TRICKERY BY TELEPHONE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 March 1922, Page 6

TRICKERY BY TELEPHONE.

PUBLICANS VICTIMISED. The telephone has many users, and apparently the trickster who sees in it a means of adding to his scanty store, of ready money has not yet quite exhausted its possibilities, remarks a Dunedin paper. Recently, at any rate, more than one local publican has been the victim of a simple telephone trick that will probably be continued until it becomes too well known or until the offender has his case put in the hands of the police. The method is for the needy one to put up at an hotel and let it be known quietly that he is a hand f rom the estate of some runholder well known to the publican. One day a telephone ring comes from the runholder who inquires if this hand is staying at the hotel. The man happens to be out at the' time, and the runholder goes on to inform his friend the landlord that he has a cheque, say, for £26 to give the man. Meanwhile he asks the landlord to be good enough to advance him any small sums necessary. The man returns to the hotel and asks if his “boss” has been about, and is told that the “boss” has been ringing up and has a cheque for him. On the strength of this the needy one borrows a few odd sums of money, and takes care to make good his exit before the landlord has really got in touch with the runholder or to learn that he knows nothing of any such employee and has no money foi him,