LEXUS SPRING FEVER!

'98 LEXUS
LS 400

a

tk"

$699to.

•

Itetraint
lotis
Oovis
Less

39 MONTHS

"0" Cap Reduction

*39 mo. closed end lease based upon approved credit through
LFS. Total due at inception $2025.
Good through April 11, 1998.

• Front & Side Airbags
• Leather w/Memory
• VSC (variable skid control)
• 290 HP
• Power Moonroof
• 3-Way Programmable
Transmitter
• Heated Seats

NOW AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY:
1 1998 LX 470
2 1999 RX 300's

~ LEXILr-

FREE PICK UP
& DELIVERY

OF L.Firtino

"WE DELIVER ANYWHERE"

Call 1-800-LEXUS-4U

www.lexusoflansing.com

FREE LEXUS
LOANER

(539-8748)

5701 S. PENNSYLVANIA, LANSING

•

Exit 104 Cedar St. off 1-96, 3 Elks N. on Penn

Our CD'S
Don't play
Music,

5.35

One Year Certificate

4/3
1998

138

A.P.Y.

,

FCAESTZFI'
BANK

Member F.D.I.C.

but could
be Music
to your Ears

248-338-7700 or 248-352-7700
2600 Telegraph Rd. • Bloomfield Hills • MI 48302

This is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured account (FDIC). A minimum opening
deposit and balance of $500.00 is required to obtain the stated Annual Percentage Yield.

*Annual percentage yield when compounded quarterly. Rate is accurate as of
4/3/98. Penalty for early withdrawal from certificate accounts may be assessed.

Business

they say they've got their own trou-
bles, and if Americans are stupid
enough to get caught up in this, that's
their problem."
To Shapiro, the biggest concern,
and the most frightening, is identity
theft. That's when criminals gain
access to your records and have the
ability to access data by computer to
deplete your bank account. "A corn-
purer is the most effective form of
theft I know," said Shapiro.
Even when there is reform, Shapiro
said, it is always three years behind the
technology. "We finally got Congress
to pass a law that would regulate the
abuse of 1-900 telephone numbers.
But the marketers found a way to get
around it; they found a loophole.
"Now when you call a 900 number
they give you a code to call. And it's
an overseas call, a direct-dial overseas
call. The bills that I get come from
places I've never heard of: tiny little
islands that are dots on the map,
Surinam, even from Israel. But mainly
from Third World countries where
they need American dollars — hard
-
currency.
"So you're calling from an
American phone, it is beamed to an
offshore island and then beamed back
again to someone here. But on that
offshore island or Third World coun-
try, telecommunications are usually
owned by the government. So they get
a share of the proceeds just for han-
dling the call. And in a country where
economic growth is very low, that's
where you get your bucks. There's no
way you can get your costs receded,"
said Shapiro.
Shapiro also is concerned about
home equity loans, "which are basical-
ly a second mortgage on your home,"
and rent-to-own scams.
"It is really frightening because per-
sonal bankruptcy is at an all-time
c_>
high. People who are living from one
paycheck to another and getting into
debt are just borrowing themselves
into disaster," said Shapiro.
Where is it going to end? "In disas-
ter to the economy, unfortunately,"
said Shapiro.
Shapiro sees as her legacy "the con-
tinued existence of this office — and
there were many attempts to close it.
We deliberately made it a very visible
city office, using the press because we
had no budget or staff.
"People knew they could call here
and they'd get information. We raised
consumer confidence in this city. Help
was always there — we just told them
where to look for it," said Shapiro. E