A scammer pretending to work for a weekly newspaper has conned a businessman out of thousands of pounds.
The Bucks Free Press has issued a warning to businesses on its patch after the scam, perpetrated by a man claiming to work for the paper.
The individual is trying to sell small print advertisements and taking the customer’s credit card details.
The Free Press has warned businesses to be vigilant and has urged them to contact the paper if they have any suspicions about people purporting to be from the paper contacting them.
In a message to readers, editor Andrew Colley said: “We are shocked and disgusted by this. This man has nothing to do with the Bucks Free Press.
“If you have any suspicions about the authenticity of a call from the BFP, please do not hesitate to call us first on 01494 755 000 and we will verify its authenticity.”
The incident is currently being investigated.
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While not in any way condoning this, with the state of regional press advertising perhaps they should offer this individual a job!
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Bad news for local businesses but I wonder how much this scammer would have got had he said he worked for the local news website. Considerably less than £1,000s I should think.
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So he illicitly obtained ‘bucks free’.
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