There's always plenty of these scams about. Usually it's getting you to advertise in a local free distribution magazine. The only people who get copies of the magazine are those who advertise in it! I asked one who phoned me if I could have a back copy and they said it would cost me £20
A similar scam a couple of years back was that they phoned you up and said something like: "We are publishers of educational books designed for primary school age children. Of the schools local to you, which one would you recommend to receive a consignment?" I said I didn't care which school they chose, as all my kids were long past school age and all my grandkids didn't live in the area. They asked should they just pick a school in the area, I said they could do what they liked, then I forgot all about it. Lo and behold, a few weeks later I get the second call, just like Stuart:
"The books are ready now, we'll deliver them to (whatever school) on payment of our invoice for £XXX"
I just told them to produce the document where I'd signed to say I would sponsor, then said they were going to have a long wait for any money from me!
Never heard anymore.