Slammed Phone Can Be Defense Against Con Artists

James Bordenet teaches normally polite, gracious people how to be rude.

His training includes a sure-fire technique against smooth-talking charlatans: Slam the phone down when someone calls offering something “that’s too good to be true.”

“Snake oil 200 years ago is snake oil today,” says Bordenet, a Seattle-based postal inspector who visited the South Hill Senior Center last week.

Bordenet uses his expertise to warn the elderly about con artists who extort millions every year through get-rich-quick schemes, phony offers for free prizes and false home-repair claims.

Bordenet has been a postal investigator for two years.

In addition to his law-enforcement duties, he travels around the state talking to various groups about mail and phone fraud.

The ex-military officer said one of his recent crackdowns occurred in downtown Seattle, five blocks from the main post office. Phone solicitors there had targeted seniors nationwide, collecting thousands of dollars in illegal handling fees.

He and other investigators arrested the roomful of smooth-talking operators.

“Legitimate businesses fail every day. That’s not what we’re talking about,” Bordenet said.

So how does a consumer distinguish between a real offer and a false one?

“Look for the red flags of fraud,” Bordenet said. “Anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is.”

Ask yourself, “Is it realistic that I have been selected as a contest winner when I haven’t even entered the contest?” he told an audience of 50 seniors.

Bordenet cited the example of a grand prize winner of an “all-terrain vehicle” who had to pay $300 for “shipping fees.”

Instead of a Jeep or Land Rover, the consumer received a lawn chair on wheels.

The inspector also told of a New Jersey resident who paid a $69 shipping and handling fee to receive his “free” $1,000 savings bond with a maturity of 30 years - a bond he could have bought from the U.S. government for $50, Bordenet said.

Bordenet said seniors, who often are the target of “sleazy” operations, can fight back.

“Seniors respond more readily to a courteous, friendly voice on the other end of the line,” Bordenet explained. They’re more likely to listen to lengthy, high-pressure pitches than to hang up the phone.

Children, friends and caregivers of seniors need to be alert if they suspect someone is being bilked.

Mahli Burrill, activities director of the senior center, said a couple of years ago she figured out why her father’s home was filling up with cheap jewelry, pens and other knickknacks.

“If you see this kind of thing happening to a relative, it’s OK to say, ‘Where are you getting this?”’

To illustrate his point, Bordenet asked one member of the audience to pretend she was holding a gun to his back.

“In this situation I can’t do anything. I have to cooperate,” he said.

But at home, the recipient of a dubious prize can shred it up. The recipient of a suspicious telephone call can hang up the phone.

Marion Periano, a South Hill resident, shook her head and laughed after Bordenet’s presentation.

“I’ve gotten the phone calls,” she said. “They always seem to come at supper time,”

Periano admitted being susceptible to calls from young women when the background noise is punctuated by the sound of a crying baby.

“They might be legitimate. They could be working out of their home,” she said to a friend who accompanied her to the presentation.

But then she glanced toward Bordenet, who was talking to the center’s staff.

“Or they could be in an office with a tape of a baby crying in the background,” she said with a tinge of new skepticism.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: PHRASES SHOULD RAISE WARNING FLAGS Consumers should beware of these phrases: You’ve been specially selected to hear this offer. You’ll get a wonderful free bonus if you buy our product. You have to make up your mind right away. You’ve just won a contest, and if you pay shipping and handling or a small gift tax, it’s all yours.” You can just put the shipping and handling charges on your credit card. How are you going to feel if you don’t take this opportunity and know your grandchildren can’t go to college because of you?

For information on mail fraud schemes, or to file a report, contact the Postal Inspection Service at 1-800-654-8896. The South Side Senior Center will show the Postal Service’s 85-minute video on mail fraud at 1 p.m. July 15.