Some clients of Nittany Office Equipment say they have been scammed.

The customers received phone calls last week from a California-based firm that claims it represents Nittany Office Equipment and sells products for higher prices, said John Brutzman, credit manager of the local office supplier, located at 1207 N. Atherton St.

This firm calls office clients with a "sense of urgency," telling them the price of a supply is going up, he said. Then, they try to convince the person to buy the product before it runs out. The fraudulent firm ships the supplies to the client, charge-on-delivery, and the person becomes trapped, he said.

Centre County residents are only a few of the many people across the nation who have been victims in fraudulent practices, said Bill Ryan, an agent in the Evansburg Office. Although numbers are unavailable, hundreds of calls come into the state Bureau of Consumer Protection offices each year, he said.

People need to pay close attention to telephone and mail solicitations or they may end up being a victim of fraud, Ryan said.

Many people get "ripped off" by scams due to lack of knowledge, he added.

"People believe too much . . . it's amazing," he said.

Nittany Office Equipment had four to six calls last week from clients concerned about the validity of the phone offer, he said.

"This is strictly an operation by telephone, so if my clients ask any questions, (the fraudulent firm) just hangs up," Brutzman said.

"Business people are calling in asking what they should do," Amy Kessler, a clerk/typist, said. The store recommends sending the products back with the invoice.

Phone and mail fraud is big business in the United States, Ryan said. If people experience solicitation complaints, they can call the bureau and request a complaint form.

However, the amount of time and money it takes to track down a fraudulent firm usually is not worth the consumer's time, he said.

"It's really tough to get people's money back," Ryan said. Tracking down a fake company may be futile because these firms operate on a "fly-by-night" basis, and are gone by the time they are traced, he said.

Those businesses are "boiler-room operated," usually taking place in a building's basement, he said. The firm will hook up a phone system, call people and send them highly-priced products, he said.

"These people can be really crafty," Ryan warned.

In a large company, bills for supplies can get shuffled around, and are usually paid because no one tries to find out what it was for, Ryan said. This type of scam is most common with janitorial supplies, he said.

Someone will send cleaning supplies to a company at outrageous prices, and no one has the time to contest it or find out who sent the supplies, Ryan said.

"Their chances of getting caught are pretty low, and their chances for making profits are pretty high," he said.

Ryan recalled a time when an individual called the bureau about a fraudulent firm that told the person they had won a car and needed $2,000 for shipping costs. The person sent the money, and it turned out to be a hoax, he said.

"It sounds crazy, but people really fall for it," he said. "There are as many ways to commit fraud as the day is long."