Police Department

Public Service Announcement

Ofc. John O'Brien, PIO

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 4:23 p.m.

Yesterday, a Spokane citizen called Crime Check to report an attempted fraud. She received a phone call from an unknown male asking for a donation to a fund benefiting law enforcement and families of fallen law enforcement.

It was reported the male’s voice sounded recorded and asked for the donation either by a mailed envelope or an immediate donation via credit card. The citizen told the caller to send the information to her address. She was immediately transferred to the alleged billing department where she was pressured to contribute by using her credit card.

Again, the citizen asked to have the information mailed to her prompting the caller to immediately hang up.

This is a great example of a community member questioning the authenticity of an individual, group or organization asking for donations. Fortunately she is not out any money, only some time.

The Spokane Police Department (SPD) will never call you to ask for monetary donations over the phone. SPD recommends never giving out personal information (bank and credit card info, PIN numbers, passwords or your social security number) over the phone to anyone seeking money.

If you receive a suspicious call asking for a donation and you aren’t familiar with the organization or can’t verify their authenticity, we ask you to report these incidents through Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

• Newer
• Older