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"A Family Tradition for 131 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 21, 1997 -5 Phony salesman ripped them off Police issue warning after seniors burned By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star A couple of scam alerts have been issued in the area. One came from a Caesarea woman, who told the Star she had received a 1 promise of a hefty cash prize in a letter which asked her to send in money. The other, detected by Durham Region Police, l saw some local seniors bilked by a phony | salesman. Trish Gaudet phoned the Star last week after she received mail announcing that there were strings attached. Mrs. Gaudet was assured she had already won a prize for $500,000 to $5 million from a "Cash Awards Centre" based in California. All she had to do to claim the prize, a package told her, was send money to a post office box in Vancouver. - "They're asking for $20, but it's an extra $5 if I want it rushed," said Mrs. Gaudet. She alerted the media because she's concerned some people might be taken in by the promise of a huge prize when, in reality, they'll just be out 20 bucks in the end. "What I'm concerned about is the seniors, because they can get confused when they read something, like this," she said. that she'd won a huge cash prize -- but In fact, seniors are often the targets of such scams. Durham Police frequently issue warnings that scams offering vehi- cles, appliances or cash prizes are evident here. Typically a deposit is asked for, and it can escalate into thousands of dollar's. In another incident recently, police say an elderly couple were bilked by a man who convinced them to shell out a large amount of money for carbon monox- ide detectors they could have bought at the hardware store. Sgt. Ken Hudson of 26 Division in Port Perry said a "rough looking" man came to the home on Regional Rd. 23 around suppertime one evening recently and announced he was selling the detec- tors, which warn residents if deadly car- bon monoxide is present in a house. He produced no identification, but showed the couple a pamphlet on the items, said Sgt. Hudson. He was allowed to examine the home and sold the residents a detector for $169. It's worth about $30 retail at the store. He also recommended they buy more detectors, and the next night came back with two more, for which he also charged $169 apiece. "He took $507 for $90 worth of prod- uct," said Sgt. Hudson. "It's not illegal, but it's buyer beware," he added. Restaurant and Vining Lounge Butch Cuigin 35% Cover Charge Tickets Available at the Door or Call To Reserve ~ Rob or Carl CHRIS HALL / PORT PERRY STAR CHAMBER PRESIDENT: Many people from local businesses made an ap- pearance at the Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner last Wednesday night. During the evening, present Chamber President Rick McCoshen received a plaque from Brenda Mcintosh for his hard work over the past term. Directors and Executive are almost in place for the new year and should be known by the end of this week. "STAR" CLASSIFIEDS GET THE RESULTS YOU WANT... PHONE (905) 985-7383 Mackey, Bailey & Korb Barristers & Solicitors Saturday Mornings 9:00 am to 12:00 noon 985-7391 Lake Scugog Lumber Building Oshawa Rd., Port Perry PORT PERRY PHARMACY LID. Original Formula packets § 4.99 10's wall fd ANUARY 2 Cool Spray Room Humidifier - 3.8L capacity *4.99 2 yr. warranty Suppositories CLARA STOVER Assorted Boxed Chocolates Vitamin E Lip Balm KERR'S Assorted Bagged Candy - 18 varieties 1.29 PANTENE PRO V Shampoo or Conditioner BOUNTY Super Mega Paper Towels, 6 - 2ply 454g. °3.99 300ml °3 A49 CASCADE Dishwasher Detergent ae "2.69 ASA TABS ECT 650mg. 100's 4, 89 Limit 1 per $9 customer JAMIESON Vitamin B-12 Tabs wm $5.49 ULTRA-TIDE Detergent *6.99 41b. Lint | per customer