Small business owners take note: AG Nixon has announced a court order to temporarily shut down some operations of a deceptive yellow pages operation.

This time, the scheme plays upon the yellow pages name. Our lawsuit says this company called businesses, said they're with the "yellow pages" and asked if they want to renew their ad. The business owner says "yes," thinking it's the local yellow pages. Turns out it's a completely different company, and the ads run who knows where - some obscure directory, online only, etc. And the business gets a big bill for this ad.

Lesson to businesses: when dealing with the yellow pages company, get out your directory and call the number in your book. Don't trust a caller who says they're with the yellow pages - there are simply too many out there. This is the third time recently we've gotten results against a yellow page operator. In December, we announced one settlement, then another three weeks later. In those cases, the companies were sending "activation checks" to businesses. Those are the $2 checks you receive, cash, and next thing you know you have a contract for something you don't want.