As a business leader, you likely receive bills and pay invoices as part of your day-to-day operations. You also probably use at least one copier or printer to keep a trail of important documents.

Unfortunately, scammers are aware of the high-volume usage of these machines and have been using this as a lucrative scam opportunity for years. Having seen a recent increase in complaints about this type of problem, known as the “phoner toner” scam, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) wants you to know how to avoid becoming a victim.

Here is how it works. Essentially, the caller is attempting to catch businesses off guard by tricking employees into accepting and paying for printer toner at extremely high prices. What typically happens first is the scammer will call a business hoping to find a new or temporary employee who will freely provide information.

Scammers generally pose as the company’s approved vendor asking to confirm the make and model number of the nearest office printer. Scammers say they do this so they can double-check the toner they are sending is correct. Because this seems like a harmless request, the employee will give the scammer this information.

These scam artists will then explain they will send out the toner for the printer as requested and give an approximate date for expected arrival. Unfortunately, the toner that gets delivered to the business address is typically either not of high quality or is for the wrong printer.

Additionally, the billing invoice is generally for a price much higher than what can be purchased from most office supply stores.

The scammer is hoping the business’ accounting department will simply pay the bill without question. Businesses that do attempt to contact the scammer are often met with vague statements claiming that “someone” at the company ordered the supplies.

Other times, scam artists give the name of the employee they spoke to, as well as the make and model number of the printer, in an attempt to deceive the business and confirm the fraudulent order.

Complaints filed with BBB allege that businesses have paid thousands of dollars in phony invoices to companies like these. In order to keep this from happening to your business, BBB recommends the following tips:

Educate your staff. Make sure your employees understand who is responsible for ordering and confirming orders for office supplies and other purchases. Train new employees to be in the habit of quickly transferring those calls to the appropriate members of your staff.

Keep records. When you receive an unwanted sales call for office supplies, ask for the name of the company the representative works for and that person’s name. Record this information, along with the time and the date of the call.

Get on the “do not call” list. Visit www.texasnocall.com to register your business on the Electric No Call list, which is specifically for business phone numbers.

If you feel you’ve been a victim of this scam or others, please contact BBB at www.centraltx.bbb.org to file a complaint. In addition, for more advice on how to effectively manage your business, visit www.bbb.org/us/business-resources.

BBB’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. BBB accomplishes this mission by creating a community of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior.

For more information, please contact Lydia Hekman, BBB media/PR coordinator, at 512-445-4748.