The Competition Bureau is warning businesses of a new business directory scam where companies receive an invoice that appears to be associated with the Canadian government.

Under this scam companies are sent an invoice for $749.00 for a business directory they supposedly ordered. To create the illusion of legitimacy, invoices include the federal government's corporate signature and the name 'Canadian Companies Directory for Industry, Commerce and Trade'. (A sample invoice can be seen here.)

It is believed that this scam is being run out of Switzerland. The Competition Bureau noted that the use of the federal government's corporate signature has led many businesses to believe that the solicitation is associated with the Canadian government.

If you receive this type of solicitation you can send your complaint to the Competition Bureau, who will then forward them on to the Swiss authorities.

Editors note: there are many scams similar to this; we recently received a similar mailing that also looked like it was associated with the federal government. Always proceed with extreme caution before agreeing to any directory listing solicitation.

Visit the Competition Bureau website.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to visit CanadaOne's article knowledge base for more informative articles.