CON ARTISTSMale or female - con artists are clever actors hiding behind the "friendly person" image. The con artist will be a stranger to you . Usually, you are approached when alone, so that no one can overhear the conversation. Con artists operate on the principle that their victims deserve their fate. They are shrewd operators whose schemes, based on trickery and deceit, are aimed at swindling you out of your money or your property. Con artists often regard older persons as easy targets. Every elderly person should be aware of these con and how to avoid them. You could be approached on the street, by telephone or in your home. A con artist's approach can take many forms; he / she may pretend to be lost and ask for directions, or may pretend to be a salesperson or an inspector of utility company. One thing common to all con artists is the language and the expressions used in their "pitches". The following key words can signal you to be cautious or suspicious of the person you are dealing with. |
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1. Cash Only Question why the transaction requires cash only. A legitimate business person would not refuse a cheque as payment. |
5. Confidentiality Be suspicious of secrecy and the pitch that you are not to tell anyone. What is the reason for the secrecy? |
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2. Last Chance / Today Only Why is this offer so limited? If the offer is that good, it will very likely be available tomorrow and the day after. |
6. Get Rich Quick Any get-rich-quick deal should be looked into carefully. |
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3. Too Good to be True Be suspicious of offers that are "too good to be true" Most likely they are neither good nor true! |
7. Contests Beware of the "you have won" pitches. Generally, the contests are fake and are used as an enticement to part you from your money. |
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4. Something For Nothing Anytime you are offered something for nothing. What you usually get is nothing. |
8. Left-Over Material Be extremely careful of the "just passing by" home repair man. The leftover material offered may be stolen or defective. For information on hiring repairmen see the section on CONTRACTORS |
BUNCO SCHEMES |
| Bunco schemes come in various forms: the two most common are referred to as the "pigeon drop" and the "financial institution examiner. Although it is difficult to believe that people are taken in by these schemes, they have a reasonable degree of success. Prime targets for these schemes are elderly people, particularly women. |
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Pigeon Drop This scheme accounts for more than half of the confidence games reported to the police. The swindlers claim to have found a large sum of money and offer to share it with you. You are asked to withdraw "good faith" money from the financial institution. The swindlers take the "good faith" money and give you a phoney address where you are to collect your share of the found money. You never see them again. |
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Bank Examiner A phoney bank examiner contacts you and asks for your help in catching a dishonest financial institution employee. He asks you to withdraw a specified amount of cash from your account so that he can check the serial numbers. After turning over your money to the examiner, you never hear from him again. Preposterous as it seems, many intelligent persons fall for these swindles. Remember, the swindler is usually an intelligent, crafty person whose motive is to make the victims feel secure, that their involvement is important and that they are "in" on something exciting. There is evidence that some people who have been victimized are too embarrassed to report the incident to the authorities. But remember, these con artists are skilled and intelligent and they make their schemes sound believable. Call the police, they are there to help. |
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Who To Contact For your well-being and to help prevent others from becoming victims, or if you think you have been, report the circumstances immediately to your local police department. |