The marketplace for advertising and marketing is uber-competitive and crowded.  While strong competition is healthy, drives innovation and keeps prices low, there are those who take advantage of the noise and pose as legitimate companies but with false intentions.

It’s easy to see how companies can be taken by these scams.  Greg Sterling covered a study that revealed local businesses get 24 calls a month by those seeking to sell marketing and advertising.  As local business owners are pressed for time and are distracted by numerous tasks, paying close attention can sometimes be hard to do.

And scammers are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to trick their targets.  For example, some are placing calls and asking for basic information while recording the conversation.  They then splice the voice and audio captured into a different call recording that makes it appear as if an agreement was made to purchase or pay for a product or service.

At LSA, we’ve worked to alert businesses about the various tactics used to trick business owners and their staff into making payments or buying fake products.  We’ve also worked with government entities such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state Attorney General offices to shut down some of these scams.

But many of the scams simply move and reappear and it is important for local businesses to be aware of the tactics used and educate their staff to be cautious and identify red flag behavior that might signal a scam attempt.

YP just released a very helpful video (below) that summarizes and explains some of the tactics used.  Feel free to share the video with those on your team whether you are a marketer or a local business.  Making sure everyone is aware of these bad players will help avoid problems.

These tactics are used for both print and digital directories, listings and other marketing products.  There are also many variations of these scams so always keep an eye out for anything you weren’t expecting or that doesn’t seem quite right.  Here’s a list of the common scams covered in the video:

• The fake invoice
• The refund scam
• The listing scam
• The URL scam

Please watch and share the video, and beware of those who engage in these false practices. We also have a few more tips on our Bogus Billing page.