Leonard J. Hansen

Scams and Scalawags Your next telephone call may be part of a $40 billion scam

By Leonard J. Hansen

"This is your lucky day!" What an intriguing way for the caller to start a telephone conversation with you. You may be fascinated, eager to hear the good news. "This is your lucky day because I can announce to you before the publicity hits the national media, that you are one of top winners in our sweepstakes. Aren’t you excited about that?" Unless you immediately realize that you never entered the sweepstakes, you may be on the first step to being a fraud victim. And if you fall for this scam, your name and contact information will be added to the mooch list, the sucker list which is shared by some 14,000 illegal operations and countless scam artists who perpetrate their wicked craft by telephone. "Your major prize is ready for shipment to you." Then comes the rub. "In order to get your trip prize, you’ll just have to cover some of the incidental costs like processing of your prize, port taxes and incidentals. You can understand that, can’t you." Agree and you may be sending several hundred dollars on a one-way trip to a scam. The "fabulous metal engraving" may be small change coins, the "fabulous art" a cheap imitation, or the "complete irrigation system for your home" may, in fact, be a short length of garden hose.; but in order to get the prize, you must fund the processing and shipping charge of $100 to $300. A rip-off? Yes, because legitimate sweepstakes do not charge winners processing, shipping, taxes or other fees. Fraudulent sweepstakes calls comprise just one part of the $40 billion estimated to be conned from victims each year by telemarketing scams. Concurrently, there are legitimate businesses which use telemarketing to introduce their companies, products and/or services to consumers. Their telephone calls may still be irritating or disruptive to your day; and there are easy and effective ways to stop those calls. Most legitimate telemarketers subscribe to codes established by the Direct Marketing Association and to new federal regulations which give you the opportunity to opt out of most legitimate calls. The first step is to send a letter requesting to be taken off all telephone marketing lists used by DMA member companies. Send to: Telephone Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014. Within a few weeks, the legitimate, but yet intrusive telemarketing calls should subside. If a caller seems legitimate but, perhaps, may not be a DMA member, you can state specifically that your name and number should be put on the "do not call" list. The caller is obliged by new law to do so. The National Consumers League recommends that on paper you note the day and time of the call, the name of the caller and company, and that you directed that they put you on the "do not call" list. If they call again, notify the local office of your state attorney general and/or the Federal Trade Commission. Plus, you may file a small claims court action for up to $500 against the company. But stopping possibly legitimate telemarketers in no way impedes the illegal operators, particularly if you have fallen for an earlier scam. If so, you have been defined as a mark, and your name and number are on the mooch list. If after opting out in writing and notifying other callers never to call again, any new calls can be held immediately suspect. Illegal telemarketing works because most American and Canadian adults immediately grant that the call and caller are important and that they must listen lest they be considered rude. Scalawags count on that vulnerability for their pitches which are too good to be true. The cons may be for as little as $50 or $60, or as much as $50,000 to $100,000 as in some sweepstake, lottery or investment schemes. All of the scams promise a dream of prizes or riches, but all are created out of thin air. Consider these recommendations from the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC) regarding telemarketing calls: Do business only with those you know and trust. The telemarketing con artist is a stranger; you can’t even be sure the caller is who he or she claims to be. "If you aren’t familiar with the company, ask for information to be sent by mail about the products or services it is offering. A legitimate company will be glad to provide that information; a fraudulent marketer won’t," states the NFIC. Never consider or buy anything on a first call; and never agree to anything under pressure to buy immediately. NFIC warns that "High pressure sales tactics are often danger signs of fraud." Don’t provide your bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security number or personal information (particularly your mother’s maiden name) unless you absolutely know the company is legitimate and the information is necessary for the transaction that you really want. “Even with partial information, con artists can make unauthorized charges, deduct money from your account, and impersonate you to get credit in your name,” cautions the NFIC. Never send cash or your payment by private courier, wire transmission or overnight delivery. New law gives investigational and prosecutorial jurisdiction to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service over fraudulent use of overnight shipments (such as by Federal Express, Airborne Express or United Parcel Service), but such happens after the money has already been conned and the perpetrator may be somewhere else in the world. Hang up on the caller. Do it nicely or rudely - whichever fits your mood at the time - because you have no obligation to listen or consider any uninvited telephone call or caller, particularly one who may be trying to con you out of your hard-earned money. The longer you stay on the line, the deeper they sink their hooks," states the NFIC. Are telemarketing scams successful? Yes, they reap more than $40 billion per year at levels of under $100 to more than $100,000, each a payday for a scalawag for providing little or nothing in return. Can’t illegal telemarketing be stopped? Not in real life. There are not enough laws, cops or prosecutors in the world to do the job, let alone not enough in this country. National anti-crime priorities have been focused mainly on stopping and/or prosecuting violent crime, the kind where victims bleed and not the type where irreplaceable money may be gone forever. Therefore, the individual must be his or her own first line of defense, and the best personal defense is to not be a victim in the first place. In its anti-fraud program, AARP urges mature adults to "Hang up on crime." NFIC states strongly: "Don’t let a criminal in your home through your telephone line." You can’t lose more than your share of $40 billion each year if you just say no.