Businesses reminded about advertising scam

Nov 20 2008 By News Reporter

Local businesses are being reminded to be on their guard against scamsters pretending to sell advertising for Surrey Police and other public bodies.

The scam is a common problem across the country and relies on people’s trust of the police. Although many business owners are aware of the tactics used, a number of cases are still reported each month, including a small company in Epsom that was conned out of £200 this week.

Businesses are cold-called by someone who claims they are selling space in diaries, wall-charts or other publications used by Surrey Police. They are tricked into providing details about their company and are then billed by invoice for advertising in a product that does not exist.

In some cases, when victims become suspicious of the invoice, they have been threatened with legal action as the scamsters claim a verbal contract has been agreed. In larger companies, where some invoices may be processed automatically, they may not be aware they have been conned.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Raymer explained: "Quite simply, Surrey Police doesn’t cold-call and doesn’t use external companies to sell advertising. These con-artists use the name of the police or other respectable public bodies to try and build trust with their victims.

"This scam takes place all over the country and the offenders don’t usually live in Surrey. However, every month we receive calls from businesses concerned they have been scammed and sometimes even complaining because they think they have been cold-called by police employees.

"My advice to anyone who receives such calls is to tell them to remove you from their calling list, warn them that trading standards are being informed and hang-up if they try to engage you in further conversation. They should soon get the message you won’t be an easy target!"

False advertising scams like these are investigated by Trading Standards, not the police. Anyone who receives a suspicious call should record as many details as possible and call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

If you receive an unexpected caller claiming to be a police employee, you can verify their identity by taking their name, calling the Surrey Police switchboard on 0845 125 2222 and asking to be transferred to the named person. A genuine police caller will never take offence at you being security conscious.