Attorney General Warns of 'Yellow Pages' Scam

Small businesses across the state are being warned of a "Yellow Pages" scam, which involves an unsolicited call to offer free listings or renewals but requests bank or credit card information.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said on Wednesday that businesses have been charged, and sometimes harassed, for payments, even though the listings are promoted as free. Businesses have provided bank or credit card information thinking their real Yellow Pages listings were about to expire.

“In this economy, everyone is looking for ways to bring in more business. But consumers need to take the time to check out an unsolicited offer for advertising before giving out bank, credit card or other personal information,” Jepsen said. The Office of the Attorney General has received seven complaints this year about “Yellow Page” fraud and 36 since 2009.

Anyone who suspects they may have been a target of this scam should file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General. The complaint form can be found at http://www.ct.gov/ag/lib/ag/consumers/consumercomplaintform032011.pdf.

Complaints may also be reported to local police and to the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Hotline, toll free: 1-877-438-4338; TTY: 1-866-653-4261.

"Consumers who believe their bank, credit card or personal information has been compromised, should contact the credit card company or bank; call a credit bureau to place a 'fraud alert' on their credit report, get a free copy of their credit report and review it carefully; and finally, consider a 'credit freeze,' which means no new credit can be taken out in your name and your credit report cannot be released without your permission," a news release from the attorney general's office said.

Have you heard of this type of scam? Has anyone tried to call you about this?