FTC Business Alert

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Division of Consumer & Business Education

When Yellow Pages Invoices Are Bogus

That invoice bearing the familiar “walking fingers” logo and the name “Yellow Pages” could be a 

camouflaged invitation to lose money.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, and the Yellow 

Pages Association (YPA) caution businesses that unscrupulous promoters are soliciting advertising 

for online, alternative, or nonexistent business directories. Although these directories appear to be 

legitimate Yellow Pages publications, they are not distributed to the public, posted on the Web, 

or promoted as promised. As a result, the directories — if they exist at all — offer no benefits to 

businesses that pay to advertise in them.

The solicitation to buy directory ad space or membership may look like an invoice and bear 

the “walking fingers” logo and the Yellow Pages name. Neither the name nor the logo is protected 

by federal copyright or trademark registration. That’s how fraudulent promoters are able to lead 

businesses to believe they are affiliated with local telephone directories distributed in a particular area. 

Of course, not all solicitations you receive in the mail look like bills, invoices, or account 

statements. Your business may receive a check that looks like a refund or rebate check. Read the front 

and back carefully. By cashing the check, you may be agreeing to be billed monthly for something 

you don’t want or need, such as Internet access or membership in an online directory. Be skeptical 

when you receive offers from strangers. Some solicitations could violate the law if they misrepresent 

information.

The U.S. Postal Service requires solicitations that look like invoices, bills, or account statements 

to carry one of the following notices: 

THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION 

TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER, or

THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR AN ORDER OF GOODS OR SERVICES, OR BOTH, 

AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE OR STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT DUE. YOU ARE UNDER NO 

OBLIGATION TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF THIS OFFER UNLESS YOU 

ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

Before you buy directory advertising space, membership through a mail solicitation, or pay an 

“invoice,” take the following steps:

•	 Check out the company and its publication. Call your local Yellow Pages publisher to see if 

it is affiliated with the soliciting company.

•	 Ask for a copy of a previous directory edition.

•	 Ask for the online directory’s Web address and call advertisers in the directory to ask if 

their listing has been a good buy. If your business is listed in the Yellow Pages of a legitimate publisher, you likely will be listed in their online directory at no charge.

•	 Ask the publisher for written information about where the directory is distributed, how it 

is distributed, how often it is published, and distribution or circulation figures.

•	 Check with your local and state consumer protection agencies to determine if any complaints have been filed about the publisher. This isn’t a guarantee, but it is a prudent step.
Tip-Offs to Rip-Offs

Be suspicious if the invoice includes a threat that your listing will be deleted.

The Walking 

Fingers 

logo is not 

trademarked

in the United 

States so 

it is not a 

guarantee of 

a legitimate 

Yellow Pages 

company.

Bogus 

bills often 

include a 

fictitious 

reference

or account 

number. The “Amount 

Due” is 

typically less 

than $300 so 

as to not raise 

accounting 

suspicion.

Bogus bills 

usually do 

not include 

a phone 

number for 

inquiries.

Solicitations 

must include 

the “THIS 

IS NOT 

A BILL” 

disclaimer.
1-877-FTC-HELP FOR THE CONSUMER

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ftc.gov

May 2007

For More Information and to File a Complaint

If you think you’ve been victimized in a fraud scheme that involves the U.S. 

Mail, submit a Mail Fraud Complaint Form to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx or call the U.S. Postal Service’s 

Mail Fraud Complaint Center at 1-800-372-8347. 

Alert your State Attorney General. You can find contact information at www.naag.org, or check 

the blue pages of the phone book under State Government. 

Submit a complaint to the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org.

In addition, you may direct questions about Yellow Pages publishers to: Yellow Pages 

Association, Connell Corporate Park, 200 Connell Drive, Suite 1700, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922; 

www.ypassociation.org; 1-800-841-0639.

You also may contact the Consumer Response Center at the Federal Trade Commission. 

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in 

the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a 

complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 

1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, 

identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database 

available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Produced in cooperation with the Yellow Pages Association