BUSINESSES on Teesside have been targeted as part of a fax machine scam.

Companies in the Hartlepool area have received a single page fax, purportedly from an Indian firm, saying the sender wants to sell the firm's fax number.

The fax goes on to say that if the business does not want its number sold, then it must fill in a statement and return it by fax within five working days.

Michael Welsh, Hartlepool Borough Council's principal trading standards officer, said: "A business which does not want the prospect of being flooded with unwanted faxes from all over the world will doubtless want to fax back saying no.

"The sting in the tale is that the cost of faxing back to the number supplied will cost several pounds, as the receiving fax machine will probably work very slowly in receiving the fax. A fax-back rate of £1.50 is quoted in the small print at the bottom of the fax, but the duration of the fax-call is not."

He added: "This has all the ingredients of a scam aimed at businesses. In a busy office, the full implications of a fax like this could be missed - it might just be filled in and sent back without people stopping to think. That would lead to a hefty fax bill and possibly expose the firm to similar faxes in the future."

The Hartlepool Trading Standards team has sent the fax on to the relevant national watchdog for further investigation. It would like to hear about similar potential scams, and can be contacted on (01429) 523362.