VALVE SCAM – PLEASE READ
We’ve been made aware of a sophisticated valve purchasing scam and want to share the details to help prevent this from happening to any of our PVF Roundtable members.
How the scam works:
It begins with a new “potential customer” emailing your sales team requesting a quote for valves (members report a knife gate valve and a trunnion ball valve in two different instances.) After you provide a quote, they respond asking for a specific brand of valve—one you've likely never heard of.
One of our members reported visiting the website for this unfamiliar brand and submitting a request to be contacted for a quote. Shortly after, they were CC’d on an email from the so-called valve manufacturer, introducing a “representative” from another company who then provided pricing and a spec sheet.
Using the rep’s information, the member marked up the quote and sent it back to the original “customer.”
Within a week, the customer submitted a purchase order along with a W-9 and a list of credit references. The references checked out, all offering glowing reviews of early payments and large orders. Trusting this information, the member issued a purchase order to the valve rep and submitted their own W-9 and credit references in return.
The “valve manufacturer” responded quickly, approving the order, setting up an account, and providing an account number.
The delivery timeline was 2–3 weeks. After two weeks, the “customer” followed up for an update, and the rep responded with detailed information, explaining a delay due to a quality control issue with valve seat seals. The rep was very responsive via email and even answered phone calls—though he always requested that everything be confirmed by email.
Once the valves were supposedly ready, the “manufacturer’s” accounts receivable department offered two options:
50% prepayment before shipping (due to the new account), or
a 5% discount for 100% prepayment.
The member opted to wire 100% of the invoice.
After that, all communication stopped.
No one responded to phone calls or emails. When the member began investigating further, they discovered that the “customer” had used a real company’s name, logo, and address—but with a spoofed email address ending in .co instead of .com. The real company confirmed that no one by that name worked there and that no order had been placed.
The valve manufacturer’s website is still online, but its phone number is inactive. Ultimately, the customer, the valve manufacturer, and the rep all turned out to be the same individual—and the wired funds are gone.
The incident has been reported to Financial Crimes and all relevant banks have been notified. A police report has been filed, and the Attorney General has been informed, although both responded stating they do not have the manpower to research the case.
Please be cautious.