Acorn Inn co-owner Kathy Plunket Versluys says she’s naturally skeptical and not inclined at all to fall for bogus sales pitches or scams. But the call she received on Monday sounded so official, so legit, that she found herself taking the bait.

“I received a very official sounding call from a person claiming to be a representative of the US Dept of Agriculture,” says Versluys, ” who knew our name, address, income and number of employees.”

The caller, a woman, told Versluys they (she runs the Nellysford Bed & Breakfast with her husband, Martin) hadn’t responded to an important notification sent out in May concerning new regulations for all businesses involved with food, but especially small ones like theirs that serve baked goods. Due to the current rise in food-born illnesses, the woman said, even kitchens not subject to restaurant regulations were now federally required to post food born illness warning signs in their kitchens, and that the USDA would be conducting stricter inspections as of August 1, 2008, and imposing fines on all businesses without the signs.

“I asked if I could download the warning signs from the USDA website and laminate them,” says Versluys, ” but she said that federal regulations require that the signs be official. And given the date and the Aug 1 deadline, should be sent out rush.”

The package they were to receive, Versluys was told, would contain three certified signs and cost $199, which they would be given 30 days to pay.

“When I balked at the cost, she assured me that small businesses will be reimbursed for the full amount when we filed our taxes,” says Versluys. “she said the Federal government didn’t want to burden small businesses, but that the food born illness scares lately had created an emergency regulation.”

Versluys was told she would receive a second call to verify the order. Sure enough, she received another call from a woman claiming to work for Federal Medical Supplies, a legit company as it turns out, but when Versluys started asking questions she was told that Federal Medical Supplies had simply been contracted to distribute the signs. If she had any questions, the woman said, she would need to contact the US Dept of Agriculture again and was given a toll-free number.

Suspicious, Versluys called the Virginia Department of Agriculture in Richmond, only to find out they knew of no new law with an Aug 1 deadline. Next, she spoke to Nelson County’s local health department and found out that they hadn’t heard of the new Aug 1 regulation either. Then she called the Albemarle food safety/health department to hear the same. However, no one confirmed it was a scam until she phoned the US Dept of Agriculture in Omaha, Nebraska, where an official told her there was no way the USDA would be capable of phoning individual businesses, that the topics covered were more a health department concern, or an FDA issue, and such signs would never cost anything.

The official recommended she call back and cancel the order, then notify the Better Business Bureau and newspapers, which Versluys promptly did.

According to Sandy Soule, a marketing rep with BedandBreakfast.com, an industry advocate, innkeepers across the country have been receiving similar calls, most recently from callers claiming to be with the US Department of Labor informing them that they were required to post Employment/Safety Rules posters on their premises. Cost? You guessed it…$199.

“I’m glad my irritation about yet another bill, led me to sleuth it out,” says Versluys. ” And here I thought it was a really creative way to pay for those tax rebates.”