Do you have charities calling you up asking for donations? Unsure of whether it's a worthy cause or just a scam? Our host, a former financial fraud detective, tells you how to know the difference, plus recommends the top 10 police charities!
The Steve Warneke Show also got a call from one of 850 WFTL loyal listeners, Constantine, who reported that she had been contacted by a police department via phone to make a donation and wasn't sure whether it was legitimate or if someone was taking advantage of her.
Having spent several years in the past as a financial crimes detective, Your Detective of the Air and host, Steve Warneke, was ready for this one!
We were able to locate a recent scam in the West Palm Beach, Constantine's hometown, where someone was posing as the police department.
Steve informed listeners that as far as we are aware police departments DO NOT SOLICIT MONEY BY PHONE. There are some organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) who do engage in phone solicitation for donations. For instance, the Davie FOP, do in fact contract with J&G of South Florida to conduct telephone solicitations to help raise money.
The Davie FOP uses donation money to support charitable community projects, such as Concerns of Police Survivors, Special Olympics, Youth Athletic programs, Davie Police Athletic League, college scholarships to local students, and other local programs. In addition, proceeds are also used to benefit families of fallen officers, our local law enforcement community, local businesses, and the community.
If you're ever in doubt, Steve advised listeners to ask the charity for their tax ID number, website, and callback number, then do some research! You can then verify the tax ID number matches the organization. Then, look up the organization and see if the website and phone number match what was given to you.
Or to avoid any question of trouble, take the initiative and just simply google charities you believe in and want to be involved in and donate to those instead!
As a regular contributor to Police One's online blog, Steve found a list of the top 10 recommended police charities you could donate to if you're interested!
If you haven't already, or need more information, listen to the recorded show HERE!
AND IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT YOU WANT STEVE TO INVESTIGATE, SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE!
IF YOU ARE A TRUSTED BUSINESS, APPLY HERE TO BE ON STEVE'S TEAM OF EXPERTS!
Until next time..!
The Steve Warneke Show is LIVE SATURDAYS at 10AM EST to 850 WFTL on your South Florida AM dial or you can stream live during the show at www.850wftl.com.