Koster warns of textbook scam

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's office is warning school districts to be on the lookout for a textbook invoice scam making its way through educational institutions statewide.

At least 20 Missouri schools were mailed fraudulent invoices this month for textbooks they did not purchase from "Scholastic School Supply," with a return address in Nevada. According to a news release, scammers often use names similar to real companies, in this case well-known textbook supplier Scholastic Corp., which is based in New York.

A variation of a common invoice scam, Koster said scammers hope schools will make a payment before realizing the product was never order nor received.

“Missouri schools need to be aware of this scam so that they don’t mistakenly pay taxpayer dollars on fraudulent bills," Koster said in the release.

Koster recommends organizations centralize purchasing and billing so as to only make payments with trusted vendors.