The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, August 8, 1986 Page: 5 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Gillespie County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Harper Library.
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Page 5 THE HARPER HERALD Friday,August 8,1986
i w > I
u ;/
by
Jim Mattox
Attorney General
Common Cons:
The Pigeon Drop
The Reward Variation
Con artists are glib tricksters,
persuasive enough to sell Eskimos
the proverbial refrigerators. In fact,
if they weren’t crooks, most con ar- A con that is closely related to
tists could probably make fortunes as the pigeon drop is the lost-found-
legitimate salespeople. reward caper. Typically, in this one a
But they are crooks. And they con ^ be a physician
depend upon gullibility and either a law^r wih telephone a store and
greed or good-heartedness to make 1611 a sales clerk that be lost a <ha-
their scams work. One of the most m°nid.,rIng-“1k a<™ethingequaUy
common cons being used today is ™luable-andhe.thinkshelosMtjn
also one of the oldest-the pigeon that store. Just then, another person
enters the store and says that he has
found the ring. The “physician” asks
u j ... = the clerk to pay the second person a
_-H-OW IT WORK_ reward and hold the ring until he can
get to the store and get it. Of course,
If you saw the movie The Sting, he promises to repay the clerk. And
you saw in the opening scenes a it is safe to advance the reward
classic depiction of how the pigeon because doesn’t the clerk have the
drop works. The mark agrees to ring as security? The caller never
deliver the money for the wounded comes, leaving the clerk with nothing
man but really intends to keep it for but a cheap glass ring and a several
himselfrWhenJie opens the package, hundred dollar hole in his pocket.
he finds nothing but crrtrhfv- _
newspapers. What’s worse, the day’s What | A Fin
take from the bookie shop that he is — —
carrying for his boss is missing. And 0. ,, .
so the story begins. . SlI\ce tl}e vanatlons on the
pigeon drop theme are limited only by
The Sting is a movie. The victim the imaginations of the con artists,
was also a crook: he was going to the best defense is not to deal with
steal the money and got outsmarted, strangers at all.
But the pigeon drop works in real life , ...
tea It usually involves a large quan- Whlle COn artls,ts wl“ ^ thelr
tity of •tainted” money-like gambl- “a?ls °n anyon<;' the>'1 Preufer, 40 hit
ing winnings, for example-or is lone y and vulnerable who look as
unusual in some other way. The bait ‘ ,gh "iT have some ™>ney in the
in pigeon drop scams has included bank' Thl? means that elderly
alleged contributions for dying m<*°ws are favoriteTargets. If you are
relatives in Venezuela charity promo- a w,do"' don 1 uf,Mrs- when
tions, pay offs to police, or just y0ur ph.°"e “d d°nt, PV‘ Mrs- on
money that has been found and has your madbox' *"d do"1 <bscuss y°ur
no identification of ownership. flnances ln Public-
Typically, the mark is approach- ,..If you h,ave,bee" ™timized,
ed by one con artist who sets up the T* ',y your oca p° lce at once,
scam. A partner, supposedly a Authorities estimate that four out of
stranger, becomes involved. The mark bve v'c‘,m8 of “n art'st s scams
is included in the discussion of what too embarrassed to report it. Don't let
to da At some point, a decision to ™harrassment keep you from telkng
split it three ways is made But there the pohce- Tbey,may beable *» **
is a complication. The mark is re- 'n0.ney back' A"d ‘hey may be
quested to hold the package of money able to keep there from being vie-
but is asked to prove his trustwor- imS °°‘
thiness by nutting: ud “earnest”
For More Help
by putting up
money—anywhere from a couple of
hundred to thousands of dollars. •
When the mark puts up the . Hy°a have questions about cons,
STS T"!i; 7“Pera^rS blems, cidl the Consumer Protection
^ tosdvethe tomphcation. The officer nearest The
package turns out to be nothing but General^ office is the people’s law
play money or cutup comic books. firm We>re here hel P P
And the victim never sees the earnest
money or the con artists again. ' ' ' m ' '
Longhorn Football
1986 Schedule
Aug. 29
STAR
There (scrimmage)
7:00 p.m.
Sept. 5
MILFORD
At Star
7:30 p.m.
Sept. 12
MAY
There
8:00 p.m.
Sept. 19
RICHLAND SPRINGS
Here (Band Night)
7:00 p.m.
Sept. 26
PAINT ROCK
There
7:00 p.m.
Oct 3
MULLIN
Here (FB Parent’s Night)
7:00 p.m.
Oct. 10
OPEN
Oct. 17
LOHN
There
4:30 p.m.
Oct. 24
BROCKESMITH
Here
'7:00 p.m.
Oct. 31
CHEROKEE
There
7:00 p.m.
Nov. 7
TALPA
Here (Homecoming)
7:00 p.m.
Nov. 14
CHRISTOVAL
There
7:00 p.m.
Shorthorn Football
Schedule 1986
Sept. 23
RICHLAND SPRINGS
There
6:00 p.m.
Sept. 30
BROCKESMITH
There
6:00 p.m.
Oct. 7
CHEROKEE
Here
6:00 p.m.
Oct. 14
MULLIN
There
6:00 p.m.
Oct. 21
LOHN
There
‘Oz’ to be featured
‘The Wizard of 0z,‘ thy
spectacular musical comedy"
based on the fanciful tale of
the same name that has
been delighting generations
of children and adults, will
be presented at the Point
Theatre in Ingram for 12
performances, beginning
August 6.
The version to be
presented is not the old
1902 version, but an update
version prepared by Frank
[Gabrielson, author of the
k popular ‘I Remember Mama*
series on television. Based
jon the successful movie
1 adaption of 1939, it includes
all the song hits of that
version, including ‘We’re
Off to See the Wizard,* ‘If I
Only Had a Brain,* and of
course, ‘Over the Rainbow.*
It is being directed by
David Cockerall, who also
designed the sets.
Tickets are on sale at the
Point Theatre beat offfee or
can be reserved by caOihg
the box office at 9874^22
between the hours of 9 a.m.
and' 6 p.m. weekdays and
from noon to 9 »,p'.n£’
Saturdays. Ticket prfces.lffj
$7 for adults and $4 ftp'
children 12 years old or.
under.
Curtain time is 8:30 p.m.
The play will run through
August 23 on Wednesday
through Saturday evenings.
LIQUIDATION
40% i« 50%
off of
EVERYTHING
in the store
The
Guitar Clinic
134V2 E. Main
Every 18 days—about 20
times a year—our Galaxy
gives birth to a new star.
Andy's Diner
For A Real
Family Treat
"Home of Fine Foods”
Phone 997-3744
FREDERICKSBURG
On San Antonio Hwy.
U.S. 87 South
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Smith, Bruce. The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, August 8, 1986, newspaper, August 8, 1986; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1035223/m1/5/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Harper Library.