BEWARE OF TELEPHONE OFFERS THAT SOUND TOO GOOD

The sentencing last week of a Buffalo, N.Y., man in connection with a telemarketing scheme through which an elderly Cape Girardeau woman was swindled of between $8,000 and $9,000 should warn the unsuspecting to be beware of unsolicited telephone offers.

With all of the modern methods of electronic communications -- the telephone is still among them -- con artists have found new ways to apply their deceptive trade. And they can be just as successful today as they have been through all the ages if people don't question their every offer.

Fortunately, the woman who was taken by Martin T. Boyd of Buffalo finally became suspicious. She went to the office of the Missouri attorney general only after having paid someone she didn't know between $8,000 and $9,000. With her assistance, investigators taped telephone calls from Boyd, and he was arrested in August at a Buffalo Western Union office while attempting to obtain money wired to him by the woman.

During the taped calls, Boyd told the woman that he was a representative of the New York attorney general's office, was working with the FBI and had recovered $35,000 she paid to fraudulent businesses.

During the calls, the woman was told she had won a cash prize of more than $10,000 and had to pay taxes and fees of up to $200 to get the prize. He said he worked for Federal Express and would help her send the money by Western Union.

For his efforts Boyd will spend seven years in a state penitentiary.

Con artists like Boyd will say and do anything to convince their victims that they are legitimate. They typically prey on elderly people because elderly people usually have available cash and some can become confused by their fast-talking pitches.

But it need not be that way. Accept no unsolicited offers over the telephone and don't pay for anything until goods or services are delivered to your satisfaction. The fact remains: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.