I got a call from 323-331-9509. I hardly ever pick up when I don't recogize the number, but I decided to answer.
It was a live voice - asking for a donation to one of the national political parties. Coincidentally, I had just sent two donations to that particular party - one for their national congressional comittee and one for their national senate committee. I told him I had just donated and the checks probably hadn't had time to get there (true).
A short time later, I decided to look-up the number and saw that the call was from Los Angeles. The 331 exchange is managed by MCI WORLDCOM COMMUNICATIONS. The phone number for a national office of either political party would have had a 202 area code (Washington DC).
I called back and got a recording (same voice). There was an option for a call back. I requested a call back, but did not get one..
If you want to make a donation, tell them you will call back then go to the internet and get the address and phone number of the party you want to donate to.
I had just read about one political party calling for donations using the name of the other political party during an election year. Maybe it worked so well they're trying it again...
Received the call from whomever at that number and they asked for my wife. You always know it's going to be "one of THOSE calls" when you say "Hello" and no one answers for 5-7 seconds. Reading PeeWee's entry above, I'm guessing they were calling for the one registered voter in the house in that political party. Legitimate party fundraisers can/could call from any area code, I guess, but my Scam-O-Meter still gets a hit when unknown callers from any location target our number.