What People Are Doing Wrong This Week: Police Benevolent Association Calls Out

You’ve probably gotten a call like this a dozen times: an authoritative voice announces, “I’m calling on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police [YOUR CITY]…” followed by a touching plea for donations to help families. injured or killed police officers or firefighters, as well as the government’s offer of special respect in exchange for money.

Many Americans love and respect the police, so they donate to show their support, help the families of slain officers, or in hopes of avoiding traffic tickets. Others are afraid of the police or feel they have some kind of obligation. Regardless of why people donate, gifts to such “charities” are a scam.

Few telemarketing operations are good, but especially egregious are the people who make money by appealing to the better angels of law-abiding citizens. They are especially difficult to stop: they often cooperate with police associations, and no one wants to attack police officers.

Lies about police and fire charity programs

Boiler room one-day telemarketing operations, usually after striking a deal with local or state police and fraternal firefighter organizations, target clueless people using tactics that fall just short of outright scamming – and they can be very convincing if you don’t know. what to pay attention to. For. Here are some of the many lies behind these morally bankrupt schemes.

You’re not talking to the cop

Despite the practiced “cop voice,” the person who called during dinner is not a law enforcement officer. They are telemarketers, and usually their only connection to the authorities is that the telemarketing company they work for has paid the police or fire organization to use their name.

According to Max from the Telemarketers docuseries, these companies don’t mind hiring ex-convicts, so you’re actually more likely to talk to an ex-con than a cop. That’s if you’re talking to a person at all—recently, telemarketing firms have started using recorded voices and soundboards to make calls instead of people.

LEO fraternal or charitable organizations are typically organized as 501(c)(3) corporations, i.e. tax-exempt charities. Charities can legally outsource fundraising to third parties, but to avoid outright fraud, telemarketers cannot impersonate officers or lie to get money. Although they may come close. This is why the advertising phrase usually goes something like this: “I am calling on behalf of” a fraternal organization, rather than “I am calling from” that organization. That’s why they try so hard to look like cops without saying they’re cops. If you ask, “Are you a police officer?” legally they can’t say yes, but sometimes they do it anyway.

In recent years, some scammers have organized themselves into PACs (political action committees). A PAC can solicit donations like a charity, but the FTC doesn’t oversee it like a charity, so they have little oversight—they don’t even have to comply with do-not-call lists . These ” rogue PACs ” operate in a legally murky gray area where protecting political speech meets fraud. While scam PACs may have names like “Support the Police and Sheriff’s Coalition,” they don’t need an agreement with an actual law enforcement agency to ask for tax-deductible donations, and none of these organizations have suffered legal consequences for employees. They also falsely identified themselves as police officers. In short: no matter what they tell you on the phone, local police do not call from the station to collect funds.

In any case, it’s unlikely that any money you donate will go to police officers or firefighters.

Fraternal organizations that hire telemarketing companies typically have already been paid. They typically accept a flat fee from call center agents for using their name, provided they return a small percentage of donations received. Almost all the money donated under these schemes stays with the call center owners. They don’t keep 100%—some of the money has to go back to the charity to keep it legal—but the amount that goes back to the parent organization may be as little as 10% (or nothing if they’re a PAC ).

Money police charities receive may not go where promised

Raising money for the widows and children of police officers killed or injured in the line of duty is a time-tested method of raising money, but even though telemarketers often name real officers who have been injured or killed on their sites, the amount of money that they collect is very large. sent to them or their families can only be a sign of preserving the rule of law. For example, before the FTC shutdown , the Police and Sheriffs’ Fund for the Disabled raised $9.9 million through telemarketing, nearly 95% of which went to the organization’s director and his hired fundraisers.

The sticker doesn’t mean anything

While there are actual window stickers and ” greeting cards ” that allow you to get better treatment from the police (which is a bit of a scam), they are usually given out to family members and friends, not you. The stickers you receive in the mail for donating to a fundraising company are unlikely to matter to a police officer for any reason. But if you really want one, there’s nothing stopping you from getting the image on Google , printing it out on sticker paper, and sticking it on your car.

In any case, the United States should have a system of equal justice, so paying money to police officers will not make them treat you with any particular courtesy or respect. However, not everyone understands this concept. Among the many outrageous details in the Max’s Telemarketers series is that the victims of police and fire telemarketing schemes are often new immigrants to the United States who own small businesses. They seem to donate because they believe the cops won’t help them unless they pay – like a racket with no threats or any protection.

Police and firefighters don’t work for donations (and they don’t really need your money)

Almost all police officers and firefighters are members of powerful unions, receive competitive salaries, and enjoy generous benefits packages provided by you, the taxpayers. They do not work for donations or tips.

Although it varies by location, law enforcement and firefighters typically receive free life insurance. Widows and children of slain security forces also typically receive lifetime survivor pensions, subsidies for health insurance and more.

What to do if you receive a phone call from a salesperson on behalf of law enforcement agencies

If any salesperson calls you on the phone, you should immediately hang up and continue with your day.

To be fair, many police and fire charities and charitable associations (especially large ones) do not fundraise through telemarketing—many even warn against telemarketing on their Facebook pages. Instead, they raise money in other ways, like hosting pancake breakfasts or fentany smuggling , so if you want to donate to the PBA or local fire department, Google it, check the legitimacy of the charity navigator , and contact them directly. I’m sure they’ll be happy to accept your donation (but they may not send you a window sticker).