Businesses, schools, and other organisations are being cold called and offered advertising space in bogus anti-bullying, drugs, and safety related publications.

The callers sometimes claim they are working with the Police, Fire Service, or other Government services and that the publications will be distributed to schools. In reality, these bogus publications are not being produced with the agreement of any Government service and have little or no circulation, meaning that the advertising is worthless. The fraudsters use cleverly worded sales pitches to trick owners and employees in to agreeing to buy advertising space when they would otherwise not have done so. In some cases, fraudsters cold call and claim the business/organisation has already agreed to pay for advertising, even when they have not. These callers can be very persistent and threatening.

Never agree to buy advertising from a cold caller. Do not even ask to see example copies of the publication or request further information. Some scam publishers will treat any such request as an agreement to buy.

Scam publishers also threaten legal action if their 'customers' don't pay up.

Business owners and organisation heads are advised to alert their staff to this scam. 

More information: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/charitable-publication-scams