"Hi, your accountant passed along your name. She said you might want working capital before year-end, so I just need a few numbers to get started."
No name. No firm. He waits for you to fill in the blank, and most owners do.
Part 30 of Stop the Calls covers the blind referral check, a 10-minute way to test a referral without trusting the caller or handing him a single fact. It picks up where Part 29 left off, with the "your funder sold your account" call.
General information, not legal advice. Both the call and Saltgrass Tile & Stone, the shop below, are made up.
Why "your accountant sent us" works
A cold caller is a stranger. A referral from the person who does your books is borrowed trust. Say "Oh, from Dana" and the caller now has a name to drop on every call after this one. You've also confirmed who handles your money.
"Your accountant" fits every owner. So does "your CPA," "your bookkeeper" or "your tax person." A real referral comes with a name.
The tactic: the blind referral check
Saltgrass Tile & Stone's owner got this call on a Monday at 11:15 AM. He ran the check in three moves.
Move 1: make him name the referral. Don't offer a name, a firm or a city. Use this line:
"Great. Tell me the name of the person who referred me and the firm she works for. I'll confirm with her directly."
If he dodges with "I'd have to check my notes," you have your answer. Saltgrass's caller promised to email it. Nothing came.
Move 2: call your accountant on a number you already have. Use the number from your last invoice or your phone contacts, never one the caller reads to you. Same rule as the funder call-back in Part 20.
Move 3: ask three questions in writing. Email your accountant:
"A funding company called today and said you referred me. Did you refer me to anyone? If so, what did you share about my business? Do you or your firm receive any payment for referrals like this one?"
Saltgrass's accountant wrote back the same afternoon. She had never heard of the company.
The 20-second answer for the live call
"Thanks. I'll check with my accountant first, and she'll reach out if she wants us to talk. Until then, don't call this line again. Before you go, what's your name, the legal name of your company, and a callback number?"
Log it. The call log template has a "What they said" column, so "said my accountant referred me" goes in word for word. If the same claim shows up from a new company next week, Part 9 shows how to spot the same pitch under a new name.
If the referral turns out to be real
Sometimes it is. That still doesn't make the offer a fit. Learn two things before you share anything.
What was shared. A tax return preparer generally may not disclose or use your tax return information without your written consent (26 U.S.C. 7216 and 26 CFR 301.7216-3). If your numbers went out, ask what you signed.
Who gets paid. For CPAs who belong to the AICPA, its Code of Professional Conduct (1.520.001) says a member in public practice who is paid a commission for referring a product or service must disclose that to the person referred. Your question 3 asks for exactly that.
Then vet the offer itself with the checks in Part 24.
AI assist: give any AI chat the caller's exact words plus your accountant's reply, and have it flag every claim she didn't back up.
The rules behind the check
- Claiming a connection that isn't real. Under the FTC's rule on impersonating businesses, misrepresenting an affiliation with a business is banned (16 CFR 461.3).
- Who is calling. Under FCC rules, a telemarketer has to give you its name, who it calls for, and a phone number or address where it can be reached (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(4)). That's why the script asks for all three.
- Your shop's number. Business lines aren't covered by the National Do Not Call Registry at all, since it's for personal numbers, and most business-to-business calls fall outside the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.6). Some federal phone-call rules can still apply, depending on the line and how they dialed (47 U.S.C. 227).
Nothing here promises an outcome. For how it applies to you, talk to a licensed attorney. The Know Your Rights series, the MCAFax toolkit and our guide to stopping MCA broker calls go deeper.
Your checklist
- Never say your accountant's name first.
- Ask the caller for the referrer's name and firm.
- Call your accountant on a number you already have.
- Email the three questions and keep the reply.
- Share nothing until the referral checks out.
- Log the claim word for word.
Coming in Part 31: the "we're with the SBA" call, and how to tell a government program from a broker using its name.
