Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Telemarketers try hand at scamming libraries

While the nation’s Do Not Call list protects everyday households from the threat of telemarketing scams, a new slew of scams are starting to target university libraries.

Several university libraries from around the country reported receiving phone calls from false organizations aiming to rob libraries of money. Fortunately, the telemarketing scams have not reached the University of Wisconsin.

Rick Anderson, a librarian at the University of Nevada-Reno, said he has become accustomed to a handful of similar calls he receives every year.

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“This is something I’ve been dealing with for pretty much my whole career,” Anderson said.

According to Anderson, “Mrs. Larson,” a woman maintaining she was an official for Montreal-based Pentium Capital, pitched the scam.

Larson claimed her call was in regards to a fax Anderson had sent to a publisher and requested to speak to an attorney. When Anderson began questioning, Larson became irritated.

Anderson said the woman hung up on him, threatening she would see him in court.

“The scams come in many different forms,” Anderson said. “Sometimes they’ll call just to confirm a shipping address and ask if they can send ‘it’ to that address.”

In this case, the ‘it’ Anderson referred to was actually a directory, for which Pentium charges its “clients” up to $500. If an employee confirms an address and simply says “yes,” they receive an invoice along with a directory they never intended to purchase.

Anderson added Canadian law is less severe for telephone fraud, and companies such as Pentium Capital have conned even student employees who work at libraries into schemes.

Similar scams have not arrived at UW, which has more than 40 general libraries and the 11th-largest research collection in North America.

According to Richard Reeb, UW associate director for collection development and technical services, there has not been a telescam the university has seen.

“The only thing [I] can think of is that we’ve been contacted about toner for copiers that are enticingly cheap.”

Despite the cases’ seeming clarity, it is not the first time a telemarketing scam has broken through individuals’ vulnerability.

In July 2004, the Federal Trade Commission charged another group of Canadians, Pinacle Publishing, for scamming hundreds of U.S. charities and small business out of millions of dollars through a method similar to Pentium Capital’s, according to a release.

Joan Kinney, a UW senior lecturer of consumer science, said libraries tend to be more up-to-date and therefore are less susceptible to telemarketing scams.

“To be cautious anytime you’re giving up money, you have to have a clear understanding of what you’re getting in return,” Kinney said.


— Sundeep Malladi contributed to this article.

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