Thank you for all of your investigation. I got a call this morning but did not answer and no message left. I don't ever answer a call if I don't know the caller and especially if caller I.d.
Shows "unavailable, no name etc.,". This time last of the year is full of solitations by phone or by mail" by mail you are given a choice of better judgement. Be aware of any calls with a area code of 895. Got two of those and there is no area code of 895 so if you answer no telling where your number is being logged on to if you know what I mean, might be any foreign country because the area code is a "spoof".
I've listened to my recording of the conversation several times, and it seems like this is one of the newfangled robocallers which are marginally interactive, trying to make you think it's a real person. The name given -- twice -- was "Texas Coalition of Police and Sheriffs." When I asked a question, its response was slightly inappropriate. When I referred back to it, the machine said,
"I'm sorry can you repeat that please?"
Me -- slowly: "Did you understand my question?"
"Thank you for your time today. Maybe you can help out on the next drive."
Reluctantly, I have to say this seems like a not very good charity. Others might even call it an outright fraud or scam. This is a tough one, and I don't have time to give it the investigation it probably deserves. I may have done typos or made some other kind of mistake which kept me from finding important information. Based on what I did find, this seems to be highly questionable, at best. A search on "Texas coalition of police and sheriffs" didn't produce an exact hit. It did produce several reasons to shy away from this particular entity. Never mind, that most donations raised for some of the best of charities go to telemarketers and not to the charitable activities they advertise.
There were several links to mostly six or eight year old stories about bad charities which mentioned a similar name as an example of “bad.” There was also a link to The Coalition of Police and Sheriffs – which is nothing more than a labor union. Right. As if I'm interested in paying their dues for them.
On the Web site, I found a good reason NOT to support COPS Local 911. It seems that this organization “reimburses the members $$$$$$ if they are suspended or terminated from their jobs for disciplinary reasons.” Right. That's exactly what we want: law enforcement personnel who know there will be little or no real consequence for wrongdoing. They will be given money if they get themselves fired!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charity Navigator doesn't even have a listing for “Coalition of Police and Sheriffs,” apart from “Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs.” Charity Watch has even less. Being new doesn't make you a crook, though. Based on old stories, maybe it was put out of business, and the name is just now being refreshed. The roboguy did mention mailing something to me, which makes me doubt if it's a completely fraudulent theft-type scam.
So, I took a flyer and called the phone number on the Web site of the local "coalition" union. The lady could not say anything with certainty about their fund raising, though she said she believes they are doing something and that they've been getting calls about fund raising. Offered to take my name and number and have someone call me back. I'm not comfortable stating in any definitive way that the union is the same as this robobeggar.
Here's one of the old news items which mentions an outfit with the same name:
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/121007/loc_121007035.shtml#.WCTXaGsrKUk
It's from 2007
"For example, the Coalition of Police and Sheriffs - named the top inefficient charity in the nation by the watch group - spent 6.6 percent on its cause."
Some folks have a fetish about how many times someone has posted, here. They're huge on asking insulting questions and demanding to know what someone has posted, but never explain what difference it makes, if, when, or how often a person posts on 800Notes. I really didn't have the time or inclination, but I answered when this call came in so I could give the grinchy geese something to read -- and, hopefully, help everyone else by shedding some light on the source of calls from this number. After all, isn't that the whole purpose of the site?
Thank you for all of your investigation. I got a call this morning but did not answer and no message left. I don't ever answer a call if I don't know the caller and especially if caller I.d.
Shows "unavailable, no name etc.,". This time last of the year is full of solitations by phone or by mail" by mail you are given a choice of better judgement. Be aware of any calls with a area code of 895. Got two of those and there is no area code of 895 so if you answer no telling where your number is being logged on to if you know what I mean, might be any foreign country because the area code is a "spoof".