Two weeks ago Sue Luke from Auswater Storage Solutions contacted The Gazette, in the hope of raising awareness of the other small businesses in the district aware of the scam.

On four occasions Mrs Luke has received bogus faxes, which look like an invoice for advertising space – despite the fact she had not booked or purchased any advertisements.

Although the invoices included fine print specifying the fax was a “solicitation, not an invoice for a debt”, on each occasion the fax was followed up by a phone call from a pushy salesperson asking for payment.

Mrs Luke recently received her fourth fax, invoicing her about $400 for a quarter page advertisement in a publication called ‘Guide to Youth in Crisis’, followed by a phone call demanding payment.

“I’ve been a target three times this year, and that was the fourth,” she said.

Fortunately, this time Mrs Luke was aware of the scam.

But the small business owner has fallen victim to the fraudsters in the past, providing her credit card

number to pay in good faith.

As someone who often donates to charity, Mrs Luke was tricked into believing she had agreed to purchase advertising space in several publications.

“I was convinced I’d agreed to do this,” she said.

In one instance, she was sent a booklet which contained her ‘advertisement’. The publication was of poor quality, full of spelling mistakes, with phone numbers crossed out in pen, and incorrectly labelled a 2007 edition.

“The only people that get them (the publications) are the ones that get sucked in,” Mrs Luke said. “They’re not distributed anywhere.”

Mrs Luke said she wanted to raise awareness about the issue, so other businesses could learn from her story. “I can’t be the only one getting caught,” she said.

“There’s so many small businesses in the Hawkesbury. Because it’s only $400, I think they’re getting away with it.” All contact numbers and business names on the invoices proved to be fake or no longer current, making it impossible to track down the culprits.

Last week, Volunteering Aust-ralia issued a warning to all business operators to be wary of disreputable publishers claiming to publish magazines on behalf of

volunteer based groups and soliciting advertising support.

The NSW Office of Fair Trading is aware of invoice scams, and provide information to the public and to businesses on how to avoid falling victim to such schemes.

According to the NSW Office of Fair Trading website, scammers target small businesses by telephone, mail and fax, to trick them into advertising in bogus publications or directories, costing traders thousands of dollars every year.

The publications often have emotive titles designed to exploit community spirit, focusing on policing, fire-fighting, health, drugs, environmental and child safety themes, and the magazines either don’t exist or are printed in minute quantities.

To report a scam with the Office of Fair Trading, call 13 32 20 or go to www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au