Fake work order scam?

Hey all. So I got a phone call from supposedly the company that manages the cleaning services for a chain of optical stores offering me a reasonable amount to clean three locations (3 small locations for $60-70 each). They are called KFM 24/7 out of Maryland (I’m in South Dakota). They seem legit from a Google search, but I’ve never accepted work in this fashion. I am now supposed to move forward with setting up a time to do the work and provide my insurance and w-9 etc. Now the only thing that I see as risky is that I need to put my social on my w-9. How do I know this place is legit, should I call the chain and make sure that they are indeed the managers of the cleaning? Would a scammer go so far as to set up window cleaning at stores so that I show up looking like a fool? Just don’t want to step in anything here. :man_shrugging:t3:

I believe you can put either a social security number or employer identification number.

I’d go with the EIN.

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Get a tax I’d number , you can get one in minutes off their website . Also yea call the stores and double verify

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Probably legitimate but do your cross referencing. Ask the manager of the stores who their maintenance company is, tell them you got a call and want to verify.

I’ve been getting these emails for pressure washing someone’s house from an out of state contact, three so far have been verified scams. Apparently they send you a fake check for more than the amount and threaten to sue getting back the ‘overage’.

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Yes!

Yes!

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Out of State, ‘third party’ asking for my Social? = for some random/possible couple of $60 dollar jobs?

  • nah, man… I’M OUT!
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Who says you have to put your social on a W-9?? Was It the company kFM ?

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Make sure it’s from the actual IRS.gov site. There’s a similar URL that’s something like IRS-gov.com or something. That one charges money for an EIN (around $200).

I recently got my EIN, and if I hadn’t set up a different organization a year ago, I would have fallen for it. The actual IRS gives out EINs instantly and for free.

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I worked for a company called MA Building Services and they’ve screwed me on cleaning a Shopko Optical business.

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I just remembered, we used to clean a couple Lowes here in Louisville. One day I got a call from the services management company asking for a bid for in/out of all windows including those tall atriums, and we gave them a price.

Long story short, the windows were a nightmare to clean and we’d have to hunt down the one authorized manager that could sign our sheet we had to print out, and most times they had gone home or on an ‘errand’. Once signed we would call the number, they had us send them the papers and wouldn’t get paid for a month.

I finally gave up when they wanted us to chip off the fossilized bird guano built up on the inside atrium.

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Oh, this is interesting, that’s what I’m supposed to be cleaning, and this company is also based there? I tried calling corporate offices for Shopko optical but could not get through. I am supposed to check in and out with the local stores via their phone number or something, I’ll call my local store and see what I can get figured out. I am proceeding as planned until/unless something happens, but in what way did they screw you over, not paying or where they actually fake?

Also, I actually did have an EIN that I forgot I applied for, I’m still sole proprietor so I haven’t used it yet until now.

Edit: so I actually had been in the process of setting up this job once before but I was so busy at the time I forgot to reply after my bid had been approved (whoops) and that was actually through ma building services, do it appears Shopko has changed their provider.

This whole thread has now given me a headache, and Im an outsider.

  • Im out, and want nothing to do with any of it…

  • Personally, I’d start ‘blocking phone numbers’ at this point…

I am a bad person. I nearly let my bias prevent a new commercial job. Guy calls with an Indian accent and telling me he was from XYZ business and had several locations and he had emailed me before with details (I remembered that I deleted it after I replied and got an auto reply to fill out more info with accounts(that’s a HECK NO! for me).
But I was driving home and bored, I decided to listen and have some fun. I asked the building specs, frequency, type of business and specific locations; then I said, I’ll be there in 25 minutes-he said great ask for me at the front desk. I now have a quarterly account 7 minutes from my house with the others TBD later.
Moral: do what these guys said: check EIN and other info, but be careful with your own info.

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I always listen to at least a bit of whatever they have have to say and wait until they get to their “pitch” or signup offer for whatever scam they’re doing before I hang up because I’m afraid of doing that to an innocent person. :roll_eyes: