Free Ads : too good to be true likely to be a scam - restaurants learns the hard and expensive way

A sophisticated scam with a business plan which sounded convincing. Where is the contract which will nail down the two conmen who are nowhere to be found now after taking more than tens of thousands from restauranteurs?  It's too good to be true. The cheats have played on human greed and desperation, at a time when businesses are confronting an economic slowdown.

http://m.smh.com.au/nsw/restaurateurs-find-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-free-ad-20111226-1pajo.html

Another tactic is to make the ad appear officious and mandatory like an entry in the business directory asking for confirmation. I and some fellow business associates had fallen prey to such pseudo scams with an attached fine print of the prices and fees if the information was valid to be published. It was eventually published on an online directory which no customers would be able to check as it is not on the top of google listing.