NationMaster - Encyclopedia: White van speakers

White van speakers is a scam sales technique in which a salesman makes a buyer believe he is getting a good price on audio merchandise. Con artists in this type of scam call themselves "speakerguys". A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...

Process

The typical speakermen scam involves one or two people, who are usually dressed in t-shirts and jeans or business uniforms. They drive around in a brand new suv or a commercial vehicle (usually a white commercial van, which is the cheapest to rent) that often displays a company logo. To find suitable targets, the van operators set up their con in moderately trafficked areas—parking lots, gas stations, colleges, large apartment complexes—or even watch heavy traffic for people driving expensive cars and wave them down. The marks are usually affluent young men, college students, or others thought to have large amounts of disposable income. A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organisation whilst participating in that organisations activity. ... A commercial vehicle is a type of vehicle used for carrying goods or passengers. ... A white van; man not pictured White van man is a stereotype, a usually pejorative term used in the United Kingdom to describe aggressive, thoughtless drivers of light commercial vehicles. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Parking lot showing diagonal parking pattern designed for one-way traffic. ... Modern gas station A filling station, gas station or petrol station is a facility that sells fuel for road motor vehicles – usually petrol (US: gas/gasoline), diesel fuel and LPG. The term gas station is mostly particular to the United States of America and Canada, where petrol is known... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... A red brick apartment block in central London, England, on the north bank of the Thames An apartment building, block of flats or tenement is a multi-unit dwelling made up of several (generally four or more) apartments (US) or flats (UK). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The victim of a confidence game or magic trick is often called the mark, or the vic. ... Disposable income is the total amount of income an individual makes after direct taxes. ...

After the speakermen attract someone, they immediately launch into a loud, fast-paced, and relentless sales pitch. The operators claim that they work for an audio retailer or audio installer, and that, through some sort of corporate error (warehouse operator bookkeeping mistakes, computer glitches, etc.) or due to the client changing the order after supplies were purchased, they have extra speakers. For varying reasons they need to dispose of the speakers quickly and are willing to get rid of them at "well below retail" prices. The con artists will repeatedly state the speaker "value" as anywhere between $1800 and $3000, prices often verified by showing a brochure or a magazine advertisement. They will usually also have an official looking website verifying their claims. Sales, or the activity of selling, forms an integral part of commercial activity. ... Old warehouses in Amsterdam Inside Green Logistics Co. ... It has been suggested that Online bookkeeping be merged into this article or section. ... A computer glitch is the failure of a system, usually containing a computing device, to complete its functions or to perform them properly. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... In economics and business, the price is the assigned numerical monetary value of a good, service or asset. ... A brochure is a flyer or other paper material distributed for the purposes of advertising. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML...

If the mark declines the offer, the speakerguy uses various high-pressure negotiation and sales tactics to change the mark's mind. Among these techniques are producing any other glossy material that details the quality and high retail value of the speakers, and bombarding the potential customer with technical jargon, whether correctly or incorrectly used. If still unable to convince the mark that he is turning down an incredible offer, speakerguy will almost always lower the price immediately, usually to a minimum of $80.(wholesale cost) Some speakermen will even suggest that, since the customer got such a great deal, he should pay a little extra as beer money for his supposed benefactor. Broadly speaking, Negotiation is an interaction of influences. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Leffe, a Belgian beer, served in branded glasses Schlenkerla Rauchbier straight from the cask Beer is the worlds oldest[1] and most popular[2] alcoholic beverage. ...

After the deal is made, the speakerguys usually high-five each other (high-fives are the unofficial speakerguy handshake) the amount of sets sold. A man and a woman about to High five. ...

Online availability

White van speakers and home theatre systems are now commonly found online, primarily on Craigslist and eBay, prompting revealing reviews showing these speakers to be outclassed by even inexpensive "home theatre in a box" systems sold by legitimate manufacturers. One published reviewer writes: Craigslist is a centralized network of online urban communities, featuring free classified advertisements (with jobs, internships, housing, personals, for sale/barter/wanted, services, community, gigs, resume, and pets categories) and forums sorted by various topics. ... This article is about online auction centre. ... Home cinema, also called Home theater, seeks to reproduce cinema quality video and audio in the home. ...

Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of mostly mechanical wristwatches and accessories renowned for their dependability, prestige, and cost (from a few thousand to more than one hundred thousand U.S. dollars). ... Audio crossovers are a class of electronic filters designed specifically for use in audio applications, especially hi-fi. ... A premium digital clock radio with digital tuning. ... Frequency response is the measure of any systems response to frequency, but is usually used in connection with electronic amplifiers and similar systems, particularly in relation to audio signals. ...

Techniques used

The brand name of the speakers is often confusingly similar to a well-regarded speaker manufacturer. For example, the excellent reputations of manufacturers such as Klipsch, Paradigm, Dahlquist, and Wharfedale are used to sell terrible speakers with fake brand names like Kirsch, Paradyme, Dahlton, and Grafdale. Klipsch Audio Technologies is one of the most successful consumer and professional speaker companies in America. ... Since the late 1960s, the word paradigm (IPA: ) has referred to a thought pattern in any scientific discipline or other epistemological context. ... Wharfedale is one of the Yorkshire Dales. ...

Another recent techinque is to resurrect the names of older companies—for example, Genesis Media Labs is a white van scam name that trades on the old Genesis Physics brand, while DiVinci trades on the name of the Swiss "DaVinci" company, and that company makes some truly incredible claims—as one reviewer wrote:

Interestingly, those who initially feel they made out OK soon change their tune: it is easy to find discussion forum threads where the products fail after a brief period of time, and find that the Genesis or DiVinci warranty is worthless. This article is about waste matter. ...

High Definition

Another line that appears is the shock people have when they try to hook up the home theatre system to high definition (HD) sets and find out it cannot be done—the claim of HD compatibility made for the white van system is just another element of the scam. Generally, high-definition refers to an increase in resolution or clarity such as in: High-definition television (HDTV), television formats that have a higher resolution than their contemporary counterparts High-definition video, which is used in HDTV broadcasting, as well as digital film and computer HD video file formats HDV...

Three cables, each with RCA plugs at both ends, are often used to carry analog component video Component video is a video signal that has been split into two or more components. ... The High-Definition Multi-media Interface (HDMI) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. ... S-Video (also known as Y/C) is a baseband analog video format offering a higher quality signal than composite video, but a lower quality than RGB and component video. ... Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) and launched... The video cassette recorder (or VCR, less popularly video tape recorder) is a type of video tape recorder that uses removable cassettes containing magnetic tape to record audio and video from a television broadcast so it can be played back later. ... Description Dolby Digital is the trademark for Dolby Laboratories AC-3 audio coding system. ... The inside of a DVD player A DVD player is a device not only playing discs produced under the DVD Video standard but also playing discs under the standard of DVD Audio. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Options for those scammed

Law enforcement officials are usually reluctant to get involved in these transactions because the business is technically legitimate. Employers with proper business licensing often hire independent contractors to sell speakers on the street from white vans. Insist that law enforcement to issue a citation , rarely do the speakermen (independent contractors) obtain the porper permit and lisence to sell "out of a vechile". Also the may want to report them and there current address to the state deptof rev.Dissatisfied buyers from these contractors are usually successful in obtaining a refund, even if locating these workers and their warehouses is seldom easy. Therefore, although the legality of this business model is questionable with regard to trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and possibly income tax and sales tax evasion, buyers generally have little ability to take direct legal action against even legitimate speaker salesmen. For the band, see The Police. ... Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a registered trademark without the authorisation of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the license). ... Antitrust is also the name for a movie, see Antitrust (movie) Antitrust or competition laws legislate against trade practices that undermine competitiveness or are considered to be unfair. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Tax rates around the world Tax revenue as % of GDP Economic policy Monetary policy Central bank Money supply Fiscal policy Spending Deficit Debt Trade policy Tariff Trade agreement Finance Financial market Financial market participants Corporate Personal Public Banking Regulation An income tax is a tax levied on the financial income... A sales tax is a consumption tax charged at the point of purchase for certain goods and services. ... This article contrasts tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax resistance and tax mitigation. ... This article is about law in society. ...

However, there are some things the conned or the simply disappointed can do. A disgruntled buyer may file a complaint with the state Attorney General, alleging that the seller intentionally misled him to believe he was purchasing high quality goods from a reputable manufacturer. The buyer should also send the genuine manufacturer a copy of the letter and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A "scambuster" with a local newspaper or television news department might also be interested in hearing the buyer's story. Make sure you contact you local police , so others do not get scammed. A lot of the sale take place in BestBuy, HomeDepot, CircuitCity, and other retail private parking lots with camera's. In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... The Better Business Bureau (BBB), founded in 1912, is an organization based in the United States and Canada. ...

Brands reported to be sold out of white vans and suvs^[1]^[2]

Brands suspected of being sold out of white vans and suvs

White van products with websites

References

External links

A great deal of information and warnings on the topic of "white van speakers" can be found using search engines. Some of the more informative links include: Google search is the worlds most popular search engine. ...

This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. ... Internet Archive, San Francisco The Internet Archive (archive. ...

See also

Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since July 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Confidence tricks The victim of a confidence game or magic trick is often called the mark, or the vic. ... The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence game dating back to 1588 [1]. In its original form, the confidence artist (con-man) tells his victim (the mark) that he is in correspondence with a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain (originally by King Philip II) under... Grifter redirects here. ... Grifter redirects here. ... The victim of a confidence game or magic trick is often called the mark, or the vic. ... A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer. ... A sucker list is a list of persons who have previously been successfully solicited for something. ... The Badger game is an extortion scheme, often perpetrated on married men, in which the victim or mark is deliberately coerced into a compromising position then threatened with public exposure of his acts unless blackmail money is paid. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Bogus Escrow scam is a straightforward confidence trick in which a scammer operates a bogus escrow service. ... The booster bag scam was a scam demonstrated in the TV show The Real Hustle. ... A clip joint is an establishment, usually a strip club or entertainment bar, typically one claiming to offer adult entertainment, in which customers are tricked into paying money and receive poor, or no, goods or services in return. ... The Drop Swindle was a con game commonly used during the 19th and 20th centuries. ... The Embarrassing Cheque is a confidence trick which may also be an urban legend. ... Employment scams, also know as job scams, are a form of advance fee fraud scamming where certain unscrupulous persons posing as recruiters and/or employers offer attractive employment opportunities which require the job seeker to pay them money in advance, usually under the guise of work visas, travel expenses, and... Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising ones skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pig-in-a-poke refers to a scam originating in the late middle ages, when meat was scarce, but apparently rats and cats were not. ... Pigeon drop is the name of a confidence trick in which a mark or pigeon is convinced to give up a sum of money in order to secure the rights to a larger sum of money, or more valuable object. ... Reloading is a form of fraud, whereby a victim of one scam is repeatedly approached with more aggressive con artists, often until sucked dry. This form of fraud is especially hurtful for senior people, because they are more susceptible to pressure after the first losses, partly because of hopes to... A shell game is performed with bottle caps on a cardboard box, on Fulton Street in New York City The Conjurer by Hieronymus Bosch. ... The Slave Reparations Act (also called the Slavery Reparation Tax Credit, Black Tax Credit or Black Inheritance Tax Refund) is a tax fraud related to the concept of Reparations for slavery. ... The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence game dating back to 1588 [1]. In its original form, the confidence artist (con-man) tells his victim (the mark) that he is in correspondence with a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain (originally by King Philip II) under... The Thai Gem Scam is a confidence trick performed in Bankok, Thailand. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A pyramid scheme is a business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. ... A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (profits) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business, named after Charles Ponzi. ... The unsustainable geometric progression of a classic pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme (also known as Pyramid Scam [1]) is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. ... Dona Branca Dona Branca (full name: MarÃa Branca dos Santos; often referred to as The peoples banker. ... Caritas was a Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s in Romania. ... A mugshot of Charles Ponzi Charles Ponzi (1882â€“January 18, 1949) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who became one of the greatest swindlers in American history. ... Bernard Bernie Cornfeld (Istanbul 17 August 1927 - London 27 February 1995) was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in US mutual funds. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... A High Yield Investment Program, or HYIP, is a type of pyramid scheme normally offered via the Internet. ... Investors Overseas Services (IOS) was founded in 1955 by financier Bernard Cornfeld. ... Marina Muravieva Vyacheslav Mavrodi Sergey Mavrodi A certificate for 20 MMM bonds MMM was the company that perpetrated the largest pyramid scheme in Russia in the 1990s, with the possible exception of the GKO government pyramid scheme. ... Make money fast is a title of an electronically forwarded chain letter which became so infamous that the term is now used to describe all sorts of chain letters forwarded over the Internet, by e-mail spam or Usenet newsgroups. ... Reed Slatkin is the perpetrator of the largest Ponzi scheme in the United States since that conducted by Ponzi himself. ... Frank William Abagnale, Jr. ... Aerison in drag Storme Aerison is a con artist who gained notoriety in the 1990s for repeatedly impersonating a female highschool student and later representing himself to be a supermodel. ... Tino De Angelis was a New York-based commodities trader who bought and sold vegetable oil futures around the world. ... Philip Arnold (1829 - 1878) was a con man from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who was the brains behind a legendary 1872 scam to fool people into investing in western diamond mining operations. ... Julius Nicky W. Arnstein (??? - October 2, 1965) was an American businessman, professional gambler, and con artist. ... Lou The Fixer Blonger (May 13, 1849–April 20, 1924), born Louis Belonger, was a Civil War veteran, saloonkeeper, detective and well-known gambler, but is most often noted as the organizer of an extensive ring of confidence tricksters in Denver that operated for more than 25 years. ... Edward Big Ed Burns, was an american 19th century confidence man and crime boss. ... David Race Bannon (born 1963) is a pseudonym for David Wayne Dilley, an American fraudster who posed as a former Interpol agent and wrote fictional accounts of his alleged adventures in various Asian countries, as well as other subjects including Asian politics, and computer science. ... Matthew Bevan Cox (born July 2, 1969), commonly known as Matthew Cox, also sometimes known as Matthew B. Cox and Matt Cox, is an American convicted felon and con man who has been convicted of conspiracy and grand theft. ... Louis Enricht (????-1923) was a US inventor who claimed that he had invented a substitute for gasoline. ... Billie Sol Estes (born 1924) is a scandal-ridden Texas-based financier best known for his association with US President Lyndon B. Johnson and for accusing Johnson with a variety of crimes, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy. ... Arthur Ferguson (1800s–1938) was a Scottish con artist. ... Peter Foster addressing the media at the height of Cheriegate. Peter Foster, (born in Australia on 26 September 1962) has been described as the ultimate international man of mischief[1] , a super salesman to some, conman to others, but undoubtedly a person who has lived a champagne lifestyle in the... On the cover of his step-brothers 2001 book Son of a Grifter: The Twisted Tale of Sante and Kenny Kimes, the Most Notorious Con Artists in America Kenny Kimes (born 1975) is an American con artist serving a life sentence for murder. ... Sante Kimes (pronounced SHAWN-TAY) is an American serial killer who is most famous for the murder of Irene Silverman, a New York City socialite. ... Henri Lemoine ( 1905â€“1908) was a French con artist who claimed to be able to produce synthetic diamonds. ... Victor Lustig (January 4, 1890 â€“ March 11, 1947) is held to have been one of the most talented confidence tricksters who ever lived. ... Gregor MacGregor (December 24, 1786 â€“ early December 3, 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer and colonizer who fought in the South American struggle for independence. ... George Parker (1870-1936) was one of the most audacious con men in American history. ... Steven Jay Russell (born 1958) is a US con artist and impostor who has escaped from prison number of times. ... Jefferson Randolph Soapy Smith (1860-1898) Jefferson Randolph (Soapy) Smith II (1860-July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal affairs and operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. ... Alvin Clarence Thomas sometimes known as the character he created, Titanic Thompson, (1892 - 1974), was the legendary American golfer, gambler, and, uniquely gifted, hustler. ... William Thompson was an American criminal whose deceptions caused the term confidence man to be coined. ... Joseph Yellow Kid Weil (1877-1975) was one of the most famous American confidence men of his era. ...

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