. I knew it was a scam because the Scholastic invoice look different.
We are a charter school in Michigan and we received the same letter. I googled the address and was thankful for this post that confirmed my suspicion that it was a scam.
We are a charter school in Arizona and received a similar invoice. It was for English practice books with the same ISBN# on the invoice pictured above for math. A scam for sure.
We are a private school in Florida and we got the same thing today!
We got it in Nebraska but from a Las Vegas address. English Workbook, same amount and same ISBN number
They have hit Utah too! Only difference is billing for English – Language arts practice book. Same total!
They have arrived in Yuma, AZ! Like the on in Utah, ours was for English-Language Arts Practice Books, for the exact same total for all of our schools. Our invoice has the exact same details, except for the title of the publication and the return address is also in Las Vegas.
My private school in Florida also received the same letter for the same amount of $647.50, Tried to call number no answer just leave a message (didn’t). Email returned.could not be delivered. SCAM….
Received this same invoice in Mesa, AZ, just different school name and code, but the exact same amount and everything else!!! Watch out!
I’m in Missouri and I got the same invoice only mine is out of Las Vegas and it says it’s for “English-Language Arts Practice Book” but the exact same amount!!
got the same invoice today. exactly the same amount, but it was called Publication: Math Concepts.
We just got the same invoice today but based out of Las Vegas, NV. Thanks for the post!
I got it too. Publication was math concepts. I’m in Tallahassee, FL.
We received the same invoice for math concepts in Jacksonville, FL.
We received a similar invoice at the school I work at in Sullivan, MO. Same total, different book.
Search online for your state’s Attorney General office and “File a Complaint”. Do the same with the attorney general’s office in state the invoice shows the company being located in (Nevada or New Jersey) AND the Better Business Bureau for the same state. These steps were recommended by my state’s attorney general’s office as the way to take these people to justice. It will give them the documentation needed to bring the case to court.
the scam has hit Jonesboro, Arkansas…2 of our schools have received a bill.
We just got one at our school located in Illinois.
did anyone file with the bbb or make any progress with govt agencies
we got what we ordered but it was shipped to the wrong address
we got catalogs instead of workbooks and called to complain
it shows they have no prior complaints
http://www.bbb.org/southern-nevada/business-reviews/school-supplies/scholastic-school-supply-in-las-vegas-nv-90031039
I work as a bookkeeper at a school in Gulfport, Mississippi and I received the same invoice. I am definitely reporting this company!
From a preschool in Florida, we got the same exact letter.
Just got the exact same invoice in Indiana! Only their address was Las Vegas. Same date, amount, and book.
We received the same invoice here in Arkansas. It was bugging me because everyone I asked said they hadn’t ordered anything. I went to see what the book looked like, but could not find it anywhere. I began to research and stumbled across a rip-off report site and found a complaint. I am so glad that I did!!!! Our invoice had a Las Vegas address as well.
Same as a few above … address was in Las Vegas and for English-Language. Special Note: Check the purchase order/School Code: ours was connected to our school cooperative purchasing organization.
We just got two invoices today in Youngstown, OH. Las Vegas return address.
High School in Michigan received the same invoice today. Same dollar amount but was for English/ LA practice books. Remit to address is Las Vegas.
Clinton County High School Albany, KY I am the bookkeeper and we got one today… same as the pictured one but ours was for 50 English/Language Arts Workbooks… Called our Middle School and they have received them as well for the same exact “materials”. I am going to pass this along to all the schools that I can email to and also to our BBB or attorney general’s office as well as Nevada. They need to be stopped. Also be aware of the California Company who scams schools and businesses over postage meter supplies………big headache!!!
I just received an invoice to our school in Central Florida, mine has a return address of Sewell, NJ. I guess they just keep changing the addresses as they run from the law.
High School in MN received same invoice as #38, 36, etc.
High school in Oregon. We received one today for the same amount except the title was “Math Practice.”
Elementary School in Wisconsin, we received one as well.
Hit us in Southwest Nebraska too! Soooo very glad this site was here!
K-8 school in Califronia, got the “invoice” also. I will be reporting to the Attorney General.
Our school received the exact same invoice today in Florida with New Jersey return address. So glad I googled it. Thanks for posting the picture.
Our school (Illinois) received one of these today- with the return address Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. Very grateful for your post-
Our Southern California district got the invoice today from the New Jersey address. It looked strange so we checked it out and spread the word about the scam.
We received ours in NE Ohio yesterday. Already reported it to the attorney general.
We are in Miami, FL. Received this invoice which is exactly like the one on the top of this page…..Unbelievable
We received one at a Michigan school today with the Las Vegas address on it. I reported it.
Gulfport, FL here and two of the high schools in Pinellas County have received similar invoices. The book details and amount due are exactly the same as the invoice pictured above.
Liberty, MO- Received the exact same invoice. Argh!
All of our schools in our district received them too and we are in Louisiana. we have the Scholastic reps here today and they said it is definitely not them but will let their offices know this is out there!!
Yep. Several of these received at our schools in Brainerd Minnesota. All the same as these with the LV address.
Pembroke Pines, FL -Just received the letter as well, the same exact inovice
Burbank, CA–Received the invoice today, some variation on the details, but definitely the same scam. Thank you for posting the invoice!
Elementary school Albuquerque NM-Got this yesterday. Requesting payment to Sewell, NJ. Did a search for the ISBN-nothing. Googled the company and got this website. Same amounts, Math Practice . Glad I did the research-hope no schools in our district paid this. Trying to get info to the right people so we can stop these folks.
Got this same thing in Colorado. Invoice address is in Las Vegas. Pretty darned sneaky. DO NOT PAY THESE PEOPLE.
Apparently all the schools in the country go this same letter. We got the letter at all of our elementary schools in Oswego, IL. It is a scam. I sent it to the Illinois Attorney General and the Nevada Attorney General.
We received the exact same at two of our five schools. This scam is using the school’s NCES # as the PO – which you can find easily online.
We received the same invoice with a Las Vegas mailing address. Thank you for posting this. We are in Littleton, Colorado. Hopefully….someone can trace this address in Las Vegas and put a stop to this. They never answered their phone or returned the messages that were sent. SCAM!
I got this letter for my school in Illinois from their Nevada location, but the letter was routed through Maryland, according to the postage.
I filed reports with MN Attorney General, NV Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, Post Office Inspector, and notified our MN Dept of Ed. Oh…and also hit a website called http://www.ripoffreport.com and added to an existing complaint there. Everyone take a few minutes to file reports and lets see if we can shut these folks down. I dealt with a scam like this last year and it took hours of my time to deal with the collection agency.
We just received this at our school office in Huntington Beach, Ca. Thanks everyone for posting. I thought it was suspicious when we opened it. We received it from the NJ address.
I got one today. Reported to my district finance office so others don’t have to try and figure it out.
I got one today, too. This one is from NJ and has Math Concepts listed as the name of the publication. Thank you everyone for posting.
We received the same here in Iowa as well–different book, but similar invoice. We had some turnover/shifting in staff over the summer, so we thought initially someone had ordered it before they were moved/left, but I’m glad I did a little googling!
GOT BASICALLY THE SAME INVOICE EXCEPT NOW THEIR COMPANY ADDRESS IS IN
NEVADA.
We received this invoice today as well. But it was for a Math Concepts book. We don’t order text books so this was really strange to me. I will be definitely be filing a complaint as well. Thank you for posting this.
We also received this at the Bridgeport School Dist. in WA. Since I place all the orders, knew it was bogus, but check anyway.
We received one of these today also– from the Las Vegas address. Same item and dollar amount as the sample listed above- Chippewa Falls WI
Same thing here! Exact same font and ISBN number – although for Eng workbooks. Thanks for posting!
Clark County School District in Las Vegas, NV is also receiving these, $647.50 also. We have over 350 schools, so trying to get the word out to all our schools to NOT SEND CHECKS!!
Also K-8 in California. Identical amount to NJ! Let’s see–not gonna happen! I will warn the rest of our district. Thanks for posting.
September 3, 2014
Thank you all for posting your comments on the this, however this really indicates how people with take advantage of anyone, and it does not matter if it’s the school system, I JUST RECEIVE THEIR INOVICE AND WILL NOT PAID IT. I am going to send it back to them.
Patricia
We received a bill as well
We got an invoice from the Las Vegas address. Realized it was bogus & notified all the school board clerks in Kansas districts through a mass e-mail. Most Kansas schools received at least one if not multiple invoices. We notified the Nevada Attorney General and also the Kansas Attorney General. Someone researched and said the Las Vegas address was getting reviews as a sushi restaurant. How interesting.
Karen
We got one from the Vegas address for an ELA workbook which we did not order either (we’re in CA).
Thanks for posting this….I was actually going to the website to find a phone number so I could find out more about this invoice for 647.50 for math concepts workbooks. It was then that I saw your SCAM website, you saved me a great deal of time!!!
Our director had just read an email about this scam – 1/2 an hour later I was doing the mail and low and behold there was the Scholastic School Supply Invoice for $647.50 located in Las Vegas! Was I ever glad that she had just read that to me or I would have just put it on the spread sheet and had it paid!!!!
Yep. We got one at our school today, too… exactly the same invoice. MAJOR scam
I reported it as mail fraud! You should do the same! http://ehome.uspis.gov/fcsexternal/default.aspx
We received the same invoice at our school . Thanks for bringing attention to this matter. We will report it as well
We recieved the same invoice Mississippi…
We received the same invoice also. It has the Las Vegas address. I tried calling and no answer and when I emailed I got an auto reply saying to allow them 5 business days to respond. It is supposedly from Amanda Nathan, Billing Coordinator.
We received the exact same one as shown. Even the amount.
Wow! I am in Tennessee. We just received this invoice….so glad I researched and found it was bogus! Thank you all so much for sharing!!!
We received the same exact invoice. It is a scam; we have not ordered any common core math workbooks. Thank you for posting this for everyone’s protection!
I received this invoice as well – mine has a different remit to address – I had a feeling it was a scam – I knew I hadn’t ordered these and it was not even a possible purchase order number from my school.
Melissa
I received the same invoice! I actually received two, one for each campus. We have small class sizes so I knew we hadn’t ordered 50 of any book. This is horrible.
Our schools also received an invoice – the same amount $647.50 – is billed on each one. The address is Las Vega, NV. I called & left a message. Waiting to see if they call me back!
Our school received the same invoice, the same amount, NJ address – Mine was for common core aligned 8th grade practice books . My secretary called- no answer. I looked up the address and my server blocked it because of the @usa.com. Then I found this site. Makes me wonder how many schools fall for this scam.
Sorry forgot to add – where I am located – Mansfield, Missouri. Looks like they were hitting everywhere.
We got this same one today, from the Las Vegas address. I knew it didn’t look right, we did a Language Arts and Math adoption PK-8 this year from McGraw Hill & Houghton Mifflin and all that has been paid for. We did a search by the ISBN #, it is not a valid one. Then I found this Scam alert! Bagdad, AZ
We got one, too, also at a Waldorf school. There’s no way we ordered Common Core aligned math workbooks!
We are a small charter school in Reno, NV and received a bill from this company yesterday for $647.50. I do all the ordering and so I was immediately skeptical. Total scam!
Our district has been flooded with these as well. Targeted our elementary schools here in Medford, Oregon. Thankfully, no one has fallen for it.
Received it at Lacrosse WA as well. Questioned it because we don’t have that many students.
School district in Paso Robles, CA. We received the same invoice. Didn’t look like a typical Scholastic invoice so I checked it out. Scam!
Our school in Paris, AR got the same thing EVEN COMMON CORE STANDARD ALIGNED….I checked with all my teachers and nobody has received anything nor heard of this company – if they want my $647.50 they gonna have to come see me to get it!!!!!
This week – Sept 2, 2014 – at least four schools in the San Francisco Unified received a letter similar to this one. Thanks for posting!
yes, we recieved the same thing!! Common Core Standards Aligned QTY:50 for $647.50 …we only have 80 students K-12. We are in Homestead, FL Thanks for posting!!
I am the accounts payable clerk for two charter schools in California and received this fake invoice as well. Thanks for posting this!
We also received the same invoice… I have been holding for about a month now… just waiting for someone to call and ask why I hadn’t paid it….. I had no clue it was a scam… thanks for letting everyone know… Our school is in St. Joe, AR ….. We are so small I don’t know how they ever found us….
Thank you for posting this. I’m an acct. tech at a school in California and was suspicious when I called and the phone number was no longer in service.
The scammers have hit the Oregon zip codes. We just received this invoice.
We got some her at Los Angeles Unified School District school.
We got the same invoice for the same amount. I called the number on the invoice and it has been disconnected. So sad that people sit around with nothing better to do.
We got one for each of our schools. Same invoices for Math Practices for elem and HS–they don’t use the same books……. Crazy– they really need to catch these guys!
We got one for $647.50 at our school today. I know another school in town received the same invoice! The ISBN# is non existent.
Same for our school! Las Vegas address, $647.50 for a Language Arts Practice Book.
Wow! Just got our today! We are in Washington State and I called the number and it’s disconnected. It claims to be based out of Sewell, NJ.
I can’t believe these people. Frustraiting.
Waterford Michigan also received the same.
Yesterday i spent 300 bucks for platinium roulette system
, i hope that i will make my first $$ online
We, too received an invoice. We are in San Diego. Their telephone number is disconnected.