Publishing Scams

The majority of publishers are reputable businesses, providing an essential service to industry. As in all walks of life however, there is a minority who will resort to dishonesty to make a fast buck. Rogue 'publishers' can make huge sums of money by inducing large numbers of victims to pay for adverts in publications that do not exist, or are not what victims are led to believe. Although financial losses to individual businesses are not usually large, some of the tactics used by rogue publishers (particularly when chasing payments) often cause nuisance and on occasions genuine alarm or distress.

A typical rogue 'publisher' will consist of little more than a telesales team armed with a stack of telephone directories and other publications containing advertisements. Smaller businesses are usually targeted and operatives use deliberately misleading patter that is often carefully scripted to sell advertising space in various types of publications - wall planners, diaries, yearbooks, crime prevention or drugs awareness booklets etc. Costs usually range from about £100 to £1,000 depending upon the size of advert. Sometimes it is claimed the publication is being produced on behalf of some reputable or worthy sounding cause, or that proceeds will go to charity.

In reality some of these rogue 'publishers' produce nothing at all, and although some may produce a few token copies of the supposed publication, these are not circulated in sufficient numbers or in the right areas to be of any practical benefit to the victims.

Rogue publishers have refined the art of operating in grey areas of the law that lie between sharp (but not illegal) business practice, and outright criminality. They have proliferated because in every telesales team there will be a few bright sparks who see how easy it is to make money in this way, and as one outfit gets closed down several others spring up as they move on to set up similar operations of their own.

As with most crime, 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'. The more people know about such operations, the less likely they are to become victims and the harder it will be for the rogue publishers, hopefully to the point where they are put where they deserve to be - out of business.

Common Scams

Rogue publishers may use one of the following methods and often a combination of several:

Bogus Invoice Scam - The simplest and most blatant scam is that without any prior contact bogus invoices are sent to businesses for adverts in fictitious publications. This is a very crude hit and miss approach but a surprising number of victims pay the invoice without question, particularly if the amount involved is relatively small.

Operative Transfer Scam - The victim receives a call from a telesales operative who falsely claims to be from a legitimate publisher that the victim has used before (contact details are often obtained from genuine publications that victims have previously advertised in). If the victim expresses an interest they are transferred to another person, allegedly in a different department. Victims often agree to place an advert because they believe they are dealing with a publisher they have used before and it is not until an invoice arrives from a publisher they had never heard of that they suspect anything. If victims contact the publisher concerned however they are usually told that the call in which they agreed to place an advert was tape recorded, which the rogue publisher then claims is 'evidence' of a 'verbal contract'. Of course the conversation with the first operative (during which the victim is deceived as to who they are doing business with) is never recorded, only the conversation with the second operative who has actually done the 'selling' - and they are careful not to mention the name of the company they represent.

Authorisation Scam - An initial call is made to the target business and the operative asks for the details of two people who can authorise an advertisement to be placed. Later, a call is made to one of those people who is asked to authorise an advert which they are led to believe has been provisionally booked by the other person, who is referred to by name to make the story sound genuine. Often the victim authorises the advert without checking with the other person.

Repeat Business Scam - The target business is contacted by phone or letter and the victim is asked if they wish to place an advert in the next edition of a publication which they are falsely informed they have advertised in before (the likelihood being that there was no previous edition). In some instances where the approach is by letter, photocopies of adverts taken from publications like Yellow Pages are included to lend an air of authenticity. Many victims authorise the repeat 'advert' without checking any further.

Credibility Scams - In order to give their supposed publication respectability and appeal, most rogue publishers will claim some connection with a worthy cause or charity.

• Charity Booklets - some rogue publishers mislead victims to wrongly believe they are registered charities by using names very similar to well know legitimate charitable organisations. Some do produce booklets and pamphlets on behalf of registered charities. The publisher keeps any revenue they generate from advertising and may produce some booklets or pamphlets that they give to the charity concerned to distribute. Some unscrupulous publishers however, only produce a small amount of these and may of the adverts they have taken payment for never appear in print. Others will claim that part of the revenue generated by their publication will be donated to a specific charity to which they claim affiliation and whose name is used to entice advertisers. Often however, only a tiny fraction of the money the publisher receives ends up with the charity involved. That in itself is not illegal, but many victims who agree to place an advert because they feel they are making a substantial contribution to charity might not do so if they knew how much was going straight into the pockets of the publishers involved.


• Crime Prevention 'Yearbooks' - rogue publishers may claim that these are being produced in conjunction with agencies such as the police, when in fact they have no involvement at all.


• 'Drug Awareness' or 'Youth Action' Booklets - rogue publishers often claim that these will be distributed in schools and colleges. The key question is which schools and colleges, because for most small businesses that form of advertising is only effective if it is done in their local area.

Debt Collection

Irrespective of which of the above tactics are used, once a victim has received an invoice from a rogue publisher it is almost certain that they will be pursued relentlessly for the money. Some victims pay up even though they feel they have been 'conned' because they feel it is simply not worth the time and hassle to make a stand. The likelihood is however, that they will be identified as an 'easy touch' and will be targeted again. The details of businesses who can be relied on to pay up are a valuable commodity that are saved and shared by the more organised rogue publishing outfits.

Some rogue publishers chase payment through 'debt collection agencies', but often these are owned and run by the publishers themselves, sometimes from the same premises, using methods that legitimate agencies would not.

What you can do

Below is some useful information and some actions you could consider taking which might prevent you from becoming the victim of a publishing scam, or if you believe you are already being targeted by a rogue publishing company.

Telephone Calls - Do not agree to place an advert over the phone unless you are absolutely happy with the publisher you are dealing with and what you are being offered. Insist on seeing written details and a copy of the publisher's full terms and conditions before placing an order. Some victims have received a string of calls that have become increasingly threatening and abusive. Try to keep a record of such calls - time, date, name of caller, and a note of what was said. Always know who you are speaking to. By law any caller should identify themselves and the company they are calling from. Be particularly wary if the initial caller transfers you to someone else during the call and always ask the next person you speak to for their name, the name of the company, which department they work in and their contact number. If the person you are speaking to cannot or will not provide these details, or they become abusive - end the call straight away. In relation to the recording of telephone calls it is worth remembering that if phone calls are tape recorded, by law the caller must declare this at the start of the conversation and what purpose the recording is being made for. The recording cannot then later be used for a different purpose.

Demand Letters - If you receive demands for payments for something you believe you have not ordered, it is well worth taking a few minutes to send a written reply, stating clearly why you feel you do not owe any money. Always keep a copy for your records.

Seizure of Goods - Some victims have been threatened with having their goods or belongings seized to pay the alleged 'debt'. The only lawful way the publisher can do this is to first obtain an order in the county court instructing you to pay (for which there has to be a hearing that you are entitled to attend and defend yourself), then if you do not pay they must go back to court for a warrant which empowers the holder to seize goods to the value of the debt.

Threats of Court Action - Victims are known to have received letters which stated effectively '..... this is your last chance to pay, attached is a summons we have obtained to take you to court if you do not pay now .....' or similar. The document that accompanied such letters was not in fact a summons but a copy of the application form that must be submitted to a county court to request a hearing. Some victims have been limited companies and the rogue publisher involved threatened to start insolvency proceedings by applying to the courts for a winding up order. In most cases the threat was an empty one because such proceedings can only be started for debts in excess of £750 and the amount owed was less than that. It is useful to remember that it would cost the rogue publisher money to take you to court, often much more than they claim you owe them. They will have to prove that you owe the money before the court can make a decision against you, and you will have the chance to defend yourself. The last thing the rogue publisher will want is for their underhand tactics to be paraded before a court. Rogue publishers will not spend money chasing an illegitimate debt, they are much more likely to look for another victim who will pay up without a fuss. Take independent legal advice if you are in any doubt.

Publishing Company Questionnaire

Here are some questions you can ask if you are 'cold called' by a publishing company you have never dealt with before. The answers will help you to decide whether you want to do business with them, and may help to protect you if they try to operate some sort of scam.