The FTC has settled a claim against a company known as Your Yellow Book which sent out invoices to companies bearing a logo like the famous walking fingers logo used by the legitimate Yellow Pages.  The invoices indicated that they were only verifying or updating an already existing business relationship when in fact there was no prior business relationship and no prior contract for a listing in the Your Yellow Book’s online business directory, which had no relationship with the legitimate Yellow Pages.  Many people paid the invoices that ranged up to $487 not realizing that the bill was a total misrepresentation.  Two of the people involved in Your Yellow Book, Brandie Law and Robert Law had previously been involved with similar actions in 2011 and 2012.  The FTC is now, through a claims administrator mailing more than 3,133 checks to victims of this scam.  For more information about these refunds go to the tab at the top of the page marked “FTC Scam Refunds.”

TIPS

If you were a victim of this scam and have not yet received your check, click on the tab at the top of this page marked “FTC Scam Refunds” for information as to how to claim your refund.  However, everyone else should take a lesson from this common scam and never pay an invoice merely because you get what appears to be a legitimate looking bill until you have confirmed that the bill is indeed legitimate and that you or your company actually received the services for which you are billed.  This particular scam is both simple and effective so it is up to you to be on the lookout for it.