An Epidemic of Fraud Spreads Via Telephones : Telemarketing: More than 90% of households have been solicited.

Telephone scams have reached such epidemic proportions in the United States that more than nine of every 10 American households have been solicited for one of the many frauds now sweeping the country, according to a new consumer survey.

The study, conducted by Louis Harris & Associates and released today, says that just one-third of the fraud victims report the scams, and only 10% ever get any of their money back.

“The number of people getting hit by these scams is escalating, and the types of frauds are becoming more sophisticated,” said Linda Golodner, president of the National Consumers League, the Washington, D.C., group sponsoring the survey. “The new technology available is allowing scam artists to target their victim more easily than ever before.”

According to the National Consumer League, these are the top five phone frauds now sweeping the country:

* “Guaranteed” Prize Scams: Operators of these prize scams contact their victims a second time and tell them they have been given another opportunity to win bigger and better prizes. But consumers are required to either send money or place a call to a costly 900 number to claim the prize.

* Hidden International Toll Charges: With consumers wary of mounting 900 charges, scam artists are enticing their prey to call phone numbers with obscure international area codes for sex talk and other conversation. Cases involving the 809 area code for the Dominican Republic and the 599 area code for the Netherlands Antilles have been reported extensively.

* Pay-To Charges: Callers to an 800 number are charged for the information dispensed and also asked to accept long-distance charges to the call.

* “Helping the Handicapped”: Consumers are asked to donate money or buy overpriced goods to help the handicapped. But the causes are suspicious at best and bogus at worst. The most reported “handicap,” authorities say, is that the caller has a criminal background.

* Silent Swindles: Consumers are lured to make a “terrific” investment in cheap Florida real estate, but they must promise to keep the deal a secret for a year. Why? Because, the scam artist says, they are buying up distressed properties and the owners have a “right of redemption” if they get wind that their property is up for sale. The real reason for the secrecy, authorities say, is that it allows the con artist to get away with the consumer’s money.

Although previous surveys have documented widespread telemarketing fraud, Golodner said the purpose of the latest study is to lay the groundwork for the creation of a new nationwide consumer hot line for reporting the scams.

Within the next month, the National Consumers League will open a pilot 800 phone line to test consumer acceptance and use. When fully operational, the service will advise recipients of telemarketing offers on the legitimacy of those solicitations as well as help victims of phone scams to report the frauds.

The Consumers League 800 phone number will also collect information on the latest frauds and forward them to the Federal Trade Commission for national attention.

“One of the biggest problems consumers face is that complaints about phone frauds are so dispersed that no one can deal with the scams until it’s too late,” said Ken McEldowney, director of Consumer Action, a San Francisco watchdog group. By the time authorities have enough information to move in on scam artists, McEldowney added, the scamsters have shut down one operation and begun another.

Golodner said that with advanced computer and telecommunications technology, scam artists can pinpoint consumers who have responded to other phone frauds and hit them again. Fraudulent operators can also purchase lists of callers to certain 800 and 900 numbers--such as sex-talk and easy-credit lines--and target them for telemarketing scams.