I have been getting calls from this number. Finally I decided to call them back. A guy answered saying they are some Police and Sheriffs association charity. He was wondering if I could donate at least $ 15 which He claimed would go a long way towards helping the cops. Needless to say I bid a polite adieu with a firm Thanks but No Thanks.
They've been calling me 3 or 4 times per day for a couple of weeks and leaving no messages - I'm sure not going to answer an unfamiliar number. The Caller ID just says "VIRGINIA".
I called them back, and they said they're some sort of Police Association. I don't remember or care who they said they were, I'm not going to donate over the phone to anyone.
I was a police reservist, so I obviously support legitimate police organizations - but I cannot tell you how many scams I have heard about that were actually a boiler room operation masquerading not only as police and sheriff's organizations, but even as legitimate organizations line the Heart Association, March of Dimes, etc.
YOU do the selecting - If you want to give to the March of Dimes, look them up in the phone book and call them, or go to a web site address that you know for a fact is the right web site because you've seen it advertised in a major magazine (not Craig's List newspaper want ads, for heaven sakes, which victims have done).
If you want to give to police widows and children, contact your LOCAL police or Sheriff's department and ask them which organizations regularly contribute large amounts to their widows and children's funds, or perhaps their severely wounded officer's funds - There may not even be any, or you may find that they have a trust fund set up at your local bank that you know will go 100% directly to help your local officers or their survivors.
It's so easy to copy/paste a pirated version of a real web site, which usually has a name very similar to the real one, or a totally bogus, very strange hidden web site address hidden by a link which makes it look legitimate. All it takes to copy a letterhead is a $50 computer scanner/ ink-jet printer.
You cannot identify anyone over the phone or by a letter going to a PO box (or even a street address), email or web site unless you investigate, which is way too hard to do - There are SO many ways to fake web sites, Caller ID, and emails. Even street addresses can lead to a mail box which a scammer (or even a criminal gang) has installed on a vacant house or building.
I cannot vouch for or against this specific organization, though.
This same number has been calling my home two or three times a day for a couple of weeks now. I never answer calls from numbers I do not recognize. How can I make them stop calling?
I have been getting calls from this number. Finally I decided to call them back. A guy answered saying they are some Police and Sheriffs association charity. He was wondering if I could donate at least $ 15 which He claimed would go a long way towards helping the cops. Needless to say I bid a polite adieu with a firm Thanks but No Thanks.