LAKE COUNTY – When a Kelseyville resident recently got a call asking her to donate money to her local California Highway Patrol (CHP), she was skeptical. It”s not that she didn”t want to help, just that she was wary because of recent reports of scam artists targeting well-meaning people in numerous and creative ways to get at their hard-earned cash.
She was right, but the Clear Lake Area CHP is still investigating exactly why she was right, according to CHP officer Josh Dye.
“It appears that it may have been a legitimate charity,” said Dye, adding that the caller was misrepresenting who they were with for an unknown reason.
The unidentified Kelseyville woman told the CHP that she”d received a call from a person claiming to be a local CHP officer seeking donations for a charity. She later got an official-looking letter with instructions for where to send her donation, Dye said in a recent e-mail to the Record-Bee.
Her experience is similar to those of “numerous residents” around the state, according to a press release from the CHP Media Relations Office in Sacramento. Callers have apparently been asking for donations to the “American Association of State Troopers” to support its CHP members.
The American Association of State Troopers apparently agreed to stop using the CHP”s name in soliciting donations at the department”s written request in November, according to a Feb. 2, 2007 CHP press release.
Although the Kelseyville resident was not contacted by anyone claiming to be from the American Association of State Troopers, the CHP would like to set the record straight for anyone getting calls soliciting funds on its behalf.
“The CHP warns that these letters and calls are not from representatives of the California Highway Patrol or its retirees,” states the Feb. 2 CHP release.
The CHP does participate in some fund raising activities. Notable locally are the Tip-A-Cop and Torch Run fund raisers to support Lake County Special Olympics. “Those are face-to-face deals; we”re not going to call you out of the blue or mail you something,” said Dye.
“The CHP, its officers, its unions, our Widows and Orphans Fund and the 11-99 Foundation never solicit funds from the general public by phone, mail, Internet or in person,” said CHP Commissioner Mike Brown in the release. “If anyone contacts you claiming they represent CHP officers or their families and seek contributions, tell them no,” states Brown.
The 11-99 Foundation is a non-profit that helps CHP employees and their families in time of need, according to the CHP statement. It is named 11-99 for the radio code denoting “officer requiring help in an emergency.” More information about the foundation is available at www.chp11-99.org.
For more information about Tip-A-Cop, the Torch Run or other CHP fund raisers in the Clear Lake Area, call 279-0103.
“We appreciate the public”s desire to help our families in their time of need, but I want to emphasize that we are not and have not been soliciting funds,” said Commissioner Brown.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
