Oys Gets Answers: Are Fundraisers Calling On Behalf Of Police And Firefighters Legitimate
– Every day, police and firefighters risk their lives to make your community safer. To show your support, you may consider making a donation when a fund-raiser calls from a fire or police service organization. It is a good idea, however, to be cautious about solicitations for money over the phone, especially during these troubling times when money can be extremely tight. Scammers have tailored their pitches accordingly, even going so far as to pretend theyre from a legitimate group in order to get you to part ways with your money.
Heres how the scam works: an unsolicited call shows up on the Caller ID from someone claiming to be representing a nonprofit organization. In some cases, the charity has a name that includes a law enforcement word . There are plenty of variations on this scam, but one that is making the rounds in the Wichita area currently identifies itself as being from the Fraternal Order of Police . The caller explains that the goal of this nonprofit is to help the families of fallen officers.
If you begin asking specific questions about the organization or how the money will be used, the caller may not answer and may be told to call a different number where your questions are also deflected or evaded. Callers often use intimidation tactics or try to make you feel guilty about not supporting their cause. Dont fall for it! Its all a way to get your credit card information and a donation.
What Do You Say When The Police Call
Your telephone rings. The caller says he represents a police organization raising funds. Finding it hard to turn down the police, you agree to donate. But how much of your money ever reaches the police? Often very little. Who gets the rest? What do the police actually do with their small share? And how do you tell a legitimate police fund-raising effort from a fraud?
These questions get too little public attention, investigators in a number of states have told the Monitor. And interviews with some three dozen charity officials, investigators, some police groups, and their fund-raisers indicate that most attempts to curttail illegal police fund-raising have been ineffective. A recent crackdown under way against an allegedly fraudulent police fund-raising group shows the elusive nature of such groups:
In White Plains, N.Y., on April 8, 1980, investigators for the local district attorney raided what they describe as a “typical boiler room” operation — a temporary office from which many phone calls were made to solicit money from the public for a group calling itself the National Police Conference.
On June 26, Westchester District Attorney Carl A. Vergari announced that a grand jury has indicted three persons connected with the NPC on charges of fraud and grand larceny. Unlike most crackdowns, this one seeks felony convictions rather than just misdemeanor convictions for failure to register as a business.
Rcmp Warn About Police Fundraising Scam
Red Deer RCMP are warning the public to be aware of a telephone scam occurring in Red Deer and across the country, in which scammers call people at home claiming to be raising money for police programs.
In an unsuccessful attempt to scam a Red Deer citizen last week, a caller claimed to be representing the RCMP and other police associations. The telephone scammer was aggressive in his request and asked for $100 or $300, which are common amounts for scammers of this sort to request.
Red Deer City RCMP would like to remind the public that RCMP do not solicit funds for police programs. It is important for people to learn to distinguish between legitimate fundraising calls and scammers.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre offers the following tips to avoid false charity scams.
Be wary of appeals that tug at your heart strings, especially pleas involving current events, and ask for written information about the charity, including name, address and telephone number. A legitimate charity or fundraiser will give you information about the charitys mission, how your donation will be used and proof that your contribution is tax deductible.
Also, ask the solicitor for the registered charitable tax number of the charity. Question any discrepancies. Confirm the charitys registration information through the Canada Revenue Agency . Check out the charitys financial information. For many organizations, this information can be found online.
-Weber
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Scam Alert: Wilmington Police Warn Of Scam Phone Calls From Fake Police Fundraising Organizations
WILMINGTON, MA The Wilmington Police Department is warning residents of scam phone calls from fake police fundraising organizations.
One of our officers received a fundraising phone call from a group identifying themselves as the Police Officers Support Association,announced the Police Department on social media.The Wilmington Police Department has no association with this organization and we have never even heard of them. We found a website for them, but it gives very little information about the organization and their mission. We highly encourage our followers to verify who they are making donations to when contacted for fundraisers.
The Police Department then shared guidance from the Federal Trade Commission:
WASHINGTON, DC Every day, police and firefighters risk their lives to make your community safer. To show your support, you may consider making a donation when a fund-raiser calls from a fire or police service organization. Before you write the check, the Federal Trade Commission urges you to consider these facts:
Want to know where your public safety contributions are going? Taking the following precautions can help ensure that donation dollars will benefit the people, organization, or community you want to help.
Is There An American Police Officers Alliance
American Police Officers Alliance is a national political organization in Arlington, VA organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. This means that we will work to defend strong police leadership and interests in our nations cities and work to elect officials who will stand up for our police force.
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State Police Warn Of Fundraising Phone Scam
Michigan State Police officials are warning area residents about a fundraising phone scam reported recently.
According to a state police news release, troopers at Alpena Post recently received a call from a concerned citizen who reported receiving a phone call from a man claiming to be a chief of a law enforcement department, who wanted to speak to the call recipient about making a contribution to the Fraternal Order of Police in Alpena as part of a fundraising effort.
According to the report, the caller said he was able to take a donation for the fundraising effort immediately, right over the phone with a credit card, even transferring the citizen to a woman. Both callers were reported to be “very pushy” when asking for the credit card number, and the security code on the back of the card. The citizen was knowledgeable enough to know it was a bad idea to provide this information, and did not fall for the scam.
Police remind residents to never verify or give any personal information such as your full name, social security number, credit card information, or any banking information unless you initiated the original call. If you believe it is a legitimate organization collecting money, advise the caller you will be contacting the local organization, or in this case the local police department to confirm their fundraising efforts.
If you have been the victim of a telephone scam you are able to file a complaint with the FBI, by going to www.iC3.gov.
Scam Targets Supporters Of Police Firefighters
The Fraud Alert – Don Shrader
The phone rings. The caller asks for you or your spouse by name. If one is not available, the other will do. The caller then begins, This is so-and-so with the National Policeman and Firefighters Relief Association and we are kicking off our latest campaign fund designated to .
Of course, these particular groups have been kicking off their latest fundraising campaign every week for several years now. Evidently, it is an effective means of getting many peoples attention because they all use it frequently. At times, they also call several times in a week, which makes their motives and incentives even more suspicious.
One must ask, How can they afford to do that unless they are receiving the majority of the funds raised for either administration or fundraising? Unfortunately, according to the charity watchdog websites I have checked, this is too often the case with these groups.
However, before you agree to support the callers organization or give them any monies, here are a few dos and donts:
Give with your mind as well as your heart, warns Hugh Jones, President of the National Association of State Charity Officials. Do not agree to give an amount over the phone if the caller is pressuring you, dont give in.
Before you write the check, the Federal Trade Commission urges you to consider these facts:
Most solicitations for police and fire service organizations are made by paid professional fundraisers.
The Fraud Alert
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It’s A Scam Actually No It’s Not
Police are calling down warnings of an alleged phone scam after it turned out the phone calls were part of a legitimate Ontario fundraising campaign.
On Tuesday morning, Ottawa police issued a news release that informed the public about an alleged scam where a caller states he or she is from the Police Association of Ontario and is looking for donations for “underprivileged kids.”
The release then said Ottawa police confirmed “neither the Police Association of Ontario nor the Ottawa Police Association are conducting such a campaign.”
It also said the number, 613-627-3200, was not associated with PAO, even though an automated message said it was.
As it turns out, the Ontario police association, an umbrella group for police unions across the province, is running a campaign for its program called “Kids and Cops and Canadian Tire Fishing Days.”
The program has its own website, which partners with the non-profit organization Fishing Forever.
Update: Fundraising for the Police Association of Ontario currently underway < a href=”http://t.co/EDNmPnBThR”> http://t.co/EDNmPnBThR< /a> < a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash”> #ottnews< /a>
Q: Who Is The National Police Support Fund
A: The National Police Support Fund is a grassroots nonprofit political organization founded in 2017 under Section 527 of the IRS tax code. Our mission is to promote the interests of our nations police officers within our nations political and public policy process.
You can find more information about who is the National Police Support Fund here.
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Fraud Alert: Calls Soliciting Donations For The National Police Foundation
The Police Foundation, dba National Police Foundation, does NOT solicit donations from anyone via phone.
The National Police Foundation, a national, Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through science and innovation, has received information from several individuals who have been contacted by solicitors asking for donations in support of the National Police Foundation, or in some cases the National Police Fund in which we are not affiliated with.
The Police Foundation does NOT solicit donations from anyone via phone. If you have been contacted via telephone and asked to make donations to the National Police Foundation in Washington, D.C., this is a scam.
Please note that many legitimate local police foundations and organizations may solicit donations from local communities via telephone and mail. If you receive such a call, we encourage you to take note of who is calling , the date and time. We also encourage you to require donation information to be sent to you via U.S. Mail before considering any donation.
The Federal Trade Commission maintains an online reporting system for telemarketing and other scams, which can be found at and many State Attorneys General offer assistance in reporting and responding to fraud.
PRIVACY POLICY AS IT RELATES TO MAKING A DONATION TO THE NATIONAL POLICE FOUNDATION
Topic Area
Q: What Kinds Of Activities Does National Police Support Fund Engage In
A: We engage in activities aimed at supporting our law enforcement officers and standing up for their rights and values throughout the political process. This includes marketing and outreach to supporters and communities, grassroots political efforts, and digital marketing efforts. We use the funds raised from these activities to support elected officials, candidates, and organizations whose goals and values align with our own.
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How Scam Pacs Fall Through The Cracks Of Us Regulators
Regulators responsible for protecting U.S. consumers from potentially unscrupulous fundraisers face a bedeviling new challenge: the âscam PAC.â
Thatâs what critics call political action committees that gobble up most of the money they raise rather than using it for the charitable or other causes they profess to support.
âScam PACsâ tend to slip through gaps among agencies that govern elections, charities and telemarketing, regulators say, leaving consumers exposed to misleading or fraudulent pitches.
The Federal Trade Commission, which is responsible for policing telemarketing, generally has no jurisdiction over political fundraising, said Lois Greisman, an associate director in charge of the agencyâs marketing practices division. The Do Not Call law, the FTCâs major weapon in policing telemarketing, does not apply to political calls, which have protections under the U.S. Constitution.
reuters investigates
Citizens For Safety And Police
I was already typing it into .in 2 reviews
About the Business
As pro-police activists, it is our duty to tell the real story of what’s happened in Seattle and King County, and raise the alarm to avoid the spread of these leftist ideas to other cities across our great nation.
N 15th Ave & N 14th Ave
Ballard
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What outgoing numbers are used by American Police Officers Alliance and their robocaller, in order to request donations?
they are scum with a computer program. They spoof other numbers, so that you can not file a complaint against them easily.
Douglas G. See 18 more answers
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Verify: Fundraising Call For Colorado Police Charity Is Legitimate
VERIFY YOUVE GOT QUESTIONS, WELL FIND ANSWERS
A 9NEWS project to make sure what youve heard is true, accurate, verified. Want us to verify something for you? Email
THE QUESTION
A viewer named Mindy emailed us about a suspicious fundraising call she got from a computerized voice claiming it was fundraising for the Colorado Police Officers Foundation.
She thought it sounded like a scam.
They specifically ask can we rely on your support awaiting a yes answer, Mindy wrote. They also ask for your home address and credit card number.
WHAT WE FOUND
We called the foundations Executive Director, Frank Gale, for answers.
He said its not a scam.
The company the foundation contracts with to make fundraising calls uses a computerized voice for its calls. Sometimes the program malfunctions and asks the same question twice or moves onto the next question without waiting for an answer.
I already had a couple of calls today from people who received the call, Gale said.
He acknowledges its been a problem, so the plan is to ask the company to only use human callers when the foundations contract comes up for renegotiation.
He also appreciated peoples caution.
We did have one last year that was a scam, and we were able to provide that information, Gale said.
If youre not sure whether a fundraising call is legitimate, Gale said you can always call the charity or organization. And you can donate through the website.
In Other News
What You Should Do
We recommend researching your own charities using the Attorney Generals website or another charity search such as the National Center for Charitable Statistics, Guidestar, or Charity Navigator. If you do receive a phone solicitation, you can consider some of the below actionsor you can always politely hang-up.
Remember, one of the best ways for us to learn about a scamand take actionis if you file a complaint. If you believe that you have been misled or lied to, or if you have received a bill for a pledge you did not make, you are welcome to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Charitable Trust Section. If you report a suspicious call promptly, the Charitable Trust Section may obtain a copy of the recorded solicitation to determine if formal action should be taken.
Send a detailed description of your complaint along with any materials you received from the organization or call 800-769-4515. Your name and contact information are helpful, but not necessary. Please include the date you received the phone call or the solicitation material.
Visit the Attorney Generals office to file a complaint online send a written complaint to:
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The Committee for Police Officers Defense, the telemarketers who called me, applied for tax exemption in California. The application also included the name Police Officers Defense Coalition, as well as the Police Officers Defense Alliance. The latter is the name of the PAC I found earlier that had raised $3.2 million in contributions.
Virginia incorporation papers show James Fotis is president of the Alliance and changed the name to the Defense Coalition. It appears there are a number of nonprofits up and running under the apparent control of Fotis.
Also worth noting is that while his organization is based in Virginia, and gets its mail in Stafford, TX, Fotis lives in Lake Worth, FL. The websites describe his career in law enforcement and his role as the creator of the police officers safety act legislation carried by former San Diego Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham.
One of Fotis websites solicits money for individuals who were guilty of a crime for doing their job the way they were trained to do it. As an example, he cites former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona. President Trump pardoned the sheriff even after the Department of Justice described Arpaio as being responsible for the worst case of racial profiling in U.S. history.
The website soliciting funds for Arpaio says, Liberals have targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio with a multi-million dollar lawsuit because he was upholding the law of the land.