WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY. MAY 6.1987. PAGE 15 r __ A few weeks ago I wrote an article warning citizens to be wary of postcards notifying them they had won a free trip to Florida. The article was prompted after I received such a postcard and called a friend in the Durham Regional Police ,to check it out. The detective told me pretty well what I expected to hear. It was a scam. Unfor- tunately there was nothing that could be done about it save to warn people. Lo and behold, if I don't pick up my latest copy of Newsweek and read an article called "Travel Scains: A Costly Trip." It covered all the information not known to law enforcement officers in Canada, and I thought you might be interested in reading it, just in case you are tem- pted to cash in on that free trip when it is offered to you. Like millions of people in the U.S.A. and Canada, you will receive a postcard reading "Congratulations, you have won a glamorous, fun-filled vacation in Florida." Or the purported destination may be Hawaii, or Las Vegas. Unfortunately, thousands make the calls - and wind up hundreds of dollars poorer. The few "winners" who do ac- tually fly off on vacations discover that their supposedly free trip costs them far more than equivalent packages of- fered by legitimate travel agents. In just a matter of mon- ths, a gullible public has lost countless millions of dollars responding.to these come-ons, and new victims are daily seduced. At the moment, most of the scams are based in south Florida. They operate out of motels, storefronts and homes and employ runaways, housewives and students as salesmen earning as much as $3,000 a week. Despite .thousands of complaints and intense investigations by . state, local and federal authorities, the scams have been VIE-WPOINT by ROXANNE REVELER More on the scam all but unstoppable so far. Consumers aren't the only vic- tims. Unsuspecting airlines, banks and overnight couriers are losing either money or credibility as the travel schemes proliferate. The scams may vary in detail (some skip the postcard gambit and begin with a cold phone call). But the basic pitch is the same. When a designated consumer gets on the phone, he finds a disarmingly sincereialesperson on the other end. Right away there's a catch. The consumer either has to put up, say, $189 to join a "travel club" or perhaps say $98 'service charge' to collect his prize. The salesman then wheedles the victim's credit card number, to say, "verify his name". Some consumers who have refused to accept the deal have had charges made to their credit card anyway. Other victims are persuaded to turn over checks to messengers from overnight couriers. For some, the fraud ends there. Most of the schemes are far more elaborate - and costly. After taking the Initial bait, a victim will get a written description of his deal in the mail, only to find it encum- bered with enough restrictions to render it all but useless. No problem, says the travel company when the consumer complains. The 'arrangements' can be upgraded for an additional fee. If the money is paid, the travel outfit will typically tell him the airline is overbookéd. He may then be offered another vacation package, all in return for more money. In the end, the victims are all in the same boat: itheir cobilaints go unanswered or the travel com- pany has disappeared - using a new name and phone num- ber to bilk a new set of would-be travelers. Law enforcement officers seem unable to stop the scams - though the FBI, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commision, postal service and Department of Transpor- tation in the U.S.A. have aIl tried, according to the Newsweek piece. Proving criminal fraud against these firms is difficult in any -case. They. make most of their promises over the phone, so there is no paper trail of evidence. Some scammers prefer checks to credit cards. They use couriers sto collect them - helping to skirt mail- fraud charges. Travel cheats also hire-Amart lawyers. But court cases alone won't be able to stop thesê travel scams. There is always a section of society too willing to cash in on something for nothing. And as my friend at the Durham police said: "If you're offered something for nothing...that's what you usually get...nothing." The entire defense might be improved considerably if the public became a little more sceptical. At least that's the way it looks to me. Ashburn News Sunday, April 26 was a great day of celebration in Burns congregation, when we com- memorated the 19th anniversary of the opening of the new Burns Chur- ch. During the service we listened to a tape which several members compiled, and each person spoke in their own way what the church means to them, also reflected on the events of the fire which oc- curred on Feb. 12, 1967, and also the rebuilding of the church. Two poems were read which were composed by Vera Leach and Lucy Anderson. I feel there were a few silent tears shed as we viewed the destruction of our beloved church building. The memory of that day will never be erased from our minds. It was nice to reminisce and to once again reflect on that tragic day in the history of our congregation, and to also view the slides of the rebuilding of our beautiful new. church building, which was dedicated on April 21, 1968, by members of the Lindsay Presbytery, with our minister Rev. Wm. Black assisting. The service was attended by more than 400 members, relatives and friends, with Rev. Kenneth Heron preaching the sermon of dedication. 122 BROCK ST. S. WHITBY, 668.8897 Tor. 686-2126 Narcissus show is held Brooklin Horticultural Society held its narcissus show and general meeting on Wednesday, April 22. With over 100 entries it was no THE SMILING faces tell the story. Ryan Douglas, 9, won a Roots sweatshirt for finishing second in the boys under 10 category of this year's Kinsmen Skate- a-thon. Six-year-old Jaimey Scrymgeour, winner of the girls under 10 section, finds the TV/radio com- bination she won is almost as big as her. Beer is OK at fair BROOKLIN and District Kinsmen president John Darling presented this year's Literary Awards to St. Leo's students Erika Haase, left and Linda Porco. The girls won for their original letters to a foster child in Liberia. Beer will flow at the Brooklin Spring Fair again this year. Council has given permission for the fair to oeprate a beer tent as a fundraising event during the an- nual fair. The fair will run from Thursday, June 4 to Sunday, June 7. The beer tent will be open on Thursday and Friday from noon to midnight and on Saturday from il a.m. to mid- night. The fair association must now apply for a special occasion permit from the Ontario Liquor Licence Board. VARIETIESOF 3,CHSIA'S VARIETIESOF 42wANIUM'S BEDDING PLANTS ALL KINDS OF HANGING BASKETS SOME IN SHADE 655-4411 Hwy. 12, 8300 Baldwin St. Brooklin easy task for the judge to pick the winners. Joan Brak was the big winner with not only the 'Best of the Show' but also the best decorative too. Mary Housego won the best houseplant prize. Jack Lord from the Royal Botan- nical Gardens gave a very infor- mative talk with beautiful slides on 'Planting to Attract Birds to your Garden.' The _ next meeting will be the 'Spring Flower Show on Wed- *nesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. at Brooklin United Church. Guest speaker will be David Hinton speaking on rhododendrons and azaleas. The plant auction is Saturday, May 9 at 10 a.m. at Grass Park, Brooklin, with Ken Brown as auc- tioneer. IT'S TIME! Time to deworm your whole herd at turnout with Banminth Il* Dairy Cattle Dewormer pelletsi Get the most out of your herd with Banminth 11*: No Milk Withdrawal! Economicall Convenient i *Trademark/Authorized user ISABELL RANDALL Harvey Mintz, Presid.ent of Harvey Mintz Associates ltd. Is pleased to announce the appointment of Isabeil Randall as a sales representative. A resident of the Durham Region most of her life, and the Brooklin area for the past 13 years, she welcomes the opportunity to offer dedication, honesty and service to you. For all your real estate needs, please call Isabell at 668-8897 (Whitby), 576-1333 (Oshawa), 686- 2126 (Toronto or at her res. 655- 4207. RENT ITI *Walk behind and ride on lawn rollers, tillers, thatchers, aerators and other lawn and garden equipment. BROOKLIN RENTALS 53 BALDWIN ST. BROOKLIN 655-3600 1 @6ý WHITBY PREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. MAY 61ý 1987, PAGE lÃ