Our office received a fake invoice from Stock Quotes Professional Inc. last Friday.
We had no recollection of asking for a “rotating top banner with hyperlink” to our web site. The exact description on the invoice was: “Bi-annual online investor communications sponsorship”, followed by the hyperlink (spelled as hperlink) text above and then “International Stock Quotes”. The invoiced amount was $449 plus GST, amounting to $471.45.
Their web site is pathetic: www.stockquotespro.com. Who in the right mind would even want to post a banner there. It looks like a quick, five-minute web site. Take a look and see for yourself.
We called their toll-free number, 1-877-859-0117, to ask for clarification and were transferred to voice mail on two separate occasions. Further, I looked up the GST number in the CRA registry. I wasn’t shocked to see: “Not registered on the transaction date entered”.
Bottom-line: If you receive an invoice from Stock Quotes Professional Inc (Calgary, AB), do NOT pay it! As we have done, report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Canada Revenue Agency. A business is not allowed to charge GST unless it has been registered to collect GST.
Update (9/4/2008):
Another company, Walstreet International, Inc. (Toronto, Ontario), has followed suit. They are charging $399 bi-annually for the same service — a rotated corporate logo on their web site. There’s also a $19.95 charge for GST, but there’s no GST number (another red flag) on the invoice. The web site looks more reputable, but it’s a scam: www.walstreetintl.net. The small print on this one: “All subscriptions begin upon payment and automatically renewed bi-annually for 3 years.” The emphasis is mine. In other words, another scam to make a quick buck from unknowing accounts payable departments at publicly traded companies. Luckily it ended up in my hands — another scam to report. We called their toll-free number only to be forwarded to voicemail: 1.800.581.1559. Look at the culprit behind the domain: http://whois.domaintools.com/walstreetintl.net (scroll down to the whois record).