CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — For some business owners, there’s a frightening new batch of scams going around that can damage their reputation. One small wholesale company in Crossville has been the target of these scammers for the past year and a half.
Warehouse One is a wholesale business that buys out of season goods, customer returns, or closeouts from retail stores. They then sell the items by pallet or by tractor-trailer load to mom and pop shops, thrift stores, auction houses, and similar businesses. They do not offer online sells but you wouldn’t know that because Warehouse One’s address has been hijacked by online scammers.
Warehouse One’s General Manager, Kim Hanock, showed us websites where Warehouse One’s physical address has been stolen, but not its name. However, when customers make their purchase, the goods never arrive from the fake sites.
“As we get the calls, we’ve dealt with people who are in tears. We have dealt with people who are angry. In order to make themselves look like a legitimate business, they use us because if you look Warehouse One up, we are a legitimate business,” said Hanock. “Our latest letter is actually from the Office of the Attorney General for the state of Illinois.”
Hancock says a number of people have filed complaints with state offices against Warehouse One. One of those letters reads: “I checked the address before purchasing and saw…
