A.R.A Recovery
Phony Directories or Yellow Page Scams
NY, New York
Phony directories or yellow page scams usually target small to medium sized businesses. The scam manifests itself in the form of solicitors calling businesses and seeking to verify the company's name and physical location, and allegedly calling to "renew" or "re-enroll" an existent yellow pages listing or advertisement. Many companies or their employees are misled into accepting the alleged "renewals." The illegitimate directory provider immediately sends an invoice for this service, usually in the amount of hundreds of dollars, and threatens businesses with collections or credit report damage should they dispute the charges or decline to pay.
It is commonly asserted that Telemarketing crime flourishes because the business sector is unaware of its costs and indifferent to its control.