View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2006 > July > 10
Monday, July 10, 2006
Keeping them honest
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hammond Drive victim called a company in a yellow pages ad. The representative came out and told the victim in order to recover information on the hard drive he would have to take the laptop to his shop.
The man promised return on July 4. He has not returned. The company address is a P.O. box in Marietta. The manager of the mailbox store said five other people came in looking for their laptops.
There is no substitute for being thorough and complete when it comes to checking out references and history on anyone doing important stuff for you. You will save yourself heartbreak and $$. This guy is running a scam out of a P.O. box and his overhead is paying for the mailbox and the yellow-pages ad.
The laptops run a couple of grand each, so you can see he’s making a nice profit.
Don’t just assume things. Check them out. Ask a lot of questions. Look at the answers or lack of answers. Write things down and then verify. Honest business people will gladly give you any information and references that you want.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions, even if you think it is rude. It’s the best up-front gauge to see if you want to cut your line then or go on. Ask questions, require fingerprints and drug screens — whatever. Make sure folks know you want to see some history on their company or service.
