Another foreign Internet company has been attempting to trick Bermudian businesses into parting with thousands of dollars worth of unwanted advertising space, haslearned.

An article in Friday?s paper exposed the shady dealings of online telephone directory service Caribbean-Yellow Pages, based in the US Virgin Islands, who have been contacting local businesses pretending to represent Bermuda Yellow Pages and trying to persuade them to pay for an ?upgrade? of their Internet ads.

And speaking exclusively to yesterday, another local business blew the whistle on a company named Tourist Directory, based in Lucerne, Switzerland, whose website now boasts a veritable Who?s Who of Bermuda hotels and restaurants ? among a host of others.

TD, also known as NovaChannel AG, has been contacting local businesses and offering free advertising space for a year, with no obligation to remain on the website once the 12 months have elapsed. Within that time frame, TD then sends a form asking merely for an information ?update? and a company signature, ?even if you decide not to place an order with us?.

However, the small print at the bottom of the form, a copy of which is in the possession of reads: ?We hereby agree to place an order with NovaChannel AG (Publisher) to publish the information given above on the next and the two following editions of Tourist Directory.

?The price of the advertisement is 989.00 per edition (US$1,289.90) and will be charged annually in advance.?

The Swiss company has been the subject of an independent enquiry by a website entitled ?Stop the European City Guide!? ? a watchdog dedicated to unearthing the illegal practices of what it claims is a steadily growing industry of online tourist scams.

They have published a seven-page report on NovaChannel AG?s ?illicit practices?.

?NovaChannel is a relative newcomer to the scam guides industry, first appearing in the year 2000, although we first saw deceptive contracts at the end of 2001,? the report reads. ?...NovaChannel use Premium Recovery AG to collect the ?debts? generated by misleading mailouts.

?They then use threats and bluster to scare you into parting with your money, however when people have refused to pay NovaChannel have never come to court.

?In these circumstances if you feel you have been misled you should not pay. You are in the driving seat here, just firmly refuse to pay and collect all correspondence you have with this company and file a complaint with the relevant authority in your country...?

Cambridge Beaches in Sandys is listed on TD?s website, although managing director Michael Winfield said he had never heard of them. But in his position as president of the Bermuda Hotels Association he revealed Internet scams such is this one are ?unfortunately rather common? and warned people to be ?extremely wary? of approaches from these types of overseas entities.

?There are a lot of these scam merchants out there,? he said. ?I don?t know anything about this particular company, but what I can say is that we have come across this sort of thing numerous times in the past and we have determined to have nothing to do with them.

?Unfortunately in the world as it is today, particularly with the Internet, there are plenty of people out there trying to make a quick buck by misleading people. Everybody should be extremely careful about entering into any sort of dialogue with these companies and certainly should not sign anything which could later be used as a legal contract.?

Attempts to contact Tourist Directory were unsuccessful yesterday.

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