MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Bartlett Police Department is issuing a warning after a scammer tried to use one of the most recognizable companies in the Mid-South to defraud people of thousands of dollars.
In a Facebook post, officers warn of a scam where someone is calling businesses pretending to be a FedEx representative inquiring about an unpaid delivery. The scammer then tries to get the employee to take money from the register or even their personal bank accounts in some cases for payment.
The Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South says that’s not how FedEx does business.
“They’re never going to reach out to you unsolicited asking you for money to deliver a package or personal information so that would be a big red flag,” said Daniel Irwin with BBB of the Mid-South.
The BBB says they’ve received 19 reports nationwide and five here locally just in the last week.
“If we got five reports, then we know there’s way more people out there that didn’t report it to us, so I am sure someone fell victim to this scam here locally,” Irwin said.
So far, no one locally has reported losing money, but overall, people have lost nearly $30,000 to this scam. These type of scams are on the rise during the pandemic.
“Be skeptical of everything,” Irwin said. “Anytime you get any kind of unsolicited text message, email of phone call, always be skeptical.”
The BBB also says to report anything that seems suspicious. The BBB’s website has a scam tracker that allows people to report and track scams in the area.
“We can’t do anything about it if we don’t know about it,” Irwin said. “That’s why it’s so important scams to the BBB.”
FedEx sent WREG a statement Friday afternoon:
FedEx does not call or send unsolicited text messages or emails to customers requesting money or package or personal information. Unfortunately, scammers often invoke the names of trusted brands when attempting to take advantage of the public, and FedEx is one of many companies whose brand has been abused in this way.
We are committed to protecting the security and integrity of our network. While there is no foolproof method to prevent the FedEx name from being used in a scam, we are constantly monitoring for such activity and work cooperatively with law enforcement.
