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SUNNY Temp: 53 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 19, 2002 A phony phone bill Qwest, state will go after scam solicitation requesting paymentsto ‘Yellow Pages Plus’ By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune When is a bill not a bill? When it’s a scam like the one that came in Jeff Golden’s mail. Golden, of Ashland, opened what looked like a phone bill and found a statement that showed a "balance" of $241.46 and a "due date" of Sept. 27. The apparent bill listed a charge of $217 for "enhance 411" and $24.46 for "uplink activation." There was an account number. There were directions reading: "Please fold on the doted-line (sic) above, detach and return with your payment ... Thank you for your business." Golden wasn’t sure what enhancing and uplinking were, and he didn’t remember ordering any. Reading further, he discovered the "bill" was a cleverly disguised pitch for Yellow Pages Plus, an Internet business directory that says it’s not associated with any phone company. "It looked exactly like a phone bill," he said. "You can see how somebody could almost pay it." Golden, who hosts a talk show on Jefferson Public Radio and operates a mediation service, was about to throw the bogus bill away when he changed his mind. "We’re having a national conversation now about corporate behavior," he said. "This just wasn’t OK." Kevin Neely, a spokesman for Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, said it’s not OK with the state, either. "It’s a simulated invoice," he said. That is illegal in Oregon. "It’s a scam companies use to bilk people out of their money," Neely said. He said many people have complained the pitch looks like a real bill. Among complainants was Qwest. The state on Wednesday wrote Yellow Pages Plus demanding the company cease sending the pitch to residents. Neely said the state could go to court to compel the company to stop if it doesn’t quit voluntarily. The invoice-like solicitation says, "This is not an invoice," but the words are at the bottom of the page. "If it’s an offer, you’re supposed to say so in the big print," Neely said. Golden agreed. Once he recognized the mailing for what it was, he admired the quality of the work. "It’s really very artful," he said. "Maybe they’ve got the juice here to achieve world peace if they could just direct it in the right channels." Yellow Pages Plus did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S