BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – Several business owners in the Southport and Oak Island area say they have been scammed by a fake advertiser.
Jennifer Jamerson is the owner of Jamerson Appliance Repairs and says a man named Steve Phillips came into her store and claimed he was with a magazine called “The Golf Reporter.” For 20 dollars, he was told he could get a quarter-page ad for his small business.
“You don’t think you’re being scammed when someone boldly walks into your business asking for money,” Jamerson said.
Jamerson says the man was professional and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He later discovered that not only would he not receive the ad, but the magazine didn’t even exist.
“I thought they only scam you on the Internet. Why would someone come into my business and ask for this thing that looked real?,” Jamerson said.
She’s not the only one it happened to.
Amanda Lake is the owner of the Needful Things store in Southport. She is one of five area businesses that also fell victim to the scam.
“There are a lot of women-owned businesses, small businesses, that you know, $100 is or even just $20 is a lot and they thought they were paying for something to help their business grow, and to know that they were just taking advantage like that’s really sad.” “Lake said.
Jamerson says being more cautious is a painful lesson. She says she doesn’t care about money. She just wants others to avoid the same mistake.
“Scam is everywhere. It’s online, it’s through a phone call and now people will just walk into your business and try to get money from you and that worked for us, but it won’t happen again,” Jamerson said.
Chief Todd Coring of the Southport Police Department says this is an active investigation. They have several leads but no suspect in custody.
Coring says if you are ever unsure of the legitimacy of someone trying to sell you something, you can call an officer to come and talk to them.
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