The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-09-16
FRAUD BY TELEGRAPH
Bold SWindles Perpetrated by
Use OF the Wire.
THE WAY A BANK WAS FOOLED
A Lot Of Nerve and Little Telegram
That Was Properly Delivered by One
Of the companys Messenger Boys
Made Winning Combination.

Ninety nine men out of hundred
will accept as gospel truth the contents
of a telegram when 1t comes from the
hands of messenger boy. They buy
and sell, pay out large sums of money.
sturt on long journeys and do countless
other things upon the suggestion of the
little yellow or white paper slips with
their condensed messages without In
the least questioning their authenticity
This is an interesting fact upon which
hinges an enormous amount of the
couutry's business, and 1t is also a fact
upon which hinge some of the clever
est and boldest frauds In criminal rec
ords.
A lot of nerve and little telegram
was combination that made possible
smooth swindle on Des Moines
bank. A we'll dressed man. apparently
a business man OF large affairs, called
at the paying tellcr's window with
draft or check on an Omaha bank and
asked IL the Omaha bank had tele-
graphed notice that the draft was
good. He got "no" for an answer and
then informed the teller that such n
telegram might be expected at any
moment. Soon afterward the telegram
arrived. delivered by messenger boy.
| appearing TO have come from the Oma-
ha hank and authorizing the Des
Moines bank TO pay the draft. When
the stranger appeared again he was
| given the $500. When the Des Moines
bank people took up the matter by
wire with the Omaha bank it found
| that the latter institution had not sent
| the telegram. and then 1t was discov-
cred that the whole transaction was
| fraud
But how could the swindlers send n
| telegram from Omaha bearing the
banks name? They did 1t in this
manner: An accomplice of the Des
Moines man stepped to a telephone
booth in Omaha and called the tele-
graph Office. This is the - bank"
he said. "Send messenger at once
to get telegram for Des Moines"
| Then this accompice hurried TO the
| entrance of the Omaha bank to meet
the messenger and there handed him
the message for Des Molnes. The
telegraph company had no reason to
believe otherwise than that the bank
had actually signed the message. and
| II transmitted It, The Des Moines
| bank also accepted the telegram as
| genuine because 1t bore every mark
OF genulneness, and 1t paid out the
money to the swlndlers. who timed
their fraud so that they got out Of
| reach of the law on trains that left
Immediately after their game had been
worked.
In two smaller western towns>a sim
liar game was worked. only for seven
or eight times the amount. An alleged
horse buyer appeared in one of the
towns and made purchase of carload
OF tine animals to be delivered and
! paid for at later day. preceding
which he made the acquaintance of the
officers of one of the banks. On the
day fixed for the delivery of the horses
the alleged buyer deposited in the
bank draft for large amount drawn
on bank In another town a hundred
miles, away. At the same time the
bank received a telegram purporting
| TO come from the distant bank author
izing the payment of this draft. The
4 bank believed the telegram. paid out
the money and then discovered that
the telegram was fraudulent 1t had
not been sent by the second bank but
by confederate of the alleged horse
buyer Later developments disclosed
that this accomplice had called up the
telegraph Office In the distant town by
telephone. This Is -, cashier of the
- bank" he said. please send this
telegram for me-" Then he gave the
message authorizing the first bank to
pay tho bogus draft. and this message
the telegraph company sent without
suspecting that 1t was fraudulent.
Some years ago an eastern man was
induced 10 invest in worthless mining
stock on the basis Of fraudulent tele-
gram purporting TO come from an ex-
pert he had sent out to investigate the
mining property, but which was In
reality sent In a manner similar to the
above by confederate. This eastern
mans faith in kilograms cost him some
thing more than $4,000.
The story of a fraud with an anus
ing side comes from across the water.
| with London man OF rather convivial
habits as the victim. This man was
forgetful ana used to leave at home bis
Office and safe keys. He also had Il
practice of leaving the city surrepti-
tiously for day flow and then for a
convlyal time with friends, all I'M
known to his wife. One day this busi-
ness man went on one OF his periodical
jaunts. and rogue who knew his
habits ventured to send this telegram
TO his wife: "Please send my keys.
Love. Freddy" In due course OF time
the keys were delivered at the Office
door. and the rogue was there to re.
ceive them. He ransacked the whols
office Mt his leisure, safe and ALL Latt
that night the business man came homo
and was teased by his wife for his foi
getfulness This was news 10 him,
but he kept his counsel. The next
morning he discovered that his offlca
had been robbed.-B. X Mann In Pitts.
burg Dispatch.