Show More than 55 nnllSonAiiierwansliawbeen taken in ty telephone scams Pont be ontcfthan Better Business Bureau soared from 298 in 1990 to 14000 in 1991 Cliff Brewer 33 a metalsmhh in Hayward Calif tells this stoad in a local paper With a layoff looming ry: He saw a quick-loa- n he needed to consolidate his debt and to pay for ms girlfriend's dental work He called the ad’ s 800 number and answered a few timate-sounding questions about his work history and salary legi- Within 35 minutes he was told that he had qualified for a $5000 loan “I was so happy” he recalls “I was in tears” He also was told: 1) To send tlx trader a check for $195 by overnight mail 2) He’d get the loan eight to 10 days later 3) The $195 would be refunded ifnil loan didn’t come through But the loon never arrived and Brewer had closed and was being sued in Long Island NY Brewer says “I feel like I want to stand on a hilltop and tell people: Don’t give t it! I did it--and I cot smoked!” a Job? Dae moment please! Ai the ad urges you call a 800 number for a job lead You end up getting switched to a 900 number (with charges to you of maybe $3 per m find yourelf paying to listen to a voice reading a list of companies that might or might not have openings Depending on how soon you catch on and end the call it can cost you plenty Cant get a credit card? You see the ad make a call and the friendly guy answering says that for a $50 “setup fee” he can get you a1 Tokr or datinimr card You send die $50 and get a cant— but it’s not connected to a major credit company You can use it only to order from tins company's limited catalog Want to nuke a Umng? Moses Prather 61 of San Rinciaco says a TV commercial sounded so good he ran for the phone The deal: You buy a fox machine and the sponsor will install and service it in a hotel lobby or some other buqr mot You will get 70 percent of the income Rather recalb lots of miptessive busy signals “When I finally reached them” he says “they told me business was so great they weren't sure they could get me into the program” As directed he sent a personal check for $5565 and scouted locations for the machine while he waited for it He was warned not to tell “possible competition” —hotel or mall officials —why he was there Prather neither got the fax nor saw his $5565 again His only consolation: In April the sponsor was charged by agents of die FBI and the I toll-fr- HEN THE POSTCARD ARRIVED PROMISING ihot at $1 million and other prizes—in return for $5—Charlotte Leyden 89 a uwy New Yorker knew the risk but mailed in her S5 "It was like putting quarters in a slot machine” she explains Later a man called and told Leyden foe was ki line to win the $1 million But she had to act fast and he needed her credit-car- d number She soon learned box medications “A I never ordered of why: huge landed at my door Then I found $439 charged to my credit card” She returned the box unopened but never got back her money She did get a necklace" as a prize “Find a diamond or a ruby in thor” Leyden says “and meat it” A recent national survey by Louis Harris and Associates shows that 92 percent of American adults have received a postcard or letter heralding a1 “guaranteed” prize wirmaMe only by calling an 800 or 900 number More than 53 million people have responded to such offers the survey says Virtually all lost money in the process i “ruby-and-diamo- nd The telephone con artists often target the very Americans who can least afford to be chemed says Rep Doug Barnard Jr (D Ga) chairman of a Ogrfttiwf' subcommittee conducted a two-yea- r investigation rd phone fiaud “The recession has made the situation much worse” ne says “because people who have lost their jobs or are hurting financially want to believe in these schemes” The “guaranteed” prize is one of dozens of tekphone-marketin- g scams that bilk consumers out of more than $40 billion a year ac- cording to the National Consumers League Phone swindles ate Here are just a few of the recent ones: a Iona? This tire for Looking phone fraud in the nation promises quick loans—enedally alluring to those in dire need In New York City alone phone-loa- n complaints to die ever-changi- ng fastest-growi- BY ng CARY ee US Postal Inspector's Office with conspiracy mail fraud and wire fraud How telephone con nrtlafs operate They typically work from “boiler rooms in which several men and women sit at phones following carefully prepared sales scripts The scripts dumgejo fit the newsJSays Barry Cuder director of the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Protection Bureau “If there’s a big report about tainted drinking water in a couple of mootha you’ll hear mat die boiler rooms are selling water filters” Swindlers buy mailing lists to leam your age marital status shop-puhabits hobbies— making it easy to chat and to win your trust Even after she lost $235 in a travel scam Lynn Bsnon 31 of Ga found it incredible that the salesman had lied to her TO seemed so friendly” she says “He said he was a schoolteacher that his grandmother had just taken one of the cruises" g Dou-glasvi- L lle STERN |