Project Mailbox IV for Businesses:
Catch the Bandit In Your MailboxBusinesses are being bilked out of
millions of dollars by unscrupulous promoters.
Yellow Pages Invoice Scams
[PDF]
Businesses receive what appear to be invoices for line listing in traditional Yellow Pages
directories or online directories, but are actually solicitations for listings in
"bogus" directories. These "bogus" directories often are not widely
distributed, or may never be published or promoted.
Web Site Cramming [PDF]
Telemarketers tout the benefits of doing business on the Internet and offer to design and
host Web sites for a >free= 30-day trial. Even if businesses decline the trial
offer or cancel within 30 days, they=re charged
on their phone bills during or after their >free= trial period.
Office Supply Scams [PDF]
Telemarketers use a variety of ploys here. Sometimes they call organizations, asking for
the name of the person responsible for ordering supplies. They call that person, saying
they want to send a Afree sample@ -- light bulbs, pine cleaner, or the like. Instead
of shipping a Afree sample,@ the con artists send supplies followed by a bill.
Public Safety Fund-raising Scams [PDF]
For-profit companies solicit small businesses by phone, asking them to buy ad space in
publications with law enforcement, public safety or other civic purpose themes. In many
cases, the publications lack the implied connection to legitimate law enforcement and are
rarely distributed in the community as claimed.
Defend Yourself
Here's how to help protect your business from losing money to unordered
services:
Know your rights.
If you receive bills for services you didn't order, don't pay. The law allows you to treat
unordered services as a gift.
Review your phone bills
as soon as they arrive. Be on the lookout for charges for services you haven't ordered or
authorized. If you find an error on your bill, follow the instructions on your statement
for filing a dispute.
Look for any fine print on either side of checks sent
to your business. When you cash them, you could unknowingly sign your business up for
membership or ad space in an online or phony directory, or for some other unneeded service
or product.
Assign purchasing to designated
staff. And document all your purchases.
Train your staff in
how to respond to telemarketers. Advise employees who are not authorized to order services
to say, "I'm not authorized to place orders. If you want to offer or sell us
something, you must speak to ______________."
Buy from people you know and trust.
Authorized employees should be skeptical of "cold" or unsolicited calls
and feel comfortable saying "no" to high pressure sales tactics.
Check out the organization
with the Attorney General or Better Business Bureau in your state or the state where the
organization is located before you send any money for any product or service. This is not
foolproof: there may be no record of complaints if an organization is too new or has
changed its name.
To File Complaints
If you think you're a victim of one of these scams, contact:
Federal Trade Commission
The FTC works for the consumer to
prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the
marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and
avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free information
on consumer issues, visit
www.ftc.gov or
call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a
secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law
enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
|
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION |
FOR THE CONSUMER |
1-877-FTC-HELP |
www.ftc.gov |
|
U.S.
Postal Inspection Service
Mail Fraud Complaint Center at 1-800-372-8347.
Resources
Project Mailbox IV for Consumers: Catch the Bandit In
Your Mailbox
Revised: 01/07/2003 |