Local businesswoman Dianna Lee always makes it a practice to double-check her sources when people call and ask for money.

If she didn’t, a company said to be calling local businesses claiming to represent the Pike County Chamber of Commerce on sales calls could have gone unnoticed a little longer.

“I had a call, and she asked me if I’d like to place an ad in the city/county map,” Lee, of Troy Bank & Trust, said.

Lee said after the conversation she called the chamber, and who they said they weren’t partnering with anyone on a map.

Jerry Beckett, owner of Beckett Insurance, said he received a similar call about two weeks ago.

“They called me and said they wanted to renew it, and I said, ‘OK,’” Beckett said. “They told me it would be $295…and said if I wanted to pay up front they would knock off $95.”

Fortunately for Beckett, he didn’t bring his credit card to work that day.

“I’ve been scammed before on calls so I don’ do anything on the phone, but this was a renewal thing,” he said. “I’m just glad I didn’t give them my credit card.”

Pike County Chamber of Commerce Membership Director Leigh Ann Windham said the chamber isn’t currently working with any company on a mapping project.

“If anyone represents themselves as a company working for the chamber, unless the chamber notifies you in someway, then the company is not being truthful,” Windham said.

The Chamber does hire Southeastern Engineering to do a map service for them, but she said it will not do so until September 2011. The last map was distributed in September 2009.

Windham said after she received a call, she sent out an e-mail to the chamber members she has on file and some have told her they purchased a spot on the map already.