Businesses Beware Phony Placemats Pitch

Friday, May 16, 2008

LITTLE ROCK – Businesses, as well as individual consumers, can be targets for scam artists, who use a variety of ploys and tactics for the purposes of committing fraud. Most recently, the Public Protection Department of the Arkansas Attorney General's Office has received a handful of complaints about a new advertising scam sweeping across the state. Thus, today, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this consumer alert to warn Arkansas business owners about this new scam.

According to the complaints, local businesses have received unsolicited phone calls from a person offering advertising space on newly designed placemats to be used by a local Mexican restaurant. However, when the business owner buys an ad on the placemat, he or she soon learns that the restaurant has not signed any contract to use new placemats and has no plans to use them. The ad seller had simply lied about the distribution of the placemats, leaving the business owner with a net loss between $170 and $225.

''While the sales pitch and scheme is new, the method is not," said McDaniel. "Businesses receive unsolicited sales calls about everything from copy supplies to healthcare insurance, and each call needs to be treated with caution."

Here are some tips on how to protect your business from this scam and general telemarketing schemes:

- Be wary of anybody who calls out of the blue, and ask the caller to verify the information it provides, such as account numbers and contract information;
- Never buy from a new company or person that solicits your business over the phone or through the mail. Ask for references and research the company before doing business with it;
- Make sure all employees know your office's policy when it comes to purchasing supplies, receiving goods, and invoicing;
- Keep records of purchase orders to document the transactions; and
- Report any suspicious solicitations to your Attorney General's Office by calling 1-800-482-8982 or by emailing our office at oag@ArkansasAG.gov.