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.