False Pretenees

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 December 1911, Page 4

False Pretenees

A TELEPHONE RUSE THAT FAILED. The public call-boxes of the Paris telephone companies afford occasional opportunity to rogues to perpetrate reat frauds upion unwary tradesmen. Louis Marie, a Parisian, has tried this plan, once too often, ind now finds himself ,in the hands of the police on a charge of trying to obtain money hy false pretences. It is the cuStom < for wine merchants carrying on business in the neighbourhood of the big goods stations to hand to draymen tho sums accessary to clear goods from bond. On October 20th M. Hisquin, a wine merchant in the boulevard La Qhapelle, got a message over the telephone which purported to r me from one of the ilr carting companies, requesting him to pay £6 to one of their draymen to pay the duty on a load of oil which they were clearing for him from the neighbouring goods yards. Tlien the telephone rang off before he could ask for any explanation. M. Hisquin was rather suspicions, and at once communicated with the carters, who said they had' given no such order, so M. Hisqu in telephoned for a couple of policemen and nwaited events. Presently a man, dressed as a criVter, entered the office and 1 asked for the £6 that had been requested by telephone. "Certainly," replied the merchant. "You. will get all that is coming to yon," and with these words the four heavy fists of the two policemen were laid en the shoulders of M. Louis Marie. Tho pseudo-carter was paralysed with nstonivhiment at tho failure of hi* Tittle plan, was able to offer n'o resistance, and was led off to tho st-'t'on as limn as a rag. The fnfirV>nt is n wnrnin<r to "people not ti be too i <wdv to a crept- orders o r er the telephone.