Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-31
FRAUD THROUGH MAIL
Various Methods ofSwindling
the Unwary.
OPPORTUNITY REDUCED
EXCLUSION OF PERIODICALS
FROM POUND RATES OF POSTAGE.
A Post Office Inspector Tells of the
Ways in Which the Credulous
Are Played Upon.
OPPORTUNITY REDUCED

Are Played Upon.
| Written for The Evening Star.
'By an indirect means considered by the
public the opportunities for swindling and
defrauding the people. especially those re-
siding in the rural districts, by the use Of
the mails, has been greatly reduced" said
an old post office inspector to a Star repre-
sentative today, ''by the exclusion Of al
legged newspapers and periodicals from the
mails at the pound rate, as second-cass
matter. These frauds can never be entirely
wiped out, but by checking the mediums
| for the circulation of their advertisements
| they may be somewhat curtailed.
! LAS some of these advertisements are not
received in family newspapers of standing
| the readers of The Star will find one or two
| interesting instances 1 have selected of de-
cided novelty, and they will no doubt Won
der why 1t Is that people are so easily
| caught when the trap into which they are
| expected to fall is so thinly veneered When
| 1t is remembered however, that the Post
| master General, through the assistant at
| torney general for his department, required
| eighty-three alleged fraudulent concerns to
| show cause why they should not be barred
| from the use of the mails last year. and that
| sixty-two fraud orders were issued against
| persons or concerns operating schemes de-
| Vlsed for fraudulent purposes, some idea of
| the magnitude of the business may be OBJ
| tained.
How They Operate to Defraud.
| Hundreds of these fraudulent persons
and concerns used these sheets as a means
of getting their schemes directly before
the people. Several Of the latter instances
of quilting the public occur to me, and, In
| this connection it will prove of interest to
note how the promoters of such schemes
rely upon the streak in human nature that
| there are myriads of people who entertain
| the belief that they are smarter than their
neighbors and that they can beat the
game But they fall down.
| This upsets one popular theory as to
swindles and swindlers. and includes the
| gold brick and and counterfeit money
frauds. The innocent farmer often al
| luded to in the press dispatches is not such
| at all, but is man. who may, however,
be farmer, living in a rural community.
| whose dishonest traits and Self-believed ma
| tive shrewdness to defraud makes him a
party to the purchase of the supposed
| counterfeit bills to the end that he may
pass them off to his advantage upon his I'M
| suspecting neighbors and others The in
| nocent come-on' is, therefore, as much of a
swndler as are the men in the cities whose
| business it is to sell the So-called green
goods This is one reason why the come
on who may have been robbed of his good
| money in exchange for rolls of green tissue
paper receives scant sympathy from either
the public or the police. 1t is only in less
degree do the persons and concerns en-
gagged in a fraudulent business prey upon
peoples hungry cupidity; their desire to
| get something of value for nothing; their
self-conceit tand smartness. and. on the
+ other hand, as to the really unSuSpectlng,
| their innocence, righteousness, and an
honest effort to, earn living or additional
| spending money.
Samples Of the Ingenious Traps Set.
"These operators secure the names and
addresses of persons by various methods.
and if any reader of The Star happens to
receive a letter like the following let him
| throw it in the waste basket This swipdle
appeals to our vanity, and it Is a good
dodge, for many Of US are weak on that
point This letter Is sent to ladies princi-
pally:
. Respected Madam: We have Just pub
| lished a new sacred song, entitled will
| Sing in Heaven" which, by the request of
a friend of yours, and as a pleasant sur
prise to you, it has been dedicated to you
| the title page. Full sheet music size ee-
gantly gotten up. Most respectfully
| THE SLAP-DASH MUSIC CO.
"Of course. the above name is given for
| the sake Of Illustration. The recipient of
| this great honor has her curiosity aroused
at once and she sends the remittance which
may be named in the letter. say ST. for a
| copy of the music so kindly dedicated To
her by the unknown friend, as it certainly
| is surprise She experiences a further
| shock of surprise when she receives a CHEAP
piece of music with the word dedicated
| stamped across it's face and she learns to
| her sorrow, that the same piece of music
is thus dedicated to all who will bite at
the hook. We closed one of these concerns
| recently.
1.-The Star not long ago exnosed tho
method OF disposing of fake pawn tickets
| in this city. and the methods of a concern
we recently put out of business in Chicago
| is right in line. Be very wary of letters
| like this:
Dear Friend: My ring deserves a bet
ter fate, and rather than have bad, unscru-
p l,uie men eet IT at way below it's actual
value l want you to have it, I send the
| ticket to you. Do get 1t, as a lasting mem.
ory of good, old times: '-'e'''
... "A GRATEFUL FRIEND
with this letter is fncIosed what mr.
ports to be a pawn ticket So eager are
| people to get possession of diamonds at
low prices that they readily snap at this
s cnance 1 oner red, by some one they don't
know. Inc TICKET is usually at a moderate
figure. about $25, and they are also In.
formed that the ring will be sent for the
price OF the ticket. They forward the
| like, practically without market -vaine hut
they got diamond even If not the kind
they had so confidently expected Rather
than confess nj to an exhibition of foolish
ness on their part to their friends they keen
| silent. Some do not: hence. we secnref
evidence to close out one of these frauds
Getting Things Gree"
"The word free seems to have an eyor-
lasting charm to many people, and sharp
ers act upon thisi known fact. As fneen-
iously worded advertisement as ever came
under my notice fs the following, and note
how the display type is used SO cunningly:
| FREE III A aaFULL-SIZED. HIGH
| GRADE SEWING MACHINE - FREE
Guaranteed for twenty years. Drop-head
cabinet. handsomely finished in carved oak.
This machine is made by the largest fac
provements. TO INTRODUCE our Mills
in every village md town in the land. WE
GIVE this liberal offer of high-erade
sewing machina53 every person who will