Business owners nationwide are routinely victimized by unscrupulous promoters who solicit advertising for online or alternative directory listings. What may seem like a routine invoice can soon turn into an invitation to lose your money.
Yellow Pages America, Inc. (“YPA”), an online directory service out of Panama, is another name to add to countless others who perpetrate these scams. YPA came to the attention of Business Consumer Alliance (“BCA”) by way of one of its members, who received an invoice fromDirect Factoring EOOD (“DFE”), out of Bulgaria, claiming they have taken over an account from YPA and that they have authority and legal rights to recover any outstanding debts. The threatening letter demanded that $2,816.00 be mailed or wired to DFE within seven days or further action would be taken. The recipient recalled that more than a year prior to receiving the letter from DFE, she filled out a renewal form thinking it was for the real Yellow Pages, not knowing it was from YPA instead. When she was finally able to reach DFE, after several calls and emails, the representative was very rude. Fortunately she did not wire or mail any money to DFE. Below is a sample letter from this company:
Unfortunately, this has not been the case for countless others who have been victimized by these types of scams. In November 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) obtained a court order against several fake Yellow Page scammers and forced them to pay $10.2 million for deceiving small businesses and nonprofit organizations into paying for unwanted listings in online business directories. An update to the action states, Direct Factoring EOOD, along with other companies, is contacting consumers to collect on Yellow Page Marketing invoices. The court order in this case prohibits the collection of payments on Yellow Page Marketing accounts.
BCA offers the following tips if you receive an invoice or letter claiming you owe a debt:
- Contact the entity sending you a bill or invoice. Ask for detailed information regarding the service/product, date the service/product was authorized and by whom, a copy of all documents, authorizations, etc. and proof that you owe the debt.
- Do not provide your personal or financial information to anyone over the phone and request information in writing.
- Review your records and check with your employees to see if anyone authorized the transaction.
- Do not pay for products or services you’re not sure are authorized.
For more information and tips, check out the BCA Reliability Reports for Direct Factoring EOOD and Yellow Pages America, Inc. If you have been a victim to this type of scheme or have a problem with a company you can’t resolve, be heard. File a complaint with Business Consumer Alliance to warn others of your experience.
About Business Consumer Alliance:
Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) is a non-profit which started in 1936. The broad purpose of BCA is to promote business self regulation. BCA's mission is achieved by assisting consumers in resolving complaints with businesses and using that complaint information along with other relevant information like customer reviews to forecast business reliability. With community support, BCA can identify trustworthy and ethical businesses and warn the public to avoid unscrupulous businesses whose purpose is to defraud the marketplace. BCA obtains its funding from member businesses who support the mission and purpose of the organization and who agree to abide by high standards of ethical business practices.