July 1995 Topics
Dead Kite, Double Whammy Child Support Schemes, Guaranteed Prize Schemes, Hidden Toll Charges, Out in Left Field,  Phreaks, Silent Auction, and  Slip of the Tongue
 

Nearly 54 million gullible people responded to guaranteed prize offers, according to a Louis Harris poll.
 

Dead Kite
An uncashable check.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Double Whammy Child Support Scheme
The telemarketers offer to help women trying to recover unpaid child support. The women are directed to call a toll free 800 area code telephone number for assistance. The person answering the 800 number tells the women that a basic $40 charge is required to be paid in advance by a bank credit card or a telephone charge card. The telemarketer will then call the women back collect. Later, the women realize they were billed for the collect call and for a third-party call (like a 900-number call at $3.95 per minute). The women rarely receive any practical assistance or recover any unpaid child support before the telemarketer closes its office and moves to another location.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Guaranteed Prize Schemes
A 1992 Louis Harris poll found that 92% of Americans have received one or more notifications that they were selected to receive a “guaranteed prize.” Nearly 54 million gullible people responded to the prize offers (a 29% response rate). However, 37 million of those people never received any prize at all.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Hidden Toll Charges
A scheme in the United States advertises recorded sexually explicit messages. The ad says, “Why pay for it - when you can get it for FREE!” A note at the bottom of the ad indicates that “regular long distance rates apply.” This may appear to be a big bargain compared to advertisements of other companies that specify calling charges ranging up to $3.99 per minute. However, the advertisement fails to disclose that its calls are rerouted using a private long distance carrier’s regular rates, and that the destination of the long distance calls will be in the Netherlands Antilles (north of Venezuela).
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Out in Left Field
Out of contact with reality. Completely mistaken. In older, unsymmetrical baseball parks, the left field was farther away from home plate, to the disadvantage of right-handed hitters. At the Chicago Cubs’ old baseball park (West Side Park 1893-1915), the Neuropsychiatric Institute was located behind the left field stands. This may have led to an implication that anyone out in left field was crazy. Fraud examiners may encounter tipsters and witnesses who are out in left field, and who may misdirect the course of an investigation.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
Photo by V.O. Hammond, http://www.vintageball.com/
files/West_Side_Hammon.jpg
 

Phreak
To illegally access another person’s telephone lines. The access often is used to make numerous calls to 900 area code numbers through an empty office building on evenings and weekends.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Silent Auction
A 1992 Louis Harris poll revealed that 62.9 million Americans (34%) have been contacted by telephone to buy investments, but only 7% of them knew the identity of the person calling. This indicates a large market for fraudulent investments. High pressure telemarketers offer consumers a chance to invest in distressed properties purchased cheaply at county courthouse auctions. The consumer is offered an opportunity to buy a specific property or pool his funds with other investors. After the consumer sends their money to the fraudster, the consumer is cautioned not to visit the property. Such as visit might alert the original owner, who has a one year “right of redemption” and may rush back to settle tax liens and other debts, and eventually recover their property. Actually the cautionary excuse gives the fraudsters a year to disappear and spend the victim’s investment money.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

Slip of the Tongue
Kinesic studies pertain to body motion as related to speech. A slip of the tongue is a self-initiated verbal behavior in which a person inadvertently reveals his or her true feelings. Some apparent random speech patterns may, in fact, reveal signs of deception or guilt.
Arizona Fraud Line, Phoenix, July 1995.
 

ã Copyright 1995 Larry C. Adams.
All rights reserved.
 

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