Scammers are at it again—selling speaker and home theater systems out of a van. This con, called the “White Van Speaker Scam,” is well known enough to not only have a name but also a Wikipedia entry. Googling it produces results going back a number of years. But reports are rolling in anew, from a variety of places, and January was a busy month. 

A Louisville, Kentucky, man told the Better Business Bureau there that he fell for the scam after being approached by two young men in a grocery store parking. The men were driving a white Ford van—commonly used because it looks like a company vehicle—and peddling what appeared to be a high-end surround-sound speaker system.

The story the men gave was that their boss had sent them to pick up a speaker system from a warehouse and they were mistakenly given two systems. So they were offering the second system—supposedly worth $5,000—for just $370. The victim says the packaging looked professional, and the men produced a receipt. The men even agreed to follow the victim home so he could check the product out online before purchasing it. He bought it and wound up with speakers that didn’t work.

The scam was also reported in New Albany, Indiana, near Louisville. A man was approached by two men in a white van near a day care center. The men reportedly opened the van door and tried to show the man an electronics magazine and speakers they apparently wanted to sell him. Even though the man said he did not want to buy anything, they kept pushing him before finally stopping. The men were driving a white Chevrolet van with a license plate from Ohio.

At Scam Shield, a volunteer consumer group that provides information on reported fraud, there was posting after posting by Canadians who had been approached in parking lots by con artists selling stereo systems.

What should you watch out for? The scam artists will tell different stories, usually noting overstocked merchandise that they’re cutting prices on for some reason or other. Sometimes they’ll offer to show a magazine with the product in it or receipts confirming previous purchase. Some will give the appearance of being a legitimate business, offering brochures and giving out Web site addresses. They’ll ask for cash payment and are willing to follow the buyer home or to an ATM machine.

And the result of all this? You’ll wind up not only out the money, but also stuck with a product that is either of poor quality or totally defective.