Richard Ross of "Yellow Pages Online" telephone 518 478-6924 Ext 412 and 1-866-319-6022 Ext 412 has repeatedly called our offices, claiming to be from Online Yellow Pages.com and asserts that we owe them $599.00. He initially asked for a member of our staff by name and asserted that he has a recording of that persons voice, agreeing to place an add in their Yellow Pages publication.
The staff member Richard claims placed this order was/is extremely puzzled to hear his own voice then played back, on a choppy recording, not actually saying yes, but "uh huh", "ok". He has no recollection of any such call, yet it seems to be his voice. Richard got very aggressive and has been so with our bookkeeper and today, myself. I own the business.
Something Richard did not know, is that the company he says we placed the ad for, was dissolved four years ago and incorporated into another of our businesses. We still own the trade name, which appears on our company website, but the company itself simply does not exist, does not advertise. Besides, we never place yellow page ads anymore, period.
Bottom line here is, no such order was ever placed, no such call ever took place. We called the Chamber of Commerce to report Richard and Yellow Pages Online today.
Also spoke to our local police department, who have many reports of this scam. It seems that Richard recorded the employee's voice in the first minutes of that first phone call, answering yer or positive acknowledgement to tailored questions, then inserts those answers into a computer program which instantly completes the false recording with your own voice - and which he can "play back" for you. Threats and harassment follow, many people pay, as they claim to be a collection agency.
We will also try reporting this scam to the local State Attorney's office and the FBI, since phone lines are being used in this scam. Also reporting to our local newspaper, which is part of a National chain. I recommend that you all do the same and tell the callers that you are aware of the scam.
I like this scambook site, it just saved us a lot of headaches.
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