Fraud at work

College students are inundated with bills. Books, tuition, meal plans, car payments and groceries are just a few of the lovely little harbingers of impending adulthood. With money flying in so many different directions, it's easy to dash off a check to whatever collector requires it and never think about it again. And that's exactly what some companies want you to do.

Senior journalism major Courtney Kierce knows this all too well. She requested a parking permit for the lot behind her Knox Road apartment, which is a ludicrous $600 a semester. She sent her check to Douglas Development, the apartment's owners, on Aug. 28, expecting to receive her permit in a few days.

By the end of the first week of school, Kierce still had not received her permit. Right before Labor Day, she contacted Sam Lewis, the man in charge at Douglas Development, who claimed never to have received her check. Frustrated, and paying for a spot she couldn't use because she had no permit, Kierce and her parents sent off another $600 check.

By the fourth week of school, Kierce was still sans permit. Lewis sent the permit to the wrong apartment, and when Kierce made a fuss, he told her she could come down to the office and get it herself.

The office is in the middle of D.C.

Kierce finally received her permit the week of Sept. 20, nearly a month after she had sent the original check, which meant she paid $150 for an entire month in which she could not park. The whole situation was nothing more than a case of inept management, right?

Last weekend, Kierce glanced at her bank statement when something jumped out; there were two $600 checks cashed by none other than Douglas Development. Now, this would raise anyone's eyebrows, but even more telling was that the first check - the one Lewis said he "never received" on Labor Day weekend - was cashed and cleared on Sept. 5, the same time Kierce was told to send another check.

A very furious Kierce called Lewis, demanding an explanation and a $600 check overnighted to her. Lewis responded that he would in no way overnight it, but he would send it to her, as if he were doing her a favor. When Kierce's mother repeatedly called Lewis, she was put through to voicemail. And Kierce still has not received the check.

Sound a little shady to you?

When I called Lewis to see if he could explain the incident, he said it was both a "common accounting mistake" and a rare occurrence. For a simple office mistake, Lewis was defensive, curt and downright nervous when he spoke to me, eventually hanging up without warning. He offered no explanation for a very serious breach of contract. That's because I believe this is the new fraud.

According to the National Consumer League's Fraud Watch, the highest percentage of fraud complaints, 28 percent, came from the 19-29 age group. The Washington area is ranked fifth nationally for the most victims of fraud. The total monetary loss from fraud in 2004 was more than $5 million; last year, it was a whopping $13 million. Fraud is a growing crime, in both how it's committed and the number of people it's affecting.

Lewis had nothing to lose by asking Kierce for two checks. If she doesn't catch on, he makes off with an extra 600 bucks. If she does, oh well, it's an accounting mistake.

College students are some of the most insanely busy people on the planet. They're also not exactly known for their financial management skills. Combine this with the countless bills they're paying, and they are ripe bananas waiting to be picked off the sucker tree.

But let this be a lesson. Students on the campus and elsewhere should pay close attention to their finances. Double check receipts, bar tabs and bank statements for "mistakes." Some will be legit errors, but some are not. Don't let an unscrupulous businessman take away any of your hard-earned money.

Nikkee Porcaro is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at cole120@umd.edu.