11th August 2015 Local Businesses Urged to be Extremely Wary of Cold CallsBusinesses in the Island are once again being subjected to cold calls from telesales fraudsters making false claims. Many of these relate to the offering of advertising services. The OFT urges businesses not to agree to advertise in any publications supposedly endorsed by the emergency services, other sections of Government or even charitable organisations without taking the time to make sure that any claims made by unsolicited callers are valid. Businesses should always be on their guard when receiving cold calls to avoid falling for scams:
Consumer protection legislation is generally targeted at protecting private individuals and not businesses. This allows businesses to trade freely, but also means they must be extra wary when it comes to the risk of falling victim to scams. Further advice and information on business scams in general is available from the OFT website or by telephoning 686500. Earlier this week, the OFT launched a public consultation in regard to plans to bring in revised legislation to control cold calling. The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill would make it an offence to cold call private individuals.
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