NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge is warning NSW consumers about a billing scam by a company posing as Yellow Pages.

Ms Judge said 55 complaints had been made to Fair Trading by NSW businesses that received order form faxes from YellowPage-NSW.com, offering directory advertising and “free submission to google.com.au”.

“The company calls itself Yellow Publishing Ltd and appears to be based in the United Kingdom,” she said. “The scam fax features a fraudulent Yellow Pages logo and asks for business details including names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, email addresses and websites.

“One NSW business has also received follow up letters of demand for payment, after a junior staff member at the business inadvertently filled in the order form and returned it to the scam company.”

Ms Judge said NSW Fair Trading was investigating the scam and had been advised by Sensis, the owner of Yellow Pages that the scam was operating in every Australian state and territory.

“If consumers receive a fax from a company claiming to represent Yellow Pages and they are unsure if the fax is legitimate, they should contact Yellow Pages on 13 23 78,” she said.

“They should also report any scam fax to SCAMwatch at www.scamwatch.com.au or by calling 1300 302 502.”

Sensis Corporate Affairs Manager, Stephen Ronchi, said Sensis had been contacted by customers from all over the country who had been targets of this misleading campaign.

"Its only purpose is to prey on busy, small business proprietors and their staff by misleading them into believing it is a legitimate approach by Sensis, who produce the Yellow Pages directories in Australia," he said.

"We have also seen the methods used to contact businesses in this campaign widen to now include phone and email, as well as fax.”

Directories and advertising (false billing) scams target small business.

To protect your business:

• Make sure the business billing you is the one you normally deal with.
• Always check that goods or services were both ordered and delivered before paying an invoice.
• Never give out or clarify any information about your business unless you know what the information will be used for.
• Try to avoid having a large number of people authorised to make orders or pay invoices .
• Never agree to any business proposal on the phone, always ask for an offer in writing.
• If you are unsure about any part of a business offer, ask for more information or seek independent advice.

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