Harry Gross: Biz proposals by phone are always suspect

Dear Harry: I made a mistake a little while ago by showing interest in a proposal that I got on the telephone. At the time, it seemed as if my employer was going to cut my hours, which would hurt me a lot. I was just about able to keep up after our overtime was cut a couple of years ago. The proposition promised me a share of a multilayered sales operation in which I would get a percentage of every sale made by me and anyone I recruited. I'd also get a share of my recruits' recruits. After about two minutes of conversation with the caller, I didn't like the smell of the thing, and I turned down the caller. Then it started. Now I am getting calls every day from people at different levels (they say) of the company trying to get me on board. No matter what I say, I can't get these toads off my phone. Help!

What Harry says: It's not lawful to offer such schemes on the phone. Unfortunately, a lot of these pyramid solicitations are still going on among friends and relatives. Many use fake reasons to get you to visit them, where you are confronted with the slickest sales pitches you'll ever see. I was lured to one many years ago by a fellow employee who said that her husband had a financial problem that could only be explained by him in a visit to her home. There were "reasons" that he could not bring the problem to me. I suspected a pyramid and asked her specifically, but she innocently denied it. With many jobless folks around, I am not surprised that these schemes seem to be coming back. To stop those calls, contact the state's Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555.

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood: Contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-Red Cross.