THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512160025
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Many telemarketers provide a useful service. Some interrupt your dinner to peddle their wares. Annoying, but harmless. Others, however, are intent on taking your money and giving you nothing in return. That's a crime.
The FBI recently arrested hundreds suspected of telemarketing fraud. The scam artists offer get-rich-quick deals. Send them $500 and they'll send you back $50,000. They sweet talk and bully, cajole and tempt. They play on gullibility, greed and fear.
It's reassuring to know the FBI is on the case, but even mass arrests make only a small dent in so vast a problem. According to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, phone fraud is a $40 billion annual business.
Potential victims must be vigilant. And Reno says, ``Consumers can do much to protect themselves.'' They can be suspicious of deals too good to be true. Credit-card numbers and checking-account information should rarely be given out. The best rule is to do so only when you have placed the call to a company or charity you know to be reputable.
The American Association of Retired Persons says worried consumers should refuse to do business over the phone until they've been sent information by mail and have checked to see if the company is registered to operate in their state. Reno also admonishes customers to report suspected fraud immediately. Victims are often slow to admit they've been bilked and boiler-room operations can vanish in a hurry.
Consumers should be alert for telltale signs of fraud. Outlandish offers should ring alarm bells. Something for nothing is a warning of somebody up to no good.
Pressure for instant action is a tipoff. Legitimate companies don't demand expensive decisions be made in haste. And if you are ``guaranteed'' premiums or prizes but must pay up front to receive your winnings later, run.
In addition to prize scams, the FBI warns consumers against promises to recover - for a fee - money already lost to telemarketers, large-scale investment schemes and fraudulent charities.
During the holiday season especially, con artists try to exploit charitable impulses. There have been frauds pretending to aid the homeless and veterans, battered women and AIDS victims, even the survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing. How low can telecon artists sink? Pretty low.
The kindhearted need to be hardheaded enough to investigate the legitimacy of any charity. Since many cons target senior citizens, oldsters need to be wary. The adult children of aging parents must help them guard against exploitation.
Legitimate telemarketers know con men give selling-by-phone a bad name. They favor vigorous policing and prosecution. The good news about telemarketing fraud is that it's a crime that requires the willing cooperation of the victim. If consumers refuse to go along, the fraud can't succeed. When in doubt, consumers should not hesitate to say no and hang up the phone. by CNB