A simple scam

OXFORD - "Yellow-Blue Media" is the latest version of one of the oldest scams in the book, and its making the rounds in the Oxford Hills.

A local businesswoman caught on to it and told the paper, and the police.

She says she realized right away that the call was shady, but decided to see how far, and for how much, the caller would try to take her.

The first caller was a woman, who said she was from "Yellow Blue Media" and that the Maine woman owed the company $750 for a webpage service that had been furnished in 2008. Our neighbor says she refused to pay, and hung up. But there was a second, and then a third call. However, when she tried to call the "media firm" the number was "no longer in service." Also, she noticed that the calls seemed to be originating in Buffalo, NY, but the return call numbers were from someplace else, giving her yet another reason for suspicion.

The calls that followed were at times nasty, the Maine woman said. One of the Yellow-Blue representatives threatened her with legal action. Finally, the Mainer says she got tired of the activity.

Her local police told her they couldn't be of much help because she did not fall for the con. So, while irritated, there was nothing they could do. Even if she had, little could be done due to the vagaries of the contacts.

She did well, however, to not give the callers any information at all about banks, addresses, or other services she did use, the police said. Those bits of information could have been used later, for other scams.

The scam initially depends on people being too busy to check on details. They get a bill and pay it. The catch is, if they stop to reflect, they realize never ordered the service. In this case it was a website advertising firm, but other times, the same technique has been used locally with the front being office supplies instead of media sales.

Websites such as www.fraud.org, and www.ftc.gov/bcp/idtheft can provide a lot of help and useful information.

The Oxford County Sheriff's Department also fields calls about suspected files, through the T.R.I.A.D. program. Call the sheriff's department at 743-9554, select option 4 and ask to speak to Linda Hooker, the sheriff's T.R.I.A.D. coordinator.