Word: callings
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...before one goes on to call the U.S. the victor, one should consider whether, in the end, the Cold War has not left this nation with a fatally wounded economic infrastructure--allowing it to walk off the field of the Cold War today perhaps, but only to slowly bleed in relative decline tomorrow...
Telescam groups in several states employ a "grand prize" hook to sell useless water purifiers. Supposed prizewinners, who are advised by mail to call an 800 number for information, are told they will collect such awards as a diamond watch, mink coat and luxury car if they buy a $398 system that removes pollutants from drinking water. Consumers who buy the product receive a worthless contraption containing two small charcoal tablets. Worse, the prize never shows...
...variation on this con, excited consumers who call to claim prizes after receiving you-are-a-winner letters are asked for their credit-card numbers and card-expiration dates "as verification." The new car or microwave oven never arrives. But before long, mysterious charges begin to show up on the cards. Joel Lisker, MasterCard's vice president for security and fraud control, & estimates that thieves using such methods skimmed at least $105 million from the $120 billion in U.S. credit-card transactions last year...
Boiler-room operators in Nevada and California begin the day as early as 5 a.m., calling people on the East Coast. Then they work their way westward, taking advantage of the changing time zones to make the maximum number of calls. Consumers who call back with questions are invariably told that the salesman is in a meeting. Once stung, many victims are deluged with other offers. Reason: boiler rooms sell sucker lists to one another...
...year-old the equivalent of $850 to strip naked and spend the night. Rather than fulfill his part of the transaction, the newshound raced out to file his expose, under the headline (pounds)500 AND I'M VERY DISCREET. Some tabloids drooled over Bordes as a high-class call girl (the tonier papers left it at "socialite") and hunted down her many eminent admirers, including Sunday Times Editor Andrew Neil (quickly dubbed "Randy Andy") and Observer Editor Donald Trelford ("Dirty Don"), as well as Sports Minister Colin Moynihan, who escorted Bordes to the Conservative Winter Ball. Tory M.P. David Shaw...