ALL FOR "JACK."

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 118, 21 May 1934, Page 11

ALL FOR "JACK."

DEPARTED SPIRITS! CITY MERCHANTS HOAXED. BOGUS ORDERS FOR LIQUOR. Four or live of the prominent wine and spirit merchants in Auckland were victims of a clever fraud perpetrated by an unknown man recently, and were, collectively, robbed of about £120 worth of whisky and cigarettes to the value of £50.

Each merchant, unaware that the other had also fallen the victim of the clever swindler, kept the matter to himself for several days, but now that the story has leaked out, they are chuckling over the easy manner in which they were duped. The scheme adopted by the trickster, no doubt was evidently the result of much thought and planning on hie part. In the main his method was to telephone the wine and epirit firm and an nounce that he was the nephew of a well known publican in the far North. "Jack wants three cases of whisky and three of beer," he said over _ the 'phone, mentioning the brands of liquor desired. "Send the beer to the wharf for shipment, I am returning to-day by car and I will take the whisky with me." He also said he would take 40,000 cigarettes ae "Jack" was "out of emokes."

In each of three cases the man was given delivery of three cases of whisky and 40,000 cigarettes. In one case the whieky was left at a garage and collected, while in another case the man called at a large city hotel and picked three casee up from there. In the other instance he actually discussed the order with the principal of a firm and was given three cases of whisky. "I 'shouted' for the nian," fiaid the principal in discussing the matter. "I thought I was the only one defrauded, but there are other firms, so now we are all laughing. Except that he was a well-spoken, small man, that's all I know about him. I would not even know him again if I saw him." Tn a few days' time the hotelkeepf" in the far North began to receive by post invoices and accounts for whisky and cigarettes of which he knew nothing. It was only when the various firms received indignant letters of protest from him, demanding to know why they had debited him with liquor that he had not received or ordered, that they realised that they had been swindled. The beer was subsequently recovered intact from the wharves where it had been 6tored.