SAN ANTONIO — It's a scam gaining popularity in the San Antonio area and it's narrowing in on the dumpster industry.
It starts with someone who thinks they find a great deal online. It ends with a dumpster stuck in their front yard.
KENS 5 learned how the scam works and how both consumers and businesses can protect their money.
This sophisticated scheme has at least three victims: the person with a stolen credit card, the dumpster business and the homeowner.
"One lady that we talked to...she was out over $1,500 and that was in the span of eight days," said Wyatt Koch, General Manager and Partner of VaVia San Antonio.
Any given day, the five trucks that make up VaVia San Antonio's fleet are dropping off or picking up dumpster boxes. Each is filled with different types of debris headed for the landfill.
"Remodeling is expensive. This is just part of it. When this piece doesn't happen, the project stops," said Mike Wright, President of VaVia San Antonio. "A lot of the people who are getting scammed, this is their one project in five years."
A few months ago, VaVia San Antonio leadership realized something was wrong. Money they received for their services via credit card transactions began to disappear.
"We've probably been hurt in the thousands of dollars," said Wright.
They learned they were victims of a scam.
In this scheme, consumers will solicit affordable prices for dumpster rentals on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Nextdoor. That's when a criminal in disguise online offers a price that sounds like a great deal. Payment is sent to the criminal via Zelle, Venmo or Cash App. While the scammers will order the dumpster the customer needs, they pay for it using a stolen credit card. Then they pocket the cash.
"So the credit card company pulls the money back from us and the customer who has the dumpster has the dumpster that hasn't been paid for," explained Wright.
"We're getting abused by the banking system and the end consumer's getting abused by the scammers," Koch added. "It's really a lot more victims than you would imagine in something as simple as debris removal."
Fortunately, VaVia San Antonio leadership figured out how to identify these bogus bookings on their online order portal which captures the location of the order.
But the calls keep coming.
"You get two of these calls a day," said Wright. "To sort that out takes up time which means you missed another phone call which means somebody else who needs service is either waiting or we miss them. On our end that's where it really hurts."
Jason Meza with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in San Antonio says the agency is familiar with variations of this type of scheme.
He says the scam is legitimized by having a local company represent. What's most interesting to Meza is the extra step scammers will take to make the order.
"When the dumpster is delivered, it increases the customer's trust that the agreement is legitimate, the chances they'll continue to pay a day rate or a swap charge," said Meza. "The heartbeat of this whole scheme is they're using stolen credit cards."
To protect your money, the BBB says:
- Don't accept the first offer online
- Make sure the company is legitimate
- Call or book with the company directly
- Only send money via Venmo, Cash App or Zelle to someone you trust
"It's tough to prosecute [this type of fraud] because a lot of these companies are offshore like Cambodia, a lot of third world countries where they're setting up shop," said Meza. "In the end they're making a lot of money off of a small payment. So this rinse, wash, repeat over a series of time, they're making a lot of money unfortunately."
To help businesses prevent fraud, Meza says it's ok to let customers know you need a few more details like a name, address and zip code, just to make sure they're legitimate, too. If you've fallen victim to this scheme, call police and file a report with the BBB.
VaVia leadership is still searching for insurance that will cover this type of loss.