1995 - Con artists are cashing in on the rapidly changing American workplace. A record number of Americans are now self-employed business owners.
Millions more find themselves out of work as the result of corporate downsizing.
Still others must seek second jobs in order to make ends meet. A Mercer Island, Washington, woman who is the single mother of three daughters fell into a business opportunity trap in late 1993 when she resolved to supplement her income to pay for her children's education, according to the Securities Division of the State of Washington, Department of Financial Institutions. Rather than fixing the equipment, the promoter sent her two new units that she had not ordered. The machines are now gathering dust in the woman's garage. In a case brought by the FTC, a women from Pennsylvania responded to an advertisement for a pizza vending machine business opportunity.