Business Directory Fraud Solicitors in London
Updated on Thursday 05th September 2019
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A business directory scam often involves small businesses and listing opportunities in an abusive manner. Such frauds can take place on the internet or over the phone, the result being the same: the loss of money. Our business directory fraud solicitors in London are at the disposal of persons or companies accused of such serious frauds. Similarly, companies or small businesses dealing with these kinds of frauds can be legally represented by our criminal defence solicitors in London.
Business directory fraud – how does the mechanism work?
Unfortunately, business directory frauds have small businesses as targets but are not limited to these. The mechanism involves a form sent by email or by the postal office which seems to be a free listing application. Even more, through this form, details about the company are requested and that for being included in an online business directory, for free. Finally, the receiver is asked to return the signed form, even he or she does not want to place an order in this sense, or submit this request. In the end, companies can receive bills of hundreds of pounds for services they didn’t ask for in the first place. Below you can find other details about business directory frauds and its mechanism:
- Fraudsters can call companies to confirm information for a free business directory.
- Instead of being a free service, company owners receive large bills for being listed in an online business directory.
- When such bills are refused, scammers can go further and present call recordings proving the agreement for such services (edited calls can be used).
- Scammers can also say that company employees agreed on the services and the costs.
Unfortunately, business directory frauds involve harassing phone calls and even debt collection pressures. Even worse, scammers can pretend to be debt collection agents who promise to victims of business directory fraud they won’t be called again. Facing such unwanted situations is definitely hard, and victims are advised to get in touch with the police as soon as possible. Also, the legal support of a business directory fraud solicitor in London will prove efficient and extremely recommended, considering the experience in this field.
Paying instead of taking action
Unfortunately, business owners cannot act in accordance or in the heat of the moment, they feel too much pressure due to the harassing phone calls and in the end, they make payments for unsolicited services. Fraudsters are aware of the fact that most small businesses do not pay attention to the ways in which they can protect against crimes or scams, therefore, it is quite easy to trap them. We remind that our business directory fraud solicitors in London can offer in-depth legal advice and assistance if your business is involved in such crimes. On the other hand, those accused of business directory frauds in London are suggested to get in touch with a criminal defence lawyer in London and ask for legal representation.
How can you protect against business directory frauds?
First, it is recommended to train the employees of your firm and inform them about the existing frauds that might occur. Second, make sure that the company has designated staff who can verify the bills in the firm and make payments only with written approvals. And third, it is suggested to make online verifications about the company that called and proposed business directory services for free. Complaints about these scams should always be in the attention of any kind of business or firm, mentioning that anti-fraud organizations and agencies in UK pay complete attention to these type of frauds. If you want to make a complaint and need to know all the legal aspects, we recommend you talk to one of our business directory fraud solicitors in London. The legal support of our criminal defence solicitors in London can be essential, particularly if your business is subject to huge financial losses resulted from business directory frauds. Below you can find information and statistics about business frauds in UK:
- fraud and scams worth GBP 1.2 billion have been registered in UK in 2018;
- gross losses of around GBP 354.3 million were authorized push payment scams registered in 2018 in UK;
- application fraud losses of approximately GBP 29.4 million have been registered in 2018;
- e-commerce frauds worth around GBP 393.4 million took involved credit cards in 2018.
Business frauds can take many forms and in most of the cases, without serious protection, companies can face losses of millions of pounds each year. In any case, if you believe you are a victim of fraud or if you have been accused of business directory fraud, do not hesitate to contact our criminal defence solicitors in London and ask for immediate legal advice.