VERIFY – YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS, WE’LL FIND ANSWERS
A 9NEWS project to make sure what you’ve heard is true, accurate, verified. Want us to verify something for you? Email verify@9news.com
THE QUESTION
A viewer named Mindy emailed us about a suspicious fundraising call she got from a computerized voice claiming it was fundraising for the Colorado Police Officers Foundation.
She thought it sounded like a scam.
“They specifically ask ‘can we rely on your support’ awaiting a ‘yes’ answer,” Mindy wrote. “They also ask for your home address and credit card number.”
WHAT WE FOUND
We called the foundation’s Executive Director, Frank Gale, for answers.
He said it’s not a scam.
The company the foundation contracts with to make fundraising calls uses a computerized voice for its calls. Sometimes the program malfunctions and asks the same question twice or moves onto the next question without waiting for an answer.
“I already had a couple of calls today from people who received the call,” Gale said.
He acknowledges it’s been a problem, so the plan is to ask the company to only use human callers when the foundation’s contract comes up for renegotiation.
He also appreciated people’s caution.
“We did have one last year that was a scam, and we were able to provide that information,” Gale said.
If you’re not sure whether a fundraising call is legitimate, Gale said you can always call the charity or organization. And you can donate through the website.
The Colorado Police Officers Foundation raises money to help law enforcement officers and their families who are dealing with PTSD following a traumatic event or in need of other kinds of counseling. The organization also provides free child ID kits and community outreach.
