Has your small business received a form from a Spanish publishing company inviting you to confirm or update your details for inclusion in one of its European advertising guides or business directories?

While you might think some free international publicity for your business would be great, DO NOT SIGN AND RETURN this form without reading ALL the small print carefully.

Close inspection of the small print may reveal that the form is in fact a contract and if you sign it, you may start receiving letters of demand for $1,200 to have your account settled immediately! Are you sure you wanted to have your business listed in the guide? Maybe you didn’t even realise the letter had come from Spain!

In a busy office environment, it is easy to miss important information in the small print. SCAMwatch is urging all Australian small businesses to be careful not to fall for aggressive marketing techniques.

  • Read all documents carefully before signing - especially the small print!
  • Never give out or clarify any information about your business unless you know what the information will be used for.
  • Try to avoid having a large number of employees who are authorised to sign documents, make orders or pay invoices.
  • Try to deal only with people you know and trust.

Find out how to recognise and protect your small business from aggressive marketing techniques and scams.

Back to the SCAMwatch radar

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False billing scams request you or your business to pay fake invoices for directory listings, advertising, domain name renewals or office supplies that you did not order.