SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — They’re back with their bogus calls.

Viewers are asking NewsChannel 9, are those police union donation calls they’ve been getting a scam?

During the dinner hour, Victoria Buskey-Reisdorf got a call from a 315 number, claiming to be from a police union.

“They said, ‘all you have to give is 20 dollars’ and I said, ‘well I really can’t do it, but I’m sorry, I wish you the best of luck’,” said Buskey-Reisdorf.

But it didn’t end there.

“‘If you give us 25 to 35 dollars you’ll get some things from us’ and I said, ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t give any more money,’ he started speaking again and I just hung up the phone and contacted you guys,” Buskey-Reisdorf continued.

So, NewsChannel 9 put Manlius Police Sergeant Ken Hatter on the case.

“So, this is the number I was provided 315-259-6769,” said Sergeant Hatter. “This is a basic website search. Literally just putting the phone number in and searching and this says this is a Fake Police Charity Robocall, do not answer.”

Sergeant Hatter says the number comes back to a VOIP or a voice-over-internet protocol phone number and it’s not registered to an actual business.

“When you do further reverse number searches and online searches you can see that the number does flag as a scam,” said Sergeant Hatter. “In this particular case, this is not someone that’s representing any police agency it’s just a scam.”

The pitches may sound professional, but their pressure tactics are a huge clue that they’re not.

“Especially like a PBA representative or a company representing a police department, PBA is not going to force you to donate money or make you feel obligated or shame you into donating,” said Sergeant Hatter.

Buskee-Reisdorf feels even better now about hanging up.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe all the information you found out for me 4:19>
these people,” she said.

Buskee-Reisdorf hopes that this experience helps at least one person if not many more.

Some police departments will hire an outside company to send out mailers on their behalf for donations. All it takes is a quick phone call to your police to find out if it’s legit.