New E-mail Scam Uses Yellow Pages Invoice

Warnings have been issued for colleges and schools in Britain to remain wary of fake invoices, which pose as bills from Yell, the directory publisher, in connection with its goods and services.

Dispatched through e-mail, the fake order forms carry a branding that resembles Yellow Pages. In case any customer sends back the form, an invoice arrives asking him to pay £600 for advertisements and makes payment requests. The e-mail, apparently from 'Yellow Pages 24,' mentions the latter's address as 3 More London Riverside, London SE1, or 81 Oxford Street, London-W1.

Trading Standards (TS), an authorized association that represents professionals for trading standards in Britain and beyond, has reported that the invoices appear genuine.

Consequently, several people are making payments against them without verifying if they are truly related to 'Yell' ads, or what the entity is to which payments were being made.

Security researchers explain that the fraudsters are trying to deceive Yell clients into accepting the bogus advertising contracts. Consequently, phone calls are coming again-and-again to request for payment clearances. TS also feels worried since the scam may trick some people into believing that TS is releasing Yell adverts or renewing the ad programs already in existence.

Evidently, Westminster City Council has confiscated cheques worth £10,000 that businesses and educational institutions sent to the "The Yellow Pages 24."

Furthermore, it is believed that the scam has targeted institutions in Kent, Lincolnshire, Shropshire and Somerset.

Commenting on these types of scam, the security researchers stated that they were sophisticated and executed by the complicated overseas networks. Thus, Yell customers needed to exercise caution against correspondences about bank account information or contacts in Germany or Holland.

Meanwhile, TS has joined Yell in issuing alerts about these scams. A Yell spokesman said, they regarded their customers' protection most important. According to him, they were committed to safeguard and support people who used their goods and services, while protecting their advertisers too, as reported by KentOnline on January 4, 2010.

The spokesman added that Yell even took legal steps whenever required to protect their registered trademarks and brand.

Related article: New Zealand Releases Code To Reduce Spam

» SPAMfighter News - 1/14/2010