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Scams and Scammers

Scams and scammers are nothing new. On this date in 1905, the Hope Pioneer alerted readers to a new scam. The scammers would find the names of older people in obituaries, then send a cheap glasses to the address of the dead person, along with a bill. A letter included in the package said that the glasses were being delivered as ordered. The scam appealed to the emotions of the deceased person’s relatives. There was something sentimental about receiving an item that a loved one had ordered. Relatives would pay the bill and keep the glasses as a memento. The glasses were worth only seventy-five cents, but the bill was seven dollars!

This was not the only scam being run in 1905. H.E. Bucklen and Company purchased ads that warned of scammers who were counterfeiting Dr. King’s New Discovery for Consumption, Coughs, and Colds. Readers were warned of people who “profited by stealing the reputation of remedies which have been successfully curing diseases for over 35 years.” People were urged to rely on the “sure protection” of the company’s name on the packaging. The same ad appeared in newspapers across the state. But to no surprise, Dr. King's Consumption Cure was itself a fraud, so the ad was encouraging people to go with the genuine fraud as opposed to the fraudulent fraud!

Also in 1905 a Fargo grand jury opened an investigation into land fraud, involving a veteran who took advantage of a provision that allowed veterans to prove up land claims quickly by getting credit for their time in the military. The former soldier would pay other veterans for making land claims and then giving him the land. He then sold the claims for a handsome profit.

Land fraud was a common activity throughout the west. While selling glasses to dead people brought in a profit, land fraud was big money. Another example is the couple who made homestead entries for land in North Dakota, but didn’t comply with the residency requirement. A friend of theirs gave false witness to the residency, and all three ended up pleading guilty in a Fargo court.

These scams may seem tame compared to the technical frauds prevalent today, but the world of 1905 was a simpler place, where simple scams could be very effective.

Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher

Sources:

Hope Pioneer. “Make ‘Em Show the Order.” Hope ND. 3/30/1905. Page 1.

Cooperstown Courier. “Fraud Exposed.” Cooperstown ND. 2/23/19095. Page 8.

Devils Lake Inter Ocean. “Fraud Exposed.” Devils Lake ND. 2/10/1905. Page 8.

Evening Statesman. “Land Frauds in North Dakota.” Walla Walla, WA. 6/8/05. Page 1.

Bisbee Daily Review. “Land and Other Frauds.” Bisbee AZ. 7/22/1905. Page 8.

The Evening Statesman. “Western Part of North Dakota Involved in Land Frauds.” Walla Walla WA. 6/5/1905. Page 1.

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