Business Owners Beware!
If you are being contacted by companies demanding payment for some advertising publishing they say you agreed to several months ago (especially if the related publication is for charity) you may be suffering from what is essentially a scam call. (Usually booklet or wallchart)
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Police Advertising Scam – Their NOT the police
Posted on March 12th, 2010 92 commentsSince I posted about the new Police impersonators : http://www.adscams.co.uk/scam-national-crime-prevention-booklet the other day, I have been inundated with comments and email’s from others who have received the calls.
I have had permission to post the following, which we received via email (we have removed some information by request of the author)
Hi there,Firstly just a quick mention of the fact that this site is a fantastic idea which I will recommend to as many people as possible! Thanks to stumbling across it yesterday on a Google search for “police advertising scam” I have narrowly averted being taken in by these bunch of… well you get the idea.I am a self employed driving instructor in the Gateshead area and I received a call yesterday from “the Police press office”, the contents of which was much the same as the last post to this page in February relating to Police Handbook. They offered me advertising in the ‘[name removed]‘ publication and assured me I would be the only driving instructor in this particular area edition, which obviously sounded attractive. For a half page ad they quoted me £346 inc VAT for 12 months and I agreed but insisted on some further info by mail before making any payment.Literally 5 minutes later I received a call from a company called [name removed] who confirmed my order and informed me I was entering into a verbal contract by agreeing etc. They also told me that if I cancelled outside of the 7 day period, that there would be a charge.I then did some research (found adscams.co.uk) and contacted the Northumbria Police press office who told me the Police do not sell advertising in their publications and that no one from their office had phoned me. They also said that although they can not comment on the publications of other forces, there is no way another police force in the UK would be focusing on my area.Today I called [name removed] and cancelled my order and after being put on hold for 3 minutes whilst the operator checked with her manager if that was “ok” she then said “Ok you won’t receive any further paperwork from us” and hung up.Approx half an hour later I received another call from the supposed Police press office asking why I had cancelled my order, at this time I asked him to call me back an hour later and I would explain as it was inconvenient to talk at the time. No further call came, which is a shame as I was looking forward to asking him which Police force he was from and why they were covering my area.These people need to be stopped! I thought impersonating the Police was a crime?! The real Police say they are aware of these scams but seem to have bigger fish to fry unless you have actually lost money.I will keep you posted if I get any invoices etc.Many thanks,PhilNote: I have removed the name of the company as it is the first time I have been given this compay’s name and I am passing it on to the police, Trading Standards and OFT.92 responses to “Police Advertising Scam – Their NOT the police”
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I am a Piano Tuner in Sussex, and have recently, in the last day or two been contacted by someone with a liverpool accent selling advertising, claiming to be from East Sussex Police. From Blueline Publications. I have apparently been supporting them last year (dont think so). I was working on a piano at the time of the call, They caught me unawares, if I have agreed to advertising space I want to see any relevant paperwork. If it is a scam which I now realize it is (after finding this helpful website), Im not parting with my £295.00, but will be taking any documentation to the trading standards… thank you again.
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I just wanted to thank you as I narrowly missed giving these people my details as they caught me on my left foot and came up with an ultra plausible scam, and if I hadn’t googled this I think they’d have sucked me in, though I was determined to see some documentation, despite their high pressure tactics. They definitely said they were from Liverpool and they were a centralised Police Press Office rolling out a Stress in the Emergency Services Awareness campaign and they wanted me to advertise in the industry journal. It may be they are targeting association lists of aromatherapists because we are exactly the small trader they are looking for to scam. So beware. Will be letting my association know and consumer direct, I guess. Thank you again.
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I’ve just received phone call from Police Press Office. Apparently the guy got proof of my advert in front of him. Well I have not ordered any advertising for over a year. This call was from some company, but I had the same phone calls from Weinstein Williams, . And they keep calling day in and day out telling me I’m supporting local police, local emergency crew and what ever else, which I haven’t even heard of. Quite frankly I’m getting sick of it. They take no for an answer. I asked them for proof of ordering the advert (they said they are recording it). They said they will send it, but that never arrived. Instead of that proofs and invoices and statements etc coming through letterbox. Trading standards wont do anything and said just to ‘ingnore them’. I was tempted to change the phone number, but as its business phone it would be too much hassle to notify every person..
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admin May 25th, 2010 at 12:22
Sue: I am surprised that Trading Standards simply told you to ignore them. This isnt good advice from them.
Ignore them in as much as dont worry about legal action.
You will find, if you stay strong and dont give in. They eventually give up.
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Sandie June 21st, 2010 at 12:29
Just thought that I would let you know that our company have been caught by these scammers. We had exactly the same telephone call with someone sounding very authoritive telling us he was Essex Police and he was collecting for a Crime Prevention Magazine to do with drug awareness which would be sent out to all the local schools. Unfortunately, by the time I found this site and checked with police headquarters the money had already been taken from the bank and you then have to go through all the time and effort of cancelling cards etc. We will be writing to our local police station, trading standards and watchdog – Today!!! This sucks really as the money should have gone to a good cause.
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we have recently been the latest company to have been targeted by this scam and thankfully have paid no monies to them so they call day in day out to try and get us to pay them their fee threatening that they are going to get a debt collector to come and collect it if we dont pay them immediatly these calls are becoming harrasing and frustrating as they do not take no for an answer had we not found this website we too may have fallen foul of their scam we will be reporting them to trading standards and hopefully get them off our backs i hope that these fruadsters are shut down soon and that no other innocent companies are scammed
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Luigi Harrison August 4th, 2010 at 17:44
Damn I’m such a fool. Someone from the Liverpool area – scammers no doubt, called me earlier about this “terrific opportunity”.
Unfortunately, I really DID think it was a good idea and that it will be some good and cheap advertising for us.
Needless to say, the guy on the other end, who claimed his name was Drew Dickinson talked me into buying their products and now I’m out by over a thousand pounds.
I called the Watchdogs and they’ve told me that I’ve been had. Please be careful all! -
How the scam is working is that it is been operated alongside a printing business.
The callers are charging you for an advert, which once you have paid, they will take a copy of an original advert that you probably purchased elsewhere previously (that is how thye come to have your details), and when they have duped enough people the printer may run of a wallchart which they send to you.
This is not a legitimate wallchart it simply is made up of old adverts relating to companies they have conned.
I do know who is doing this but obviously cannot make it public online.
The printer is now retired, but still operates this scam, the bogus advertisers operate alongside him in Liverpool.
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wow!
im so glad i searched google and this came up i was just about to pay for this scam!
i am a small business owner in gateshead tyne and wear,
they told me i was going to be the only business of my type to be published which sounded good.
however they asked me for a memorable 4 digit number he said most people used there date of birth as it was easy to remember as soon as he asked that i knew something was fishy and gave him a bogus number.
thank you very much to all that have posted on here as i could also have been scammed!
i have agreed to use the service have 7 days to cancel but they have not left me with any contact details to do so.they must be the same group as liverpool accents!
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Dan Jennings September 7th, 2010 at 11:00
Just been called by “Alex Brown” with Northern accent. When I said that I was unaware about previous activity by my company because I had only been around from January he rang off saying he was just calling to say thankyou. I have had similar calls over the last few years in previous jobs but was not sure it was a scam until now. It’s amazing they get away with it for so long.
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Had a call today, Liverpool lad, caught me a little of guard when said he was calling from the police. I am aware of many scams, as I as trade online I have to be that extra bit careful and careful to my customers. Anywho, moving on, let him rabbit on about this and that, I would be the only Estate Agent etc, told me a price, I then said yes fine, just to get them off, knowing that I was never going to give them anything. They had some information on me (so they must by data from companies!) but as for four didgits, they asked me what my dog was called, so named a dog out of the air, as I don’t have one. Of course the ‘printer’ called, offered me discounts to pay there and then, I said bill me. I got another call, this time they left the number 01516479943. I called them back, told them not to bother people again and that I am reporting it.
I feel sorry for those that get sucked in. Learn by if it sounds to good to be true, then it is
Regards
Chris
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Thank you so much for posting this info. Had a call from a guy yesterday who’d seen my ad in another publication. He said I’d be the only one of my trade advertised and would do the ad for £95 instead of £195.00. True to form his ‘boss’called back a while later to confirm the first call. He quoted the details as before but priced at £95 + VAT. I told him the original call quoted a straight £95 all in so he said ok on this occasion to help me out it would just be £95 for the year. He asked me for a password at which point I was suspicious so I gave him a word from the front of a magazine I had in front of me. I then looked a little further this morning and found this website. Fantastic – thank you
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hi pleased to have found your website we as a company have been taken in so many times what sent alarms bells to me was, i creditsafe the trading company and it was not good also the advert was about 35 years out of date, then went to google and then cancelled the advert @ £155.00 + vat-thank you
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I have just come across this site and thank god. I too have had a call tues from a “mark mills’ same story ringing from community police mag tackling anti social behaviour alarm bells ring when they constantly call day in day out different numbers, just left me message so they must be desperate saying he will be on phone all day but will leave personal number.It makes me sick that some people cannot make honest money and have no morals
I hope they get caught they have to slip up soon -
I run a genuine local magazine in London and in the last week many of my customers who advertise with me have been targeted by people with Liverpool accents offering dodgy advertising. Luckily one of my customers cottoned on and rang me straight away after he had investigated them online. I then emailed everyone to warn them. I then got a few emails back saying that they had also been contacted and they were very grateful to me for emailing them a warning. The scammers must have searched online and found my magazine and literally called everyone in it. It is really annoying that they would mention my magazine as it could give me a bad name and also these scammers give us a harder job in trying to get advertisers for genuine advertising opportunities. These particular scammers mentioned the Police and said it was to do with creating a list of ‘trusted traders’. Hope no one else falls for it.
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Fiona Mason October 12th, 2010 at 17:11
Hello , we also have been scammed by these people,has anyone actually had any luck getting their money back after the 7 day period , and who should we report them to?
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Keith Cleverley October 22nd, 2010 at 08:59
Had a call yesterday from the Police Initiative, a lad (Daniel Thomas) with a Liverpool accent described the publication as a Police/Emergency services magazine which would go out to 22,000 businesses in our county but was also nationwide (but with advertising local to that county)
He said it was 70% government funded and the advertising paid for the rest. The magazine ([*edit)) was a quarterly publication and your advert would be in there for a whole year. The pricing was as follows;
Full page - £695
Half page - £395
¼ page - £295
1/8 page - £195He guided me to their website [*edit] where you can see previous publications! I tried calling their number but was on hold for ten minutes without answer.
He called from 0845699000 which is a call centre number and he left me his mobile 07787****** to call him back on.
The whole scam was extremely convincing, being Police based there was an instant feeling of trust, normally we do not let these calls past the receptionist but as he said ‘Police initiative’ it seemed important and got through.
We almost signed up but after a little research there seems to be many of these scams (mainly from Liverpool) under different guises.
I have phone Wiltshire Police who say they have never heard of them and also reported all of the above details to the Trading Standards.
More information can be found on them here and by doing general Google searches.
http://www.adscams.co.uk/liverpool-publishing-firm-centre-scam-advertising-probe
Please be vigilant regarding these people they were very convincing and I would hate for anyone to get suckered by them
Keith
*[EDIT] – Due to ongoing investigation -
i own a small glass company in nottingham and i have recieved a phonecall from a company in liverpool saying thanks for your continued support. when i ask then for the order number i gave them stating that i wouldnt buy a pen without one they said ” you didint give us you was to busy” now theyve sent me a bill for something i didnt want. i sent a letterto them i received no reply surprise surprise. in the letter i stated that ive reported them to trading standards and there response a final notice. please be careful of theses con artists
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John R November 8th, 2010 at 17:18
Has anyone heard of Ad-brokerage Ltd, I found this thread http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01512369632/2 and am wondering weather they are a scam or not, they said they were from the police assostiation and tried to say that i had agreed an advertisement on the 25th of june 2010 (which is funny as i was on holiday at this time, and i dont take my phone with me) , there calling me back next week. According to the above linke there are also linked with adassure ltd, diamond media, and so i thought I’d check them out lucky i did really.
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wow!
im so glad i searched google and this came up i was just about to pay for this scam!
i am a small business owner in gateshead tyne and wear,
they told me i was going to be the only business of my type to be published which sounded good.
however they asked me for a memorable 4 digit number he said most people used there date of birth as it was easy to remember as soon as he asked that i knew something was fishy and gave him a bogus number.
thank you very much to all that have posted on here as i could also have been scammed!
i have agreed to use the service have 7 days to cancel but they have not left me with any contact details to do so.they must be the same group as liverpool accents!
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David Dorrell December 2nd, 2010 at 22:06
They tried it with me twice….. the first time I said no way! and I want a contact number and address to report them, it was no suprise to see it was a genuine address and number but for a youth sports club. The second time was best because I simply said F*** off straight away! then put the phone down. Much to my amusement some scouser phoned me back, seconds later suggesting I take a couple of lines of coke and a few beers to chill out and get into the spirit of christmas. We laughed together then I followed it up by saying F*** off again. By the way they target any small business (joiner)
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Chris the Printer December 9th, 2010 at 15:06
Just had a call today from, you guessed it, a scouser called Daniel Thomas. Luckily I am a scouser myself so was cunning enough not to fall for it. Said because I was a scouser he would do me a good deal but not to tell anyone as he would be fired. lol
BEWARE!!!!!!
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John the Web Designer December 17th, 2010 at 11:53
I’ve just had a call from a scouser claiming to be from the Police Press Office selling advertising in a publication that is to be distributed to 000′s of local schools etc.
Also asked if I would be interested in building some websistes for a drink driving initiative in the new year etc. etc.
Very friendly and polite. When callers start off by asking how I am and have i got all my Christmas shopping done I immediately get suspicious.
I knew all about this scam as I used to work for a company who got suckered in about 5 years ago. So I asked him to confirm who he was calling from and he gave me the following address :
Police Press Office
Belsyre Court
57 Woodstock Road
Lancashire
LA2 4HJThis address comes back as a building where you can rent a serviced office or even a ‘virtual office’.
I told him this sounded suspiciously like a scam and he of course denied it but then rather rapildy said goodbye and hung up!
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craig the plumber January 11th, 2011 at 14:50
Scousers eh, not helpin there reputation as theiving little ………….. are they!!
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Just had my monthly call from these scammers, Mr williams just called me, (number withheld) apparently policepressoffice.whateverCOM I have heard from these type of people many times, FSB no about this scam. I try and get as much out of them as possible so I can alert others and or the police,, but he obviously knew I was on to him by the questions I asked.
He Ho… have to get up early to catch me out!
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dave the transporter January 13th, 2011 at 13:40
just had the same scam, apparently i ordered some schools crime prevention kit in october.
told the nice ‘jenny’ she was wrong and guess what, she slammed the phone down.
came through to my receptionist as .jenny from cp
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Facilities Manager Chichester University January 18th, 2011 at 17:55
Received a call from an indvidual pretending to be a police officer and the nonsense he came out with was quite alarming, considering he was just some tele sales person in an office lying through his teeth to con money out of people.
He started off asking if we’d had any problems at the campus and promising to increase police presence in the area!
Total rubbish, but I went along with it to see where he was going.
He then thanked me for supporting the last Crime Prevention Campaign (which we’d never supported) then rather disturbingly the conversation took a strange twist and he went on to say they were doing another campaign supporting the soldiers and their familes in the war, a matter that sits close to my heart.
Cutting a long story short, it was all a con and done on the back of something we’d never supported in the first place and trying to take money out of the pockets of soldiers that are fighing now, disgusting!
I received an invoice from ‘Help the Forces’ from Manchester, within a few days of the conversation and I’ve since passed their details onto the local Trading Standards Office, the police and wrote a letter to my local MP.
Be warned, dont pay ‘Help the Forces’ anything it’s a disgusting con! -
Willerby roofing Hull January 28th, 2011 at 15:27
These Idiots are still at it they have been sending me invoices since last september, there latsest one is a red banded letter effecting county court action that quite frankly my son could have made on any desk top publishing aplication.
They are still spouting the same rubbish about Blueline Publications and the police magazine, they stopped calling about 3 months ago as i called there bluff and they put the phone down.
Luckliy I spotted them straioght away but there are probably many who dont, something should be done about theses scallys and there quite frankly dated sacm!
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Hi,
Just had a call from Liverpool from ‘The Police Initiative’ asking me to advertise for £95.00, decided not to go with it for some strange reason!!I also won £850,000 with the Fifa World Cup Lottery-great considering I hadn’t even bought a ticket-the postcode for replying was the Norwegian Embassy!
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i am so glad i found this website, the police press have just called me about advertising my childminding business in their community booklet, the guy seemed really nice and all seemed genuine, he said i would get a call from the publication team later today to confirm my details etc (they asked for £145) which i thought was a bit strange but agreed.
I have now found this website and ignored any further calls looks like i had a lucky escape.
i cannot believe that they get away with things like this and i cant get over how nice and friendly the guy i spoke to was he seemed such a genuine guy,
its hard to know who to trust these days -
I have also been contacted by these scammers, claiming to be from Police Press Office. I agreed to nothing, thankfully, but agreed to view their info pack. The very next day, it was on our local radio station about this particular scam. I couldnt believe it.
The person claimed to be a Phil Dixon selling advertising in a local magazine for Police Awareness. They wanted £145 plus vat for the size advert. The two contact numbers he gave me were: 07407 535141 and 01512273998.
Really glad I didnt go ahead. We are a small business that only started trading in February.
Funnily, this Phil Dixon had just called me again this morning and asked if I had received the info pack, which I havent of course. Told him I was not interested in any advertising and he quickly hung up. I wonder why.
I have reported this to Trading Standards.
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Bill Philips March 16th, 2011 at 18:05
I know about -the Wirral/Liverpool based advertising scammers-
Might want to exercise prudence with a Sussex based outfit who are demanding £299.99 sterling or Euros for an un-ordered advert in a publication called Community ****.
They said they had a tape of the phone order –it was rubbish -a loud male voice asking a contrived type questions each being answered by a single sound by a very quiet “unidentified” voice –that sounded more like a squeak from a wounded animal -
Rachel March 24th, 2011 at 17:08
Hi
I wish I had come upon this website last year. I had a call from someone in October thanking me for my previous support the year before. Having done a lot of advertising due to setting up a new business a year ealier I thought it could be genuine. Having listened to the whole conversation and agreeing to nothing they then told me I had agreed to further advertising during a phone call in July. I denied it but they were adamant and gave me a date which I was clearly in the office on, so possible I could have taken a call. They told me I had to pay but if I agreed on the phone they would give me a reduction to only £95+VAT. (Does HMRC ever receive the VAT I wonder?) The next day I received an invoice which I duly paid as I didn’t want any risk of them taking legal action. A month later another similar call and a further £95 out of the window. By the 3rd call I finally got wise and started arguing with them, but it appears they are very adamant about me having placed adverts.
Eventually I got to the point that the caller introduces themselve from which ever magazine they are currently making up and I say no I haven’t advertised with you goodbye.
Since the 2nd advert I have had them phoning from every magazine imaginable to do with the emergency services, schools and war heroes. They use both my mobile and home phone number to call me on. On one occasion they asked for my husband and I transferred them as they said they were from the fire services (He’s a fireman) I just thought it was someone asking him to do extra duties or some admin. He had exactly the same experience as me, but knew it was a lie as he knows the fire brigade locally are not producing a magazine.
I’ve never seen the promised publications, and when I tried to say no on the third occasion they started on about how I had agreed and it would now have to be published with a gap in the publications.
Anyone reading this please don’t make the same mistake as I did.
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I had a call on friday saying it was the police, wanting me to advertise in stoke. I will be goin into the police station with the number they called me from today
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pete C April 20th, 2011 at 13:52
On 19-04-2011 we experienced a similar call which we realise now must have been a hoax.
The scammers posed as a police affiliated organisation and targeted my partner’s business which is Wirral based, claiming that they were a seeking to use her for a youth offenders rehabilitation project. Along with this was the usual request for advertising space in a magazine they were publishing. We asked them to send the request via Email as we were pretty busy – it never arrived.
We had a further call today from a withheld number. this time I answered and they hung up immediately.For those who have been victim to this fraud PLEASE contact your local police station with any information that you have been given or sent. Preserve and provide any letters etc that you have been sent by the fraudsters and the labs may be able to lift fingerprints and identify the offenders.
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Russell May 5th, 2011 at 12:12
Just had a call from ‘Ben Chambers’, Liverpool accent, when he started was from the Police Initiative, when pressed was from emergency services press team. Finally hung up on me when I asked if he was a private company or a government office… Just wish people would be more honest.
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Theresa Sheridan May 13th, 2011 at 13:04
Please beware, my client had yet another call today from a company who said they are from the Police (scare tactic) working on behalf of a local community magazine. They TOLD my client that she owed them money and she asked for the invoice to be sent to her, he asked for her email address (which he would have had if she had indeed booked advertising) – she did not give him this information! The man named David Roberts (common name but not his I should imagine) told my client that she had a username and password where she logged in to place the ad using her date of birth as the username, she asked him to quote her date of birth to him, he gave her incorrect information (beware as if you give them the correct information, then they will keep it and use it another time). The telephone number they are using is 0845 5555 474. I dialled this number only to hear a recorded message from a company (who I have now emailed) who sell 0845 numbers. The message said that the 0845 number had not yet been switched on (which tells me this is a new scam, or experienced scammers using a new number as they have been caught out on the old number. Them seem to target driving schools a lot. It is so sad that trading standards do not clamp down on these crooks.
Advice: Do not advertise with any medium unless you receive one through your door regularly and is a known publication to you. If anyone asks you for money, saying that you booked an ad, then ask them for proof. If they say it was done verbally, then ask for a copy of the voice recording as evidence. I promise you that this will throw them right out. Then report them to the police!
If you are contacted by one of these clowns, then put it on a forum such as this as when people search to see if the company is legitimate, it will come up in Google – don’t forget to add the telephone number that they have called you from as often searches are done on a telephone number alone.
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Jamie Wilson May 20th, 2011 at 13:46
Just received a call from ‘Ben Chambers’,(Liverpool accent), Emergency Services Press Team, Police Initiative Magazine, that will be published in my area for first time.
Spoke for 5 minutes, telling me I was interested in advertising space because I had stayed on phone to listen to him, I would be only service of my kind he would book into magazine etc etc – all as per previous mails.
Became suspicious and told him that I had spent my advertising budget elsewhere this month – he brought the 1/4 page advert down from £295 to £149, as long as I didn’t tell any other advertiser! Someone that does that so quickly rings alarm bells with me!
He asked if I had a computer in front of me – as I was reading this page regarding the scam! BEAUTIFUL! Asked him for details, that I hadn’t seen or heard of the magazine before, could he email me any details / copy of magazine and he hung up – after he told me not to waste his **cking time! ME WASTE HIS TIME!? FREE-LOADING, SCUM! POTTY-MOUTHED WEASEL! I’LL WRING HIS NECK FOR HIM NEXT TIME!
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Cazzy June 6th, 2011 at 18:02
Just got a call from one of these people today, claiming to do it on behalf of the police and rogue traders. Luckily saw this website just in time
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Got a call from the nice Mr Ben Chambers who was offering me a page in a police sponsored local magazine. I was to get a quarter page advert for £195 plus VAT. Spent 5 minutes running through all the benefits but dumped me as soon as I said that I wanted time to think about it. I have recently listed my new business on a number of locations and presume that’s how they got my contact details. Ben if you ever take the time to read this I would like to let you know you’re a true scum bag – but I think you know that already.
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Scott June 10th, 2011 at 13:06
Got another call today from this joker Ben Chambers. You would think that they would at least tick off those that had been called previously? Let him go through the same old guff for a while. Told him he was well known and to take a look at adscams.co.uk. Needless to say he put the phone down on me.
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FIRE AWARENESS SERVICE TOO:
Had this call about ‘Police awareness’ a few months to a year ago – was very busy at the time and just said “yes, yes, yes, etc.” to the initial caller. The conversation ended with me agreeing to give my continued (moral) support. I thought that was the end of it.
15 minutes later I got a call saying asking that since I had given my ocntinued support the cost would be blah, blah, blah.
Needless to say I had no further truck with it and asked that they email me further details about my past support so I could jog my memory. No email arrived.
Today I got a call from someone claiming to be from the “Fire Awareness Service”, again thanking me for my past support – it was the same old spiel. And the caller was unable to retrieve any details to assist me to jog my memory.
Only thing I would add is that the 3 callers I spoke to sounded so sincere that I think they may not even be aware that they are working on a scam. Certainly the one I had today was happy to give me his name and phone number (dunno if it is genuine).
I’ve done a quick google search for “Fire awareness service” and there are no search results indicating the existence of a website for any organisation going by this name.
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Received a call this morning from 07851 494015, to a landline no., claiming to be Mr McTavish, with a broad Scottish accent, on behalf of The Police. Fortunately I have received these types of calls before so it was easy to simply say I did not wish to discuss it and terminate the call. He called again twice but I did not pick up and he seems to have given up, for now. The trick is not to engage these people in conversation, they are ready for that. Just get rid of them. Absolute low life.
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bones June 20th, 2011 at 23:15
Response to the TEN ALPS post…
Someone was suspicious of this lot, who try to sell you ad space in local council building control folders. Are they ligit? I DONT THINK SO! BEWARE! They are no better than the others. If you agree to advertise, they send u an email which you have to fill in the blanks and send back.THEN THEYVE GOT YOU! Have had major grief and you only have 7 DAYS to cancel.I didnt pay as suspected a scam. Have been threatened with debt collectors and court action PLEASE AVOID ‘TEN ALPS MEDIA’ or ‘TEN ALPS COMMUNICATIONS’ they are horrible to deal with !!! -
Today, 27th June, we had a phonecall that sounded very convincing – we were taken in at first but it was only when we did a little bit of research this evening (came across this helpful website) that we found out what a scam it is. We will of course be giving our info to the “real” police.
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Additionally, “Ben Chambers” gave us a contact number: 08454674963. Beware!
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Green123 June 28th, 2011 at 11:54
With the post above ‘Bones’ TEN ALPS Publishing are scammers. They invite you to be in the building control folder of your local council and some sitelines magazine and take hundreds of pounds from you BEWARE! http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=208554 view here for more informatiion
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Kelly June 30th, 2011 at 14:53
Just had my yearly phone call selling advertising space in the latest Crime Prevention Magazine on behalf the police.
They are very charming, and I can see why people fall for these scams, it was a bit of a give away when they said all they needed was a verbal agreement then they would send everything over to me.
So.. watch out for a Mark Wilson, selling space in an anti social behaviour leaflet coming your way next month… YEAH RIGHT -
Had a phone call this morning the number 01517090233 sounded a really good idea so glad I came across this site, phoned them back she sounded really taken aback told them I new it was a scam and not to call me again.
The first phone call came from a man pretending to be from the Counil this is in the Doncaster area his number was 01517099485
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Received 2 calls from 2 different men with northern accents this week – Tuesday and today. Today was a scouse accent named James Carter. He initially passed himself off as the police, then claimed the company is called the “Police Initiative”. The telephone number given was 0750 6796042. Tuesday it was Simon Jones (CPR) with NHS reform advertising opportunity (no number given). James claimed Simon was his boss. All the same as above £125, £195 and £295 for adverts, and I was offered 10% off. Pressure selling trying to close the deal with an hours deadline. These are polite, very plausible scammers = beware. Report to police and trading standards.
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Adrian July 8th, 2011 at 12:19
They’re still at it – 08/07/2011 Police Awareness Initiative – but it’s so obviously a scam from the second the guys starts talking. If you’ve just added your business to a legit web directory or free listing, expect a call
(it’s easy for guys like these to be automatically alerted when new listings appear in bona fide sites).Accent somewhere between Manchester and Liverpool – number call was made from was 07717 000619 – so looks like they’re using ‘burners’ (ie sims you can then ditch).
He could tell I knew he was a scam so didn’t even try very hard
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just had the same scammers in leicestershire, i told them i had reported them to the police and trading standards,told me i had to withdraw the allegations and say i was mistaken, then sent me a voice recording, which has obviously been tampered with,to prove i had ordered the advertising, still demanding money threatning bailiffs and court action,
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I am the commercial manager for the leading policing magazine and we get one or two calls per month from companies who have been contacted by these scammers. The companies then google for ‘police magazines’ and contact us assuming we contacted them.
This is obviously not good for our business so I would like to give everyone teh following tips as we don’t won’t the scammers to prevail and damage our business and yours!
1. The scammers are usually vague about where they are calling from usually using key words to suggest well known publications – any credible publication will tell you exactly which company and which publication they are from.
2. Ask for and note their telephone number and email address – scammers will not be willing to do this whereas credible business’s want you to contact them
3. Ask for their website address and then view it – all credible publishers/magazine
4. If they claim that you have advertised with them ask them to send you copy of the advert you placed
5. If they are scammers, you will probably fail to get this information but it is worth try so you can hand the information over to the authorities
6. Please don’t contact random police magazines assuming they called – becuase we didn’t!!Regards
Ian
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Current magazine for scouse scammers to fill advertising space in is the ` Crime and Safety' Journal under the company Municipal press office. Funny how I registered with yell.com and freeindex on the very same day!
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just had a call from a scouse chap from 07432738965 trying to sell advertising space in a magazine aimed at 'getting kids of the streets' and 'stopping' antisocial behaviour through activity groups. Luckily heard of this type of scam before…so a quick and polite no thanks….
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Seems they are still at it and getting better. My Wife had a call from a charming fella from Liverpool thanking her for her previous support and saying he wanted to check the address to send a 'certificate' to. She gave over the details and withing half an hour received another call asking if she is a Director 'yes' are you able to place orders 'yes' and that was it. Today i received a letter with artwork that needed to be verified so i asked my Wife what it was for and she didnt know so i called the company and told them i have no interest in advertising in Blueline magazine and to letthem know that i am the only person who can order anything. The emailed me a WAV file (rather dodgy sounding) of their conversation with my Wife although they didnt send the one of the call previous to it. I emailed back telling them it wasnt an official order and, in order to be sure, i tried to fax them their invoice and artwork with the words CANCELLED written through it. Guess what, the fax number is dodgy. I have just spoken to a friend in the Police force who wishes to take a look at the paperwork i was sent and has advised me to email Blueline magazine scanned images. One thing i have learned in business is never trust a friendly scouse accent.
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Had a call from a man with a Liverpool accent today saying I could have quarter page advert for the price of an eight page on the Police Initiative magazine. Thinking about how the police might be trying to better their image after bad press following the riots, I thought it might be a good idea. He said I would get a follow on call from the publishers, I did and then this guy said to me thanks for ageeing to advertise in the Crime and Safety journal and alarm bells rang. I played along then and waited for an invoice via email arrived for £295+vat. I then rang Herts police and lo and behold they confirmed it as a scam and asked me to report it as a crime. However because I hadn't paid out any money they said they wouldn't follow it up. I replied to their email saying I had been informed it was a scam and they replied denying it was. However they did say other companies were doing this. I finally replied if you want me to buy an advert you have been proved scammers and not to contact me again. Herts police did say however to forward an email adresses and mobile numbers. But they like other forces didn't seem to be worried about the illegal use of the police name. I have also informed the local business association and copied in my MP. With him in the know and a promoter of small business someting may finally be done about the scammers.
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Just had a call from a man with a Liverpool accent. Said he was calling from the Police and wanted to know if I was interested in advertising my business in there magazine. My daughter typed in the mobile number that he rung on into Google (his number calling from is 07432738965) and this website come up, with one person being called on the same number. I therefore knew this was a total scam so I asked him for his police number and full name. He gave me his 'name' being John Davis and gave me a website policecommunity.clubs.org but didn't give me any additional info. I told him I was aware he was a scammer and that I would report him to the Police and put the phone down. I have had a further call from the number of which I haven't answered. I also spoke to my local Police station and they told me that they did not call me so its a scam. Anyone reading this please be aware do not fall for this it is a total scam.
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As Adam on the 8th August says The Municipal Press Office have been pestering me and even sent an so called draft of the add through they have obviously compiled on a PC using cheap software from my website. Herts police have now said they are sending a detective to look into this and to see the letters/invoices demanding the payment for the advert.
Told the girl from MPO that rang me to get a proper job and to stop pestering small companies and gave her an earful. I bet they don't get the message. -
Has anyone had dealaings with Impact Print Ltd Of Manchester, 0161 925 8742. Offering an insert in a "Crime Prevention Publication" I tried to get onto their website but apparently it is "under construction"
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Thinking about it, i might start a scam pretending to be the Queen collecting unpaid postage stamps! Clearly no-one with the authority cares about these sorts of criminals. However gentle speeders and double line parkers will be prosecuted and sent to prision!!
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I've just had a call from The Emegrency Services Press Office to sell advertising space on a wall planner to be issued to 82,000 service members!! Didn't give him chance to get into any detail as I told him I wasn't interested, he just put the phone down. For the record he called from 07902452464 which I tried to call back (using my caller ID withheld) and the call just got cutoff.
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Has anyone ever had any dealings with Municipal Press Office, 152 City Rd, London – I think it's a similar scam but obviously want to be sure – I don't want to be taken to court. Same senario, they have a taped conversation, terms and conditions, everything but it doesn't ring true.
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Thanks for publishing the warning, these guys contacted me this morning. I was a little suspicious of the way they wanted to do business so I did a search on the internet and came up with your link. If it hadn't been for you guys I may have got stung.
I have since reported this to consumer advice.
Thanks again!!! -
Just had the usual friendly chap on the phone, looking for the MD or someone who can talk to him. "Here we go again" would sum it up well….
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Hi All,
Just been dealing with this particular issue from a company called knightsbridge media telling our company that we agreed to an advert in the emergency service public safety magazine!! needless to say when you try to examine the credibility of the magazine or the publishers on the internet you are unable to!! they invoiced me for £395.00 + vat.
Further to this we had another company invoice us the month before for our ad in the EMERGENCY SERVICES AWARENESS MAGAZINE @ a cost of £249.50 no vat applied?. I replied asking them for proof of this magazine and needless to say I have heard nothing!! This Company is called Prosperity Media Services Eastern Street EC2 PLEASE BEWARE OF THESE COMPANIES!!!
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hi i almost fell fir the same thing
A man rang me with the same story as you are all saying i just got a funny feeling when trying to pay by BACS i then went to trading standards which said they had noted all i said but gave me a site to go to called http://www.trustonline.org.uk when i entered the postcode it kept telling me it was incorrect i've decided not to pay as this has made me suspisious.
I then saw this website and now am glad i never departed with £594.00 .
Please be aware of these people and look into all who claim to be of help reguarding these crime Prevention Booklets -
We was contacted in August by Municipal Press office… a liverpool accent asking if we wanted to place a £400+ advert in there crim magazine we said we was busy they asked us if they could email us some info so y husband said to be polite ok, They asked for the email address and we heard nothing else again till yesterday we recived a email saying pay up in 7 days or we are taking you to court. We phoned them today and they said we made a verbal contract .. rubbish my husband said send me the transcripts.. they emailed us a voice recording my husband basically entering into a verbal contract there is a mans voice telling my husband the legalities and my husband replies yes yes yes yes after every thing ..
This call never happened that call has been edited and they are demanding money from us They have only needed a few sound bites the edit that a simple yes and him seeming giving the email address for them to email the approval and bang they have everything t edit what they created…. we will not pay i'll see them in court before they get a penny out of me i have consulted trading standards and a lawyer my lawyer is going to contact them she mentioned the seruous fraud office… -
I have been hounded by a company called platinum press, I stupidity paid £100 a couple of moths ago just to shut them up, but now they claim I agreed to go for 4 publications and I need to pay again. I said no way, and he said I would have to pay just for two publications then.
Thankfully I have read this thread (and a few others) and they wont be getting a penny, any letters I receive I shall keep as evidence.
I have reported it to these guys http://www.actionfraud.org.uk -
We're based in London and EVERY year we get a call from a guy, and it goes a little like this:-
"Hello, can I speak with a director?", when asked who's calling, always the same response "it's a police matter". The first time I took this call 5 years ago I passed the call along to my manager. He clocked it straight away and told them he wasn't interested in "supporting" by way of advertising in the Met Police Mag (whatever it's called). Now yearly I get the same call, I usually get a bit receptionist gatekeeperish and that puts heed to the conversation. Earlier this year he tried a new tactic, wanted to speak with one of our directors to thank them for our support last year. Problem is the name of the director in question, who's name he had obviously got from our website doesn't actually work out of this office. I told him in no uncertain terms we hadn't advertised with them, he sort of coughed, spluttered a bit and I'm sure made a mention of some certificate too. Yeah he was off the phone pretty quickly!
Interestingly they called yesterday, this time speaking with our CEO, (I was out of the office), who not realising I have this call often and just send them off with a flea in their ear, got very angry that the police ring companies, almost menacingly requesting our "support". He then in turn made a few calls to the local police, who frankly couldn't have cared less if they tried.
I personally can not wait for this joker to call again, as I have been given permission to be as rude as I like to him. Thinking, I'm really going to waste this jokers time, play with him a little and finally ask if he might think that making a pound is easier if you just find a legitimate job.
Best way to deal with these guys I find is, sorry, but be a bit snotty, cold and not given them an inch. Take on an air of arrogance and they soon b****r off. -
Antony November 4th, 2011 at 23:08
My girlfriend, who has recently started a business and has a new website, got a call last month from a man saying "hello, it's the police, haha only kidding, but i do work for a police magazine… blah blah blah". More of the same from the above posts, verbal agreement (straight away?!! yeah right) , no backing out, quick ditch sim card numbers etc. She was told to expect a call to arrange it, they called within 2 minutes I believe! Very efficient.. Anyway, my lady said she'd think about it, we spoke about it and I instantly smelled scam, so contacted them the next day and said no. They have now sent an invoice for £234.94, also containing a picture of what the ad looks like, including my girlfriends home address, like she really would want that on the ad for all to see?! Needless to say, they will be ignored and spurned until they call no more. It would be laughable if not for the fact these scams cause a lot of harm and distress to good decent honest folk.
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Charlotte November 5th, 2011 at 11:40
I'Simon Bell' called me from 'Voluntary Services Publications Office' from a mobile 07765 050337 at the end of September. He said he was from the Police, then said don't worry you're not in trouble and then said he had been retired from the Police for 9 years. He caught me unawares, naturally, and I was initially taken in. He rang back the next day, blasted me with facts and figures – this Crime and Safety Journal was to go out to 55,000 individuals in fire stations, police stations and hospitals, the prices (similar to those quoted above), I said I'd like to see a copy of this mag and he said I'd see one when my advert was printed in it. He said he'd be passing my number on to The Municipal Press Office. I was surprised when the MPO called me within about 5-10 minutes of the last call (especially as it was around 5.30 too…) He said my call was being recorded and that once I'd said yes to the advert I could not cancel (because they had allotted that advertising space to me and that prevented anyone else having it). Looking back now, it seems so ridiculous but it did seem plausible at the time.
I had my suspicions and popped into my local police station the following morning and they had not heard of the publication and recommended that I contact Trading Standards, which I did. I sent an e-mail off to an e-mail address I found on their website (their website, by the was, was rubbish!) saying I did not wish to advertise with them. I got a phonecall from a girl from MPO about 4 or 5 days later and told her the same thing too. She said something like 'oh, I'll look into that'.
Yesterday I just received an invoice – 2 separate letters in fact – with OVERDUE INVOICE in red and a mock-up of the advert they'd created – without my permission, of course, just lifting things from my website.
It's really left me feeling uneasy and I'm going to spread the word far and wide to all friends, family and colleagues by all mediums – especially online – so that they don't make the same mistake
Charlotte -
Had a call yesterday from the same guys. Claiming advertising in some police and nhs magazine that would reach 100,000 people. First the guy said its 120+VAT then called again and sad its £150+ VAT. He said they wont be expecting the payment till March next year (how convenient).At first i was thinking what a great deal but then an alarm bell went off in my head and i asked for an email. Which he sent from some crappy email address allsales5@authorisedw.f9.co.uk. i then knew it was a scam and i called him back and said so. He just hang up. The guy was called Kay Norton. Number was 01923 200527 and 01923 200251.
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Looks like I'm the latest victim! I am a freelance designer just starting out and thought it would be a good opportunity to get some advertisment. As above…received the call from the friendly *@$* scouser "you will be the only design company advertised" in the Crime Prevention Journal, ha what a joke!…I have paid out £108 and wouldnt have thought anything of it until i received an email yesterday (9th Nov) saying I hadnt signed the cheque and had put the amount to pay where the signature should go! Alarm bells! I didnt send a cheque! Today I have received a letter from MPO with said cheque stapled to it…The cheque is from a completely different company to mine with a ladies name on the business cheque, I have just contacted the lady who herself had fallen for this scam, luckily for her and the mistake the cheque hasnt been cashed, its least to say she was very grateful and said she had been bombarded with calls.
I replied to the email to which i received a support ticket in response saying i would be contacted asap…as of yet nothing! I will be reporting this, where it will get me will have to be seen. I could kick myself!!!!! -
We get these kind of calls all the time and they always use the same story of telling you it is on behalf of the Police, Fire or Ambulance service or local schools. We had two calls today from one of these companies telling us that they had been given our details by Wokingham District Council as our business was a shining example of a well managed local business rather than a 'Rogue Trader'. This last comment really made me smile.
The first caller gave up quickly when we questioned him but the second was very persist and and claimed to be from Reading Community Police based in Reading. He told me that the magazine was called Street Scene but a quick google shows no sign of it. He gave me a number 0870 4460472 but when I called it there was no response. I phoned Reading police but they were unable to follow this up as it is a civil matter and suggested I call Wokingham District Council's Trading Standard office. The police did concede that if they were claiming to be from Reading Community Police they could be guilty of fraud by mis-representation but proving this could be tricky
I have no doubt that Reading police or Wokingham District Council have not sanctiond this and are not involved in this.
Avoid them like the plague!! -
Ian, thanks for the update. They seem to have reduced activity. Been about a fortnight since my last letter. I am so glad I never paid them. Makes me feel sick that I nearly fell for this. I'm all for people having businesses and making profit. But in an honest and decent way, these people are disgusting.
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I get called by Katie from the Cheshire based (Liverpudlian accent) from Emergency Services Press Office – shes called twice now and hangs up when I ask to call her back. Blatant scam, just not very good at it.
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sophie November 30th, 2011 at 12:09
They seem to be still out there, we had a call from them last week but when questioned they hung up. Definitely a scam – everyone beware.
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Hi all,
I've just received what was certainly one of these calls. I'm adding my comment here to keep the page fresh with Google and so that Google will also pick up the words 'Police Community' shold anybody search to find out about this, as they stated they were from a 'Police Community' group for a local 'Police Community Crime Prevention Magazine'. They used similar patter to the above about my supposedly being listed as the only web design company in the area, and were trying to get my pinned to a ad size 1/4 page 1/2 page or 1/6 page there and then.
I sniffed around with a number of questions and eventually on saying I wasn't going to commit to anything at that point without seeing stuff in print first he kinda gave in and said 'well actually I couldn't guarantee you'd be the only web company in there anyway so I'll move on, have a good day'. Quite polite for a scammer but he clearly was.
A really sneaky extortion tactic this, I hope they're tracked down and convicted.
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We have just been nearly scammed. I got a phone call off a liverpudlian claiming to be a pollice officer, he caught me completely unaware. He claimed we will be advertised in a crime aware brochure and the proceeds will go to help fight local crime, he was very convincing i must say, even likeable over the phone. I said i would consider it and they said that they would call back, they did but i never took the call. I since received an e mail ( not sure how they got my details) saying that if i did not pay £295 in less than 15 days i would not get my discount. I replied back and said i did not order any space and they replied back saying they had confirmation of order by recorded phone call and that i had entered into contract with them. I contacted the police and they told me to contact trading standards who have put this under investigation, the police are going to follow up. The company even have a website crimeaware.org, watch out for this company.
Typical scousers always trying to get one over on you !! -
Hello
I got dragged into this scam and paid nearly £150.00 what do i do about this? I'm tempted to go to the office and beat the life out of the guy in question "Daniels Silverman" -
They now call themselves Windows Media Limited…stiil claiming that the Crime & Safety Journal is distributed FOC to all police stations across the UK. Have a look at the blog on
http://sweeneyit.com/index.php/archives/1511 -
Daniel January 7th, 2012 at 21:18
A set of scammers who were calling themselves Municipal Press Office and who now call themselves Windows Media LTD (Registration Number: 07548784) have been contacting and trying to scam many small businesses last year. If you are contacted by them please report them to Actionfraud, Trading Standards (your own area and Liverpool Trading Standards as thats where they're based) and your local MP, the more people report them the more effort will be put in taking them to court.
They were using Daniels Silvermen debt collecting agency to threaten people, but lately have been claiming they are from ARC recovery debt collectors.
Dont pay them a penny. Two things allow them to continue doing these scams over the years, the authorities not enforcing the law and people paying up to these scammers. -
Hi I paid these people £106 , it was not until I insisted they sent me the promised finnish magazine I became suspisious because it was a load of rubbish which looked like it was printed on a basic home computer and rang all the people who had advertised in in in Berkshire . ( the man I spoke to had no difined accent his name was Micheal) , I have spoken to a girl as well.
here is some of the ifo I have keptU8-9SW-2G3 | 98mm x 68.8mm | CSJ18P – CSJournal 1/8 Page Advert
IMPORTANT:
Please note that the above design will be deemed to be correct and we will assume you have authorised the image as set out above and accepted the
graphic design service provisioned as completed unless we receive instruction to amend the proof within 30 days from date of invoice as per terms and
conditions. Please advise us of any changes you require via email (design@municipalpo.co.uk), postal service or facsimile. We will gladly redraft this proof
to your specifications within the dimensions agreed. Please also feel free to annotate this proof and send it back to us.
I confirm that I authorise this draft for publication (with / without)* amendments (as set out above / attached / sent via email to
design@municipalpo.co.uk)* *DELETE AS APPROPRIATE
Signed: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Date: _
(this agreement was never signed)
Dear Miss Julie Saunders We have recently refunded the payment you made to us online, using the Paypal Button on our homepage. This payment is now showing in your account if you would like to check. The reason we have made this refund is quite simple, whilst conducting research for the upcoming editions of the Crime & Safety Journal, it has been brought to our attention that the international payments processor, Paypal, have been implicated in the compromise and fraudulent misuse of consumer credit and debit card information. As such, we cannot encourage use of Paypal, nor can we accept payments using their facility as it would be going against the basic principals of the campaign. We will send a pre-paid envelope for you to make payment of the invoice using a cheque made payable to Municipal Press Office. We advise that you check to ensure the refund has been deposited in your account and then send us a cheque.
(I then sent a cheque for the amount of £106 57 )
Which they sent me a receipt for
We have successfully received funds for the Crime Safety Journal.Best Regards
Accounts DepartmentYour Details are as follows.
Account Ref: RG147RA406
Order Ref: U8-9SW-2G3
I rang and asked why the publication still had not gone out, they apologised and said it was late going to print. They said they would send me out a copy which they did . when I saw it I was very upset . it was a few pages poorly printed , the add was poor on a page with no relevance to the magazine . it did not contain ,info for hospitals , dentists, doctors ,fire service or other emergency services as promised.
I asked for my money back via email these are the e mails that followed
From myself -Hi I still have not had a reply to , my request for a refund .
From them – A customer support staff member has replied to your support request, #927520 with the following response:Hi Julie,
What was the reason for the refund request?
Kind regards
Municipal Press Office
I then got a call 2 weeks befor xmas telling me my add was ready for their new fire and safety magazine. I told him I wanted my money back and it was plastered all over the internet as a scam. He said I don’t know where you got your info from but we are genuine. He put the phone down and I have not heard from him since.
one of the advertisers has lost over £1.000
good luck and let me know of any progress please.
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Graham January 25th, 2012 at 12:21
I received the same phone call from a scoucer today about crime brochure! Be aware there still out there! And I’m a security company the cheak
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I did agree to this plausible scam over the phone and fell for all the plausible rubbish as detailed by so many people above. I cancelled by letter almost immediately and emailed although the emeail address was not correct. I also contacted every official dept (OFT, ASA, Action Fraud, CAB, CD) a few days later and have had conflicting suggestions from them on what to do. In fairness, noone has said I should pay up but am not convinced that anyone is suficiently interested. I am now getting emails demanding payment from Scammers, letters demanding money and voicemails. I have not paid anything. What I would like to know is; has anyone heard of the scammers taking their victims to Court for non-payment?
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Just had my second phone call from these guys in the couple of months Ive been open (small local Gallery). The first time I genuinely didnt want to do any advertising which was lucky as it was only afterwards I read this forum. That time he called himself Peter Jones and wanted £195 for an advert in the magazine. Todays call came from a non Liverpudlian saying (after the 'niceities' about how my business was going, chat chat etc) the Government had asked them to put together this 'Crime Security Journal' for the area with a print run of 75,000 going out at the end of March. I was in the mood for a chat, he was very nice to talk to which would've been very dangerous had I not been totally aware who I was talking to! I asked 'how much?' and apparently it is now being subsidised so they only need to ask advertisers to cover the costs of design and admin, a mere £85 for 12 months (4 editions)! Bargain!….. I still said No, sorry, he said "maybe sometime in the future then?" and wished me well in my venture and said goodbye. Sadly my neighbour was scammed a few years ago too I discovered, I really cannot believe that a company claiming to be working on behalf of the Government and Police, making a bogus magazine hasnt been caught/arrested/charged/stopped yet?? Surely with the amount of info the real Police/Trading Standards are being given by all of us, it would be simple to stop them???!!!
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They are now calling again under the guise of Community Crime Press Office.
Again Liverpudlian, he asked to speak to my colleague and told him he wasnt around and asked if he could leave a message, he then replied, "No its a very serious and sensitive matter".
We are being harrased by Commercial Energy another scamming company, and I said, let me guess you are Commercial Energy or Meter Registrations?
He then put on an official voice and boldly stated, "NO, this is the Community crime Press Office"
Silly little scouser!!
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Thanks for this breath of fresh air , from monday i have ben getting calls from Ian Doyle. telephone number . 01244348014 and 07930142607 with the same scam trying to sell me ' a quarterly publication and your advert would be in there for a whole year. The pricing was as follows;'
Full page – £695
Half page – £395
¼ page – £295
1/8 page – £195 -
Does anyone have experience with Crime&Safety Journal (company is based in London, City Road) and they don't accept card payments but cheques and bank transfers.
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karen April 3rd, 2012 at 19:00
I was scammed in September last year but got wise, although I did receive the publications. The cheeky thing is they use your artwork from your own website for the advert. However they are still at it, I have been pestered ever since November last year and then again in January they were ringing me nearly every day despite me saying no, they even tried a different tactic to say they would not call and they would send my details to Data Protection. Next day I get a call from 'data protection' asking me to send them any invoices/payments details I had made and they would investigate!!! They stopped calling when I told them I had spoken to action fraud and was told not to send anything to anyone!
Today I get a call from a Sophie Lewis who says she is from the Press Office of Emergency Services campaign! She starts of all sweetness and nice, with a NW accent, calling me sweetie and asking me how I am doing! I tell her I am not interested in what she has to say, she says she ringing to tell me I have not paid my invoice from january, I tell her I have had a bloody invoice from them or anything..her tone becomes more aggressive, she then tells me she is taking me to court…I say go for it. She put the phone down. I wait in anticipation for the next call….I don't appreciate been intimidated or threatned by scumbags!
I wish I had read these comments earlier, I would have saved myself some money…next time however I know better. -
karen April 3rd, 2012 at 19:02
I meant to say not had an invoice
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