Call came on Aug 24, 2015 at 2:14 P.M.. CID indicated "CALLER WIRELESS" , I picked up and said hello once, waited for about one second or less, and when no one responded, I hung up. I don't put up with what I think might be "breather calls" .. next time it happens I have a very loud whistle I will blow into the phone & hope the shrillness of it will bust his eardrum!
he advised he was calling for National Police and Trooper Association. Wanted me to donate over phone. I told him to send me something in the mail. He was rude and tried to explain the risk to security mailing the donation. I told him i knew all about the Rick as I am a VP of credit at a bank. He continued to push and I told him I was not paying over the phone. Either mail me something or forget about it. He finally relented and hung up. I got the letter today and started checking it out. I live in the 804 area code which is central Virginia and the 703 is northern VA. Showed as wireless caller. Not so unusual because often people who work to solicit funds for a company often do that. He knew my name which had obviously come from a list from my former cable company. It left the last letter off of my name which is how it was at the cable co. So it's not unusual if they know your name because it comes from a list that was purchased. I don't trust that there's anything legitimate about it. I like the suggestion to donate to your local police. If you contact them then you know you are talking to a legitimate organization. If they refer you to somewhere else, check it out. Isn't it ridiculous that we have to be so suspicious? This hurts the legitimate charities because people have become (rightly so) suspicious of any charity.
Received a call from this number this morning and it is in fact the National Police and Trooper Association (NPTA) which is a branch of the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA). They are a legitimate police charity and use the funds for survivor support, officer training, lobbying at the federal level, etc. Given all that's going on with the murdering of police officers at this time, I donated a few dollars and my card was charged appropriately. That said, I think donating locally is probably better. Donations to this organization are NOT tax-deductible.
I would suggest you don't donate to them. BBB simply confirms they are a company, but doesn't confirm they are a valid charity. Charity Navigator did not rate them, but did identify them as a 501(c)5 meaning they are not tax deductible. If they were a valid charity, they would obtain their 501(c)3 status from the IRS. We avoided the call, but if they call again, I will tell them that and send them on their way.