TELEPHONE FRAUD NETS BILLIONS

Telephone marketers rob American consumers of billions of dollars each year. The most common areas for fraudulent offers, according to a newly formed Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing, a group representing legitimate telemarketers, are:

Prize offers (to get consumers to buy such things as water purifiers or vitamins).

Penny stocks.

Office supplies.

Magazine subscriptions.

Credit repairs.

Precious metals.

Travel scams.

Art.

Business ventures.

Cellular telephone lottery applications.