By DAN HEATH

CHAMPLAIN -- Champlain has again earned a dubious honor from the Better Business Bureau as the scam capital of upstate New York.

The Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York covers all of the state except New York City and Long Island. In a news release, Bureau President David Polino warned people to be on guard against offers from companies purporting to be located in Champlain and other communities near the Canadian border.

MANY COMPLAINTS

Polino said 15 percent of all the complaints filed with his office come from this area.

"Nearly 20,000 complaints are filed with our BBB each year. Over 3,000 of those complaints involve companies with Champlain and nearby cross-border addresses. The address presents very tricky business."

The number of complaints is down from about 6,000 in 2003.

Common scams involve business directories, credit-card companies, grant offers, advance loan fees and discount health-care plans.

JUST MAIL BOXES

A typical business-directory scheme can involve what seems like an innocent phone call. The caller often misrepresents the firm as having a New York location, when it is actually just a mail drop box for a Canadian company.

The employee is asked for their name, phone number and address, then told their business will be listed in the next directory.

Small businesses and consumers are the most frequent targets, Polino said.

"Sometimes, that's all it takes. People discover they've been scammed when a bill arrives or their deposit check clears and they find out the company they've spoken to is actually located in Canada," Polino said.

"Millions of dollars land in the hand of these scammers each year."

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