Diamond Valley AutoPro owner Jordan Jaworenko is warning people to be wary of potential scams after losing $1,000 to a scammer.
A Diamond Valley business owner is warning the public about a scam after falling victim to one.
Jordan Jaworenko, owner of Diamond Valley AutoPro, said a fraudulent company contacted his team in 2023 about putting their logo on Country Food Mart's grocery bags.
Service Advisor Stewart Hamilton tells us more about the scam.
“The gentleman called me and it was clearly a solicitation for a sale,” Hamilton said. “He said Country Food Mart was participating and it was derived from their bags…I knew there was sponsorship on the bags etc. that were available, so I We went ahead with it.”
The company in question, Hermit Group, which describes itself on its Facebook page as a “full-service sustainable marketing agency,” has been inactive for several months.
“He was going to work with the design team to create the logo,” Hamilton said. “We couldn't see anything from him. We sent pictures of the logo we wanted, but he just kept saying things were a little slow.”
After receiving a $1,000 payment from Diamond Valley AutoPro for agreed-upon marketing efforts, Hermit Group remained silent.
“Every time I followed up with them, he answered or called me back within 15, 20 minutes,” Hamilton said. “So, I followed up with him and the phone number was disconnected. Both his business and his two numbers listed on his email that I was always on top of.
“I sent him an email, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I haven't gotten anything back, but I haven't heard anything. The website is under construction. It's never been under construction. , this is something strange.''I think the construction was probably before February. ”
The only review available online about Hermit Group is by Facebook user Mike Pearce, who is listed on LinkedIn as an employee of the company.
The Hermit Group could not be reached for comment.
“I called the phone number, but it didn't work. I tried sending an email through the website and other social media, but it's not working,” Yaworenko said. “So, who knows what last month was or what happened, but I can't contact you anymore.”
Jaworenko said he should have been more careful.
“I didn't see any information online about possible fraud or anything in their name,” he said. “I was a bit naive and a new business owner and just wanted to take people’s word for it and get my name out there in the community through this program, but he was adamant that it was legal. .
“I had no reason not to believe in him. You know, this money won't ruin my business, but it will definitely make me smarter in the future. Just hand over the money. Please do some follow-up before.
Jaworenko wants everyone to be careful, as scams occur regularly in the area.
“Please investigate these companies,” Yaworenko warned. “We need to have more conversations. We should have had more conversations.” [the grocery store] I checked to see if that was the company they were using and if it was legit, but nothing seemed odd.
“Do your research. This is the most important thing, and clearly we didn't do enough.”
