Fake Magazine Fleecing Businesses

[AG Consult]

My brother studied Sports Journalism at Uni so when he got offered a job as editor of a sports based publishing company in November he jumped at the chance. However, he left a month later due to the reasons below.

They have 5 different sports publications that they claim have a nationwide distribution with a readership of 1.3 million. They contacts sports clubs from grass roots level to professional and ask if they can do a feature on them (for free). Once they get the go ahead they then get their sales guys to contact all the sponsors of said club asking if they want to buy some advertising space beside the clubs feature. Prices starting at £125 for a quarter page going to £595 for full page.

Im sure you all know what I am going to say. There is no distribution at all except a copy to the club and which ever company has placed an ad. As I said, my brother sharply left when he was made aware there was no actual distribution

Being a small business owner myself this gets right up my back. Im sure that this is not the only magazine scam going round. Who can this sort of thing be reported to and can anything be done about it ?

 

[Ian J]

It's fraud so why doesn't your brother report it to the police?

 

[BRIDGREGORY]

If that fails the trading standards for the area where the publication is based.

Personally I wouldn't consider advertising in any magazine that I didn't know and that I had seen around in the appropriate industry.

The same goes for Directories times ten.

 

[AG Consult]

Like I say, they do produce a digital magazine and send it to the advertisers and clubs featured, so they use them to show potential new advertisers their past work. But in reality no one is reading the magazine except the people who've paid to be in it.

 

[Ian J]

Like I say, they do produce a digital magazine.

No you didn't say that it was a digital magazine

 

[AG Consult]

Sorry I worded it wrong. It is a physical magazine printed off from the digital version then sent to people who have advertised.

Then digital versions of the back issues are sent to potential new advertisers

 

[Ian J]

I use to own a local newspaper many years ago and seem to recall that there is some sort of formula for calculating readership but I can't remember what it is. If they are claiming a readership of 1.3 million it probably means that they are claiming a distribution of 400,000 copies and if the actual distribution is substantially less than that then it is fraud.

It's fairly easy to prove fraud as obviously they won't print that many copies themselves so will be using an external printer who will be invoicing them for the number of copies printed. The distribution will also be easy to prove so if they are being naughty boys it will be a simple matter to catch them out

 

[AG Consult]

Thats exactly what happens. End of month before their 'release date' they request however many copies to be printed from a third party printer then post them to the people who have advertised.

Total scam

 

[ethical PR]

So has your brother reported the company to the Police and trading standards?

 

[talkinpeace]

This scam has been running since before your brother was born
Caveat emptor

 

[The Byre]

If you buy advertising in some mag, radio station or whatever that is not independently audited, you are a moron and deserve to get ripped off.

 

[obscure]

As said it is fraud (getting advertisers to pay for readers that don't exist). You brother needs to report them to the police. If he doesn't then he is basically as bad as they are letting them get away with it.

 

[The Byre]

As said it is fraud (getting advertisers to pay for readers that don't exist). You brother needs to report them to the police. If he doesn't then he is basically as bad as they are letting them get away with it.

The phrase 'aiding and abetting' springs to mind, as well as 'obstruction of the police in their enquiries'.

He is under a legal obligation to report crimes to the police, as indeed, if you know about them, are you.

Having said that, it must be pointed out that there are thousands of these bogus publications and the range between taking a rosy view of a non-audited circulation and total fraud, where only a handful of copies are printed and a genuine readership is just not there, is wide indeed.

Buying advertising in a non-audited medium is like buying a car without a milometer or any ability to gauge the age or mileage of the vehicle, but just taking the vendor's word for it.

 

[Ian J]

Buying advertising in a non-audited medium is like buying a car without a milometer or any ability to gauge the age or mileage of the vehicle, but just taking the vendor's word for it.

There is an independent organisation called ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation) that audits newspaper and magazine circulation to confirm the accuracy of the claims and media that subscribe to the audit are allowed to display the logo to confirm that fact.

The problem is that small businesses tend not to know about ABC so don't think to ask