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mo101 car r1er,
the
eonsrgnee or ott'lor pcr·
sonanav.nq accoss ro lhe shtpments
$1m11ur stahahcs app1y to the wholo
transporta!ton lndustry - truck. air rail
and water Total transport losses are
around
$1.5
blllton annuatty EverybOdy
loses
m
the
long run because
it
becomes
•ncrens,ngly more costly to srup goods.
• Pro¡ecl b1ds In lhe U S.·conslrucl•on ln–
dustry
~re
otten increased by as much as
8~
to offset
losses trom d1shonest em–
ployees
• Br•beS. payoffs_
~·dOnahons"
gJtts and
kickbacka are often wutten
1nto
the co.st
01 tand•ng bog pro¡ect contracts abroao
as wen as at home ' 'Wnhout ·grease' you
can·t do busmes.s
m
many countnes."
!)bserves one u
_s
banker Many Ameri·
can and Japanese busmessmen dorng
busmess In one Far East counlry add
5%
l,o 1
o"'
10
the~r
esllmales ot opera11ng
costs to cover graft
• Sevonty·rlve percent of all auto insur..
ance claims are esllmateo to be exces–
slvely "padOed .. At least 1
O%
are
slgn•hcantly fraudulent Around 10% ot
prem1um costs go to cover the dJshonest
markup or other fraud
• Owner·lnduced arson has suddenly
be..
come one ot the fastest growmg and
most costly c"mes In the country O•s–
hon~t
property owners '" fast-grow.ng
numbers af"e burnmg
down
thetr own
butldings or
h•r~ng
profesSionaJ arsontsts
10
do tne ¡ob lor lhem
so
lhey
can
coltect
enough hre •nsuranee to b&l themselves
out ollmancoat trouble.
• Some me<chants pad clatms ol stoten
goods and coUect handsome "protlts"
trom t>vrgt•ry
1nsurance Some
have
even
beon known lo consp11e wlth "burglars lo
conoct such monoy
• Fake medical ctatms lncreasc msurance
costs. ond many d•shonest doctors abuse
governmonl medocal support lo patoents
(Medocare. Medocood. etc). One pracllce
is to "ptng·pong·· such
pattents
unneces..
t.at1ly
lrom
one
spec~llst
to
another so
each can cOIIect
tor
"treatment .. Other
doctora ela•m several patient v•Stts when
onty one occurred or
" pad..
charges for
tft•tment not
grven
All
is a
tremendous
waste of tne taxpayers Oollar
Feke medícal clatms take many forms
A
few yoars 1190 two streetcars '" Ch•·
cago colllded
In
ear1y mornmg hours
By
noon. almost tour dozen people had llled
cla•ms wlth lhe Trans1t Authonty too in¡ury
damages. even lhough lhe streel cars
were
ompry
thal morning, excepl for lhelr
crews
• The lnternal
Revenue Servtce admtls 1t
loses ot foast
$6
blllion due lo lax-dodg–
lng •ndlvtduals and corporalions Tax
experts OUIS<de lhe IRS say fove 11mes thal
amount ls more accurate Thls. then.
means bUhons
of
extra do!lars
must
be
taxed from honest e1tízens and corpora–
ttons to meel govemment expend1tures
• Enough lood
IS
stolen from the natoon·s
supermar<ets to leed everybOdy on San
Franc•sco and Boston for ayear.
accord~
1ng 10 one sewnly consultanl In 1972
$3 S
b1lhon was shophfted.
whlle
$6.9 bol·
hon was stolen by employees. Ten to
twenty percenl of supermarket carts ($30
lo $50 each) are ulllmalety slolen. Sínce
supermarkets cannol absorb these tosses
and remaln In business. lhe cost ls
passed on to lhe consumar.
Every lndustry. lnslltulion or agency
could c•le ols own d•shonesty and theft
probtems whtch force up costs lor busi–
ness and consumer
toster unfair
com~
pet1hon. and s•phon off the publlc's tax
montes
WfH. f'IDING SEPiEMBE.R 20. 1975
Tho Inalde Job
1
On a
nataonal
<~Yeragc.
shopltUers com–
"' ' ' only 25% of lheft from reta•l stores.
sily securtty experts The rest. 75%.
•s
oone by
emp1oy9es
Sald e
vice
prestdent ot
a
discount
chaon. · Movbe
90%
ot
your employees
havelnlegrlty. t>ulth& orher t
0'!1.
can dev·
astate you ..
In New York C1ty, at leasl
1.000
rela•l
busonesses go
ban~rupt
every year be–
cause
ot
emptoyee
theft
· ·tl"l
many
cases
a store
v.-rU
toso more than twtee as much
ot tts
lnventory
to
d•shOnest employ6e.s
as
to Shopt.tters and burgtars." said a New
York
cume
detecr•on
squad
'nspector
" Stock shnnkages" ol
2'1.
to 5'11. are
common
1n
many
busmesses
Norman
Jaspan.
noted
consultant
on
secunty
probtems. sa•d one ol h•s stud1es showeo
70'llo of ·snronkage" was dueto employee
malpractoce. 15'llo lo shophfllng. lhe resl
to clerical enors
John T. Lynch. head ol John T Lynch
Co . one of lhe na11on's boggesl lnvesl·
tgatlve and secunty organizations. says
"Employee crlme
rs
lncreasmg
at about
2011.
per year
lt could be anybOdy
from lhe cuslod•an to lhe prestdent -
and some11mes t>olh - resPOnslble for
prohl lou.es Management ts seldom tn a
pos•hon to dtSCover
diS50yally among
1lS
employees
unul
senous.
somettmu ,,_
reparable damege occurs ••
Lynch cotes a recent case
ot
a garmenl
manutaeturet
1n
los
Angeles
who
was
lostng
more than $65,000 per
month
tn
blouse lnvenlory Lynch was cafled 1n to
lnvesttgate
and
round
the
company·s
$8Cufl1y guetdSwere
not
tra1ned m the arl
of 1nspec11ng employees as lhey lelt lhe
promites
Lynch~t.rBined
secunty guards
were put
on
duty and
dunng
the next
quarter.
the
manutactucer's tosses were
cut by96'11.
As a
result of
lhiS big npoH,
the secunty
business has become one ot the !astest·
grow•ng muttt-bdhon donar growtl"'
•ndus~
lrtes - leap•ng frorn $5 bllhon to $15
b•l–
hon
1n
fiVe years
Ctosed·CIICUI1 TV.
two~way
m•rrOfS
h1dden recorders. ,,.detector tests. spe·
Ctafly traaned armed guards. cha1ned mer
chand•ae. sensutzed
labets.
detectrve
SQuads. now archttectural destgns and le-–
gal counsel are
only sorne of lhe efabo...
rata and costly methods lo wh•ch many
bustnessea must resort to counter the se–
cret army of cthzen lhieves
The
con–
sumer ultlmalety pays for all lh ls
eQulpmont and manpower
Where latne Oulrage?
The Boble clearly descrobes our end–
ltme moral crlsos
(11
Tlmothy 3;1-5) Jere–
mlah upbratds anc•ent Judah for moral
deterloratton
htmilar
lo ours today
"
no man
repenled
htm
of
his
wrcked~
ness
lo. lhey have rBJecled the word
of
lhe LOfd
for
every one lrom
the
least even unto lhe greatest os goven lo
covetousness. lrom lile prophet even
unto the P"est every one dealeth ratsely'
(Jer
8 6 9.
10)
ls everyone doshonest? No, not yel But
whe•e ls the pubhc outrage agaonst while·
collar lhlevery? Why. lnstead of oulrage.
are secre1 thleves often extolled and
emulaled as virtual heroes? Why aren'!
chlldren everywhere educaled lhat shOp–
lllllng IS a CAlME? Why are corrupl publlc
olhclats. dishonest businessmen and
fraudulent operators encouraged Co
con~
linue
by
penall•es that deter few or are
readlly c•rcumvented?
Escala~ng
whlle-collar c11me reveals
SOCtal
COHOSIOO
U IS
HOI
Only
a
yardshCk
ot pe1sonut morabty.
but
1t ts also an ac·
curate barometer ot
our
true nat1onaJ
onorol tibor Whlto·cotlar cr•me '" any nn·
Uon llouushea In dtrect proportion to the
1mmorutuv
ot
that
mwon
Several
years
ago,
the U.S Natsonaf
Ct•me Commtss•on reported. "When
cor~
porat1ons and the1r managers - otten
teaders tn thtir communl1tes -break th.,
law lhey set an example
The~r
example
tends to ercxte the moral base of the ,taw
o1nd
gr~es
other li¡u\ds of offenders an op.
POrtun~ty
to tatJona'•t:e then crames
o
Our
prasons
aro full of
cnm•nals
whO
real no remorse for theJr cr•mes s.mply
beeause soc•ety accepts so many ·mee
guys
o
wno are hvtng
11
up
and
rakmg
1t
tn
by
dtshonest and
•m
moral means too
Far trom harmtess, whtte-collar
cnme
ls
a
canear that reeds ano grows on otsell -
encouraglng Olhers to lake lhe wrong
Tipson
Avoiding
Consumer
Fraud
Cavear emptor - 1e1 lhe buye< bewa•el
The old Roman adage
15
now more nee–
essary lhan ever
Hardly a day goes by when we do nol
encounter somo type ot traudutent busi–
ness practoce
We
ltve In lhe age ol the
hHU·thJth- advertts•ng byomtss1on
The honest bus•nessman
wm
usually
" bend over backward" lo keep your busi–
ness and
fr~endsh•P
The cheater. how–
ever ISn't tntorested
tn
repeat busmess
Tl"'ere
are
hundreds
ot
outnght traudu..
lent schemea•n every aspect of busmess
Many lamrhes sufter srzeable financral
los1. headaches and shame lrom be•ng
taken on by shoddy or •Ilegal prachces
The ageo lhe lonely and lhe ínfirm are
part•cutarly suscept1bJe to atl kmds of
lraudulentschemes
Freud commonly
pops
up •n \he area of
medac•ne and health. home tmprove–
menta. auto repalf repatr services.
chal~
1ty.
work·at·home schemeso mvestments.
tand uleso and
unsohcited
merchandtse
But
there
are
many many Olhers
The oulrlghl swtndler can cheat so
many people because he knows human
natura The
swmdler
counts
on
the con–
sumer's destre to gel somelhlng lor nolh·
lng He plays on the v1c11m's vaOIIy,
gulllblllly and lgnorance
A
h1gh-pressure or clever low-pressure
sale.sman may prom•se or say anything
verbally to qel you to s•gn a contract
Then he oflen sells lhe conlract at a d•s–
counl to a f1nance company
to
whicl"' you
woll
be
lorced lo pay heavy onteresl. de–
sp.te whatever rafes Yo:ere quoted verbaJiy
lo gel you 10stgn
Consumer protect•on
agencres
gwe
the
tollowtng adviee to avoid unnecessary
consumer headaches and outnght fraud·
• NEVEA BUY tH ttASTE
Take your time,
shop around, compare prices and then
make up your m1nd
• 00N'T DEAL WITH FLY-BY-NIGHT
MEA~
CHANTS Oeat wilh reputable merchants
who nave been •n business for some time
Try lo find people who have dealt woth
lhem •nd get lhelr reac11ons
tt
shll In
doubt check wtlh your nearest Belter
Bus;ness Bureau
• OON'T BC
'8AAGA.:'
GUNOEO" OR SHOP BY
path Tho result escalates endtess costs
1n1o
ou,
hvc5 and poc.ketbooks
01shooes1y oats away at mutuat trust
whlch ls
n
ma1n
P•llar
of our free enler·
pnse systom Uno1h1cat and dishonest
Cllltens produce Wtdespri'ad skepticism
that
hurts
the
honEtst
bus1nessman_
saJes–
man. or Jnstttut10n. 11 w•pes oul not only
prohts, but also employee morafe and lhe
des1re to produce
by
honest eHorls
Otshonesty ends up !>y reduc•ng our
treedoms end
rostenng
ever
more
gov–
ernment •nteN&ntiOn. more bureaucrabc
red
tape.
comm1$$.10nS
agenc.es.
com·
plex laws. regulat10ns papeJWork ano
h•gher taxes
The
Old adage ·repubhcs llve
by
var~
tue"
IS
very true
Thé
corollary ts also
true "repubhcs Wlthout v1rtue
w111
d1e" tn
the m1dst ol the grea1 nahonat npoff. we
may bocome gu•lty ot an even greater
crime;
the murder ot a republic o
PAIC( "ONt Ouality ls an Importan!
valué Wetch out
tor "once
in
a
lif&Ctme
bargalns " "Oiscounts," " wholesate:·
and "lree" are not always whal they
ap–
pea• 10 be Never buy somethong
you
don
1
need ;ust
beca
use •t son sale
•OON·r 8( HK#I1 PRESSVREO OR OVEA–
WHfUoiEO
8Y
SUCK
SALESu.EN
look
rnto all
the
facts. not
IUSt Che
satesman's
polnts
01 emphas•s tt •n OOubt, sleep on ' ' or
gel
more mlormat•on
• AlWAYS
CHECK THE CREOENTlALS OF A
OOOA·TO·OodA
SAlE$.,AN
Make sure he os
who
he
says he
1S.
representmg
the
com·
pany he cta1ms 10
be
represenling Never
poy a door-to·door salesman 1n cash Pay
by check or money order made
o
u\ to the
compony
• 00TAIN WAinEN ESTIMATES OF REPAIRS
Don·¡ perm11 a household applíance. TV,
or
radio to
be
taken from your home
for
repalrS wllhout hrst ge:tting a wrílten estf–
male of probable
repa~r
cosiS Gel w"nen
aUt.Jrance
lhal no add1honaJ
charges wtll
be made
w•thout
your consent
(also
ap-.
pl•es to
auto
repatrs anO other ma1or
household repaors)
e
T
AJ<t
CONTAACTS
~EAIOUSL
Y
Oon't
s1gn
a
contract betore you read
and
under·
stand 11 ReiOd an the tone pr1nl Never s.gn
a contract w1th blank spaces or un•te–
m•zed cherges Always keep
a
copy
Oon•t
accept
or rely on
oral
prom•ses.
Get
your guaran1ees In wnltng.
• KEEP IMPORTANT ReCEIPTS,
tags, SaleS
chOcks. snd guarantees 1n
a
sale place
Return roglstraliOn card lf requesled by
lhecompany
• 00N'T AC(;EPT AN INCOMPLETE Blll
for
your merchandlse Make sure the total
pnce tncludes dehvery. mstallaHon and
warranty charges Make sure the servtce
conlfact spelts out who provideS what
and for how much
• 00N•T MAKIE
UNAEAUSTtC
FINAHC&Al COM–
NITME.NT$ ,
The
more
money
IOVOtved.
the
more cautlot'l you need Understand
ft...
nance chargea Make sure you can com·
lortably alford what you buy
• EDUCATE YOUASELF TO
CONSUMER FRAUO
AND
SOVACES
OF CONSUMER
HEL.P. lt IS well
wort.h your lime to
read books on
con~
sumer fraud These also oflen inform you
about what agencies you can lurn to of
taken In by some unsat•sfactory or de·
ceptlve business practico.
Books such as
Bvyer Beware
by Fred
Trump. and
The Vulnerable Amerlcsns
by
Curt Genlry are enllghtening. Olher con·
sumer
traud hterature
may
be
availabte at
your lOcal Sellar Busrness Bureau Your
greatest protec110n ls becomíng an alert
aod
aware consumer Buyer beware!
o