Old School Scammers

08-22-2025

The Soap Salesman’s Pitch.

Before the internet, scammers often used phone calls to target businesses. One memorable instance involved a soap salesman trying to exploit our company. We needed special liquid soap for our bottling line, delivered in large 55-gallon barrels. The salesman offered me a “special deal” — purchase two barrels, and he’d send a free television directly to my home. When I told him I was one of the company owners, he seemed surprised. I informed him that his company would be blacklisted and that I’d warn other bottlers about his scam. Realizing I wasn’t just an employee, he quickly ended the call.

Office Supplies Scams.

Another time, I received a call from an older woman claiming to sell office supplies. She said she had found our company’s name in a business directory. Apologetically, she explained that her husband had been in the hospital for a sudden illness and had sadly passed away. To settle his bills, she was liquidating his business. Feeling compassionate, I placed an order for several hundred dollars’ worth of office supplies. Unfortunately, they were low-quality products at inflated prices.

The Follow-Up Call.

A few months later, the woman called again, claiming her husband had made a miraculous recovery. Although he was still in the hospital, she was still trying to raise funds, and she hoped I would buy additional supplies. This time, I wasn’t as sympathetic. I told her that unless her husband was named Jesus, I wasn’t interested in purchasing anything more. She ended the call, and I made a mental note to avoid such scams in the future.

New York Stockbroker Call.

One of the more persistent scammers I encountered was a group of stockbrokers from New York. I was sitting in my father’s office when he received a call from the stockbroker, who claimed to have a hot tip on an obscure stock. It is evident from the background noise that the call came from a high-pressure boiler room environment. The broker was eager to pitch his idea, but my father was less than interested. He politely declined, but the broker persisted, bombarding him with more sales talk.

The Patience Strategy.

At this point, my father employed an interesting tactic. Rather than arguing or hanging up, he calmly told the broker to hold, then placed the phone on hold, never to return. If the stockbroker called back immediately, my father repeated the process. Over time, this forced the broker to waste his own time, which ultimately discouraged him. My father’s strategy worked, and the calls stopped. It was a simple yet effective way to deal with unwanted solicitations.

The Lasting Effect.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson in handling relentless salespeople and scammers. It wasn’t just about being firm—it was about making them waste their time, which ultimately made them move on. Old school scammers, whether selling soap or stock tips, would eventually learn that their tricks wouldn’t work on everyone. Over time, these tactics helped us protect our business from further aggravation and manipulation.

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