Purdue News

April 23, 1999 Purdue Extension alerts consumers to scams WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It may be the phone call you get as your family sits down to dinner. It may be in the stack of junk mail you find in your mailbox each day. Or it may be the door-to-door salesman who drops by your home. Scam artists use these tactics -- and a host of others -- to cheat Americans out of $100 million each year. To help people avoid becoming victims and adding to that total, the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service offers a consumer-awareness program that covers the most common types of scams, how to avoid them and where to turn for help. Since 1996, Elkhart County Extension educator Mary Ann Lienhart-Cross has delivered the program to more than 200 people in Elkhart and surrounding counties. "The one thing I stress before, during and after the program is this: 'If it sounds too good to be true, it is,'" says Lienhart-Cross, a family resource management specialist. "If you have to pay for something or give your credit card number, you haven't won anything." She's referring to a common scam in which a phone caller says you've won a cruise, a car, or merchandise such as a television or jewelry, but you have to pay a fee. You may make the payment, but you never receive your "prize." Many scams target senior citizens and others who may be lonely and are willing to talk to someone at the door or on the phone, Lienhart-Cross says. They often buy things they don't need or lose money in sweepstakes or other frauds. "Most people don't want to be rude," she says. "Or they may feel intimidated or make a spur-of-the-moment decision. It's OK to say 'I'm not interested' and hang up." Another typical scheme takes advantage of people who are in a bad situation, such as home improvement scams after a natural disaster such as a flood or tornado. You may be asked for money before the service is provided or receive work that is of poor quality. Bogus charities prey on people's emotions, too. After the recent slaying of an Indiana state trooper, phone solicitors collecting money for the trooper's family turned out to be a scam. "I don't recommend that you give to charities over the phone," Lienhart-Cross says. "If it's something that you're interested in giving to, ask them for a phone number so you can call them back. Find out first if it is a legitimate charity." While we all occasionally need to have our homes and cars repaired, Lienhart-Cross suggests getting recommendations from friends or relatives or asking for references before making a commitment. Some of the people who sign up for the course that Lienhart-Cross teaches already have been taken advantage of or know someone -- often a family member -- who has. Others are there because they want to know how to avoid these schemes. She has heard back from several people who have attended the program. "They will call me and tell me what happened when they've pushed people to provide more information about their product or service or filed a complaint," she says. But the problem just keeps expanding. "Through computers and printing technology, it's easy to make materials look legitimate," she says. People should be wary of all solicitations. "Even the legitimate ones aren't the best use of consumer dollars," she says. "They encourage people to spend rather than save." Consumers can file complaints with the Indiana State Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Affairs or their local postmaster, if mail is involved. While these agencies investigate and take action, it is rare that people get their money back, Lienhart-Cross says. The fraudulent operations often just close down or move elsewhere. "A lot of people don't want to admit that they've been taken advantage of. But by reporting the scam, they can prevent what happened to them from happening to someone else," Lienhart-Cross says. "Prevention is the key to stopping these scams." The 10 most common types of fraud are quackery and medical schemes, home repair, telephone/mail, investments, bunco schemes, insurance, credit card/credit repair, door to door sales, work at home and automobile repair. Source: Mary Ann Lienhart-Cross, (219) 533-0554; maryann_cross@ces.purdue.edu Writer: Olivia Maddox, (765) 496-3207; om@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page