FAIRFIELD --This is the time of year when many of us get phone calls asking for a charitable donation, but it's important for you to know exactly where your money is going, so that you don't fall victim to a scams like others in the state.
Many people have been getting phone calls asking for donations to the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, it's a real organization that represents all the police departments in the state of Connecticut, but these recent phone calls never legitimate.
“We're not going to call the community members. We're not going to call people in the state of Connecticut asking for money. We don't do that. We've never done that and we don't plan on doing it,” said Chief Gary MacNamara with the Fairfield Police Department.
MacNamara said they've been getting inquiries. “We received calls this morning from several people indicating that they were receiving calls from somebody representing themselves to be either members of, or representing, the Connecticut police chiefs association,” MacNamara said.
In those phone calls people request money to support operations the Connecticut police chiefs association is responsible for.
“We are not actively soliciting although we certainly have opportunities for people if they want to contribute to some of our initiatives that we are doing.”
MacNamara said people may be falling victim to these calls especially during this time of the year.
MacNamara said the reason most people decide to impersonate this organization is because, “Who will doubt if the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association calls up looking for money it's very hard to doubt that.”
You can report the phone call, but Chief McNamara says the callers are notoriously difficult to track down. It's best to avoid falling victim, by spotting the scam, and hanging up.
