Scam Artists Dial ‘900’ In Latest Scheme

Psst … Want to make a bundle? Retire early? Live the good life?

Then how about a surefire investment in the growth industry of the ‘90s - “900” numbers and pager licenses.

If this sounds too good to be true, it is, according to securities regulators and the Federal Trade Commission. In fact, the only people making easy money through these services are the scam artists who are luring unwary investors with pie-in-the-sky promises.

In the typical paging-licensing scam, a promoter offers to sell an investor a license covering a paging frequency for a specific geographic area. The promoter says - wrongly - that the government will issue an individual or company only one license per market, so that a huge profit can be made reselling a license to a paging company. In fact, there is virtually no resale market for these licenses.

In the 900-number scams, promotors sell shares in “information provider” partnerships, similar to those that invest in oil wells and real estate. Investors are not told, however, that their initial payment must be followed by hefty payments for phone lines, promotion and other business costs.

Washington Securities Division Administrator Deb Bortner said those contacted by telemarketers peddling such “investments” should call her division at 1-800-372-8303 or 1-360-902-8760 to report the scam.

Qualivest funds best among banks

U.S. Bancorp’s Qualivest Funds produced the best overall rate of return among funds administered by banks, according to a ranking done by CDA/Wiesenberger for “Bank Investment Product News.”

The nine Portland-based funds returned 30.8 percent to investors in 1995, with the 47.3 percent return of Qualivest Small Company Value fund leading the group.

Washington Mutual’s Composite Group of Funds turned up No. 7 in the bank ratings, with an overall return of 24.5 percent.

Groups managed by Wells Fargo and First Interstate, which agreed to merge last month, returned 25.6 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.

, DataTimes