Small Business Directory in Australia
A small business directory in Australia called Industry and Commerce has been charged by a Federal Court of lying to local companies to get them to sign up for listings. This company is based out of Spain, and known in Europe as European City Guide SL.
The court ordered Industry and Commerce to stop seeking payment from any Australian company that completed on of its listing forms which falsely represented the company's operations. The company will also be forced to pay 98% of the legal costs for the federal case. Small businesses were the target of these scammers who wrote letters that hid fee information in the fine print. In the case of Industry and Commerce, the company has the audacity to use the Australian flag as part of its graphics in an attempt to convince recipients that it was associated with a government agency.