The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1909-12-30
fRAUDBr TELEGRAPH WAYS Of THE ORIENT, |
Bold S"indles Perpetrated by
-. Use of the Wire.
THE WAYA BANK WAS FOOLED
A Lot Of Nerve and a Little Telegram
That Was RreperIy Delivered by Ono
OF the ComRany's Messenger Boys
Mado Winning Combination.

!
OF the comRany's Messenger Boys
made Winning Combination.
Ninety nine men out Of hundred
Will accept as gospel truth the contents
OF telegram when it comes from the
hands OF messenger boy. They buy
and sell, pay out large sums Of money
start 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
country'S business. and it is also a fact
| upon which hinge some of the clever
est and boldest frauds in criminal rec
ords.
lot or nerve and little telegram
was'a combination that made possible
smooth swindle on q Des Moines
bank. A we'll dressed man, apparently
business mano large affairs, called
ut the paying teller's window with a
draft or check on an Omaha bank and
asked II the Omaha bank had tele-
Eraphed notice that the draft was
good. He got mo" for an answer and
thea Informed the teller that such a
telegram might be expected ut any
moment Soon afterward the Telegram
arrived. delivered by q messenger boy,
appearing to have come from the Oma-
ha bank and authorizing the Des
RI Il 81 VI-l
the stranger appeared again be was
given the $500. When the Des Moines
bank people took up the matter by
wire with the Oma ha> bank it found
that the latter institution had not sent
the telegram, and then it was discov-
cred that the whole transaction was a
fraud :.
But how could the swindlers send a
telegram from Omaha bearing the
banks name7 They did 1t in this
manner: An accomplish Of the Des
Molnes man stepped to a telephone
booth in Omaha and called the tele-
graph Office. '"This Is the - bank"
he said. Send a messenger at once
TO get a telegram for Des Moines."
Then this accomplice hurried to the
entrance Of the Omaha bank to meet
the messenger and there handed him
the message for Des Aloines. The
telegraph company had no reason to
believe otherwise than that the bank
had actually signed the message. and
it transmitted, 1t. The Dos Moines
oank also accepted the telegram as
genuine because it bore every mark
OF genuneness. and it paid out the
| money to The swindlers. 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 q 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 a carload
or fine 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
Oank draft for q large amount drawn
on bank in another town hundred
miles away. At the same time the
Oank received q telegram purporting
70 come from the distant bank author
lzing the payment Of this draft. The
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 a confederate Of the alleged horse
5uyer. Later developments disclosed
that this accomplice had called up the
telegraph office in the distant tow6 by
telephone. This is -, cashier Of the
- bank" be said. "Please send this
telegram for me-" Then he gave the
message authorizing the first bank to
pay the bogus draft, and this message
The telegraph company sent without
SuspcctiDg that it was fraudulent
Some years ago an eastern man was
| induced to invest in worthless mining
| stock Oh 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 manner similar to the
above by confederate. This eastern
| mans faith in kilograms cost him some
| thing more than $4,000.
The story Of fraud with an anus
Ing side comes from across the water,
with London man Of rather convivial
habits as the victim. This man was
forgetfu aud used to leave at home bis
office and safe keys. He also had q
practice Of leaving the city surrepti.
tiously for day now and then for a
convivial time With friends, all un-
known to his wife. One day this bust
ness man went on one Of his periodical
| jaunts, and rogue who knew bis
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. ond the rogue was there to re.