BUSINESSES in County Durham are being warned to be on guard against a telephone book advertising scam.

Durham County Council's trading standards issued the warning after a report of a sales call from a mobile phone asking a business to confirm an order.

The caller thanked the company for previously placing advertising with them and asked for replacement artwork or a confirmation order for a new publication and payment details.

Councillor Don Ross, deputy leader of the county council, said: "We condemn the practice of unsolicited telephone calls that try to get businesses to part with money under false pretences.

"We are warning all business to be on their guard and to treat with caution any unsolicited telephone calls they receive."

Phillip Holman, the county council's head of trading standards, said the scam could usually be thwarted by checking previous dealings before committing to anything new.

He said: "Our advice is always to check out the caller's identity first and, if there is any doubt, refuse to supply any information until you're sure the caller is genuine.

"It is dangerous to give out credit card or bank details and this should never be done in response to an unsolicited phone call.

"It is a good idea to register with the Telephone Preference Service or the Fax Preference Service to prevent this type of call getting through in the first place."