LBS luckily clocked onto this today.

The scammer rings up distributor and orders a load of bikes to the shop, if the order is accepted they ring up the shop claiming to be from the distributor saying the bikes have been sent in error and they will arrange collection.
Courier turns up and delivers bikes which the shop has paid for, scammers are waiting for the bikes to be unloaded, before lbs can ring distributor a “courier” arrives to collect the bikes to return to the distributor.
Goodbye bikes hello bill from distributor.

Just a heads up.

Same scam for mobile phones as well. There was a thread a couple of days ago. If one randomly arrives don’t let anyone take it. Ring whoever sent it.

Surely when receiving an order over the phone, the distributor would ask for a shop reference number or an order code or something??

up until a year ago I worked for a shop that got hit twice almost exactly a year apart

The distributor didn’t clock the unusual order, the order was intercepted at the local courier depot by the scammers before even a delivery to the business was attempted.

The scammers had the owners’ (boss) name and obviously the business address and was able to pick up £10k bikes in a white van, saying there’d been a fire at the shop so don’t try and deliver.

New ‘security procedures’ (ho ho ho) were put in place and it happened a year later.

orena45 most specific reference numbers (account numbers or similar reference numbers) that were repeatable were nearly always printed on a delivery note which was frequently attached and even readable on the outside of boxes.

i.e. bit of ‘minor’ identity fraud is all it takes, probably by someone that either works for the shop or the courier or distributor (in no specific order)

Sounds like next step up from the follow the delivery truck. Did that where I work a few years ago. About 30 new PCs get dumped in reception, delivery guy comes back ten mins later in same uniform and says they sent the wrong ones. Only he’s not really a delivery guy.