
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 10, 1995                   TAG: 9502100096
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

FTC OFFERS RULES TO CURB DECEIT IN TELEMARKETING

Maxine Conley got a phone call a couple of years ago telling her she'd won a ``major, major, major'' prize. All she had to do was give $1,500 to a charity. What she got was a plaque and a red face.

``I'm afraid I've been gullible,'' said the retired 67-year-old secretary from Del City, Okla. She estimated losing about $5,000 through various telephone solicitations. ``I try to help people, and when they tell me to give for a good cause I try to. But needless to say, I don't do that anymore.''

Under rules the Federal Trade Commission proposed Thursday to help people like Conley, telemarketers would be prohibited from misrepresenting themselves and their offers. They would be required to identify themselves and state at the outset that they are selling goods or services.

The rules ``would give some time for the consumer to think about'' it, said David Torok, of the FTC's consumer protection bureau. ``A lot of good information that the consumer would find helpful would have to come to them before they finish the transaction.''

Congress has estimated that consumers lose at least $40 billion a year through various telemarketing schemes, Torok said.

by CNB