877-343-2477

I got a call from the Police Protective Fund at P.O. Box 4590 Springfield, Illinois 62708 for a donation
toward fallen officers. They show an ID tax# 74-2864446. I can not find any information on this
organization on whether it is a legal organization or a scam.

Got a phone call and have made out a check for $15.  Caller was Police Protective fund.  I have donated in past but, thanks to you, will void check.  Now will work to get my name and number out of their data base.

got a call from the "Police Protective Fund" again this year.  They talk and act as if they know you and "count on your continued support again this year".  The claim to give this money to families that have lost their police officers (mother or father) in the line of duty.  But when you look up this agency on the internet,there are lots of complaints and allegations against them.  Plus, even the SJ-R in Springfield has several complaints recorded from Police Beat warning of the scam.  They may be a legal group but according to some of the allegation they only give a very small amount of the donations to families of fallen police officers.

This is a scam tele fundraiser for it would seem multiple charities that are questionable themselves. However, in most states they must start their pitch by saying

"Hello, my name is (full name of fundraiser registered with the SOS or AG) and I am a paid fundraiser with (full name of fundraising company registered with AG or SOS) and I am calling "on behalf" of (full name of charity registered with AG or SOS)

If they do not do this and they claim to be members of the group they are raising money for then they are committing fraud against the donor. It is considered in some States to be "Obtaining Money By False Pretenses" and in others it is considered "Theft By Deception" and still other States considered it to be "Larceny". But no matter what you call it it is stealing from the Donor. In some cases when they get caught they are fined as much as 40 grand per call. I read our States Charitable Solicitation's Act and it looks like very few of these companies are raising money according to the Law's of our State and I will bet that if you read your States Charitable Solicitation Act you will find the same to be true.

When they claim to be a member of the group they are raising money for, as this company is doing, it is damaging all other charities that do not use so called "Professional Fundraiser's" to raise money. They all know this but they continue to steal from "us" the donating public. Fundraiser's like this must be put out of business as they lie to the donor and they do this because some of these so called fundraisers get to keep as much as 99% of the money they collect and they use that money to call us over and over again to ask us for more money that they can use to call us over and over again. If you want to give money to charity then the best way is to hang up on the tele fundraiser committing fraud and search out the charity yourself.

This company seems to be calling for Police Fire and Veteran's groups as well as medical and children's groups. All of which are wasting the bulk of your donation on fundraising and administrative costs like salary's for the charity officials. You can find out more about this scam group at http://www.pfcl.org/

They are the people whose information took out the United States Navy Veterans Association that stole 99.6 million in donations last year. They were also behind the demise of Civic Development Group out of NJ and the FTC's Operation False Charity in 2009 Nationwide based on their book "The Fraud Happen's In The First 8 Word's" which was sent out to all AG's and SOS's. They say they have contacts with the AG's, SOS's ,DHS, FTC, DOJ, FCC and Secret Service across the Country and their tips have been used in some of the largest Charity Fraud investigation's Nationwide as well as other Countries.  You can also find their book called "What The Fundraiser's Say" at a link on their site. They say they are a Church Group and they say this is the Mission of this Church to protect donations going to Police Fire Veteran Medical and Children's Charities. That book is a real eye opener made up of comments by the people calling you. After reading it, I will sure never make a donation over the phone again to any group that use so called "Professional Fundraiser's" that operate outside of the law and use illegal techniques to steal money from little sick kids or cops or firefighters or anyone else who really needs it.

Anyway, the long and short of it is, GIVE DIRECTLY AND CUT OUT MIDDLEMAN COMPANIES THAT CALL YOU!

Oh btw, the do not call list DOES apply to Professional Fundraiser's. Now if the charity actually picked up the phone and called then, yes, they are exempt from the DNC, but that is not what is happening here with this caller. This caller is Corporations for Character out of Murry Utah calling on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police and the FTC just sued them for 26.4 billion dollars worth of DNC violations. That is 16 million violations at 16 thousand dollars each.

The FOP is a good group for the most part but they need to do their own fundraising instead of contracting a company like this one to raise money. So, if you want to help the cops or the FOP, dont do it over the phone and send your check right to your local lodge. They get every dollar of it that way, instead of some telemarketer taking 85% or more of every dollar.

Here is the FTC press release about this company

For Release: 05/09/2011
FTC Charges Utah Operation with Deceptive and Abusive Telemarketing
Defendants Allegedly Made 16 Million Calls to Numbers on the Do Not Call Registry; Misrepresented How Funds Would Be Used
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice today filed a complaint that charges three Utah-based firms and their owner with waging deceptive and illegal telemarketing campaigns pitching movies and soliciting for donations, including calls to more than 16 million phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.

The FTC charged that the companies and their owner, Forrest S. Baker III, committed multiple violations of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and deceived customers about where the proceeds from their purchases and their donations would go.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Baker controls a group of Utah-based companies that produce and market films and DVDs and solicit charitable contributions from consumers nationwide, including Feature Films for Families, Inc., Corporations for Character, L.C., and Family Films of Utah.

The complaint states that in 2008 and 2009 the defendants conducted a nationwide calling campaign under the name “Kids First,” in which they offered to send two complimentary DVDs and requested feedback on whether the movies should be included on a list of recommended movies. However, the defendants did not disclose that consumers who agreed to participate would later receive calls pitching DVDs produced by the defendants.

Moreover, the defendants’ telemarketers allegedly told consumers that “all of the proceeds of this fundraiser will help us finish up creating this recommended viewing list to help parents and grandparents, like us, with a list we can trust.” In fact, the organization responsible for the Kids First recommended viewing list, the Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, did not receive all the proceeds. The complaint alleges that the defendants received at least 93 percent of the DVD sales proceeds.

The FTC also alleges that, between 2009 and 2010, the defendants conducted fundraising campaigns for organizations with names related to fraternal orders of police (FOPs) and firefighters. The defendants receive most of the donations raised by these campaigns, and the organizations retain only 15 to 33 percent.

The Commission alleges that, in order to persuade donors to give money, the defendants made multiple false and misleading misrepresentations about the nature or purpose of the organizations for which the defendants requested donations, the way in which charitable contributions will be used, and the percentage or amount of any charitable contribution that will go to an organization. For example, the complaint alleges that the defendants falsely represented to donors that administrative costs are a “very minimal amount” and that contributions were used or would be used for safety-related officer training, bulletproof vests, or financial assistance to victims when, in fact, the organization for which the defendants were soliciting did not fund these activities, or used only an incidental amount of the contributions for such activities.

The FTC’s complaint also alleges that the defendants have repeatedly called numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry in their telemarketing campaigns. In calls made under the name Kids First, the FTC alleges, the defendants made more than five million calls to consumers whose numbers were on the Registry. The complaint further charges that, since June 2007, the defendants have made approximately nine million additional illegal telemarketing calls to phone numbers that are on the Do Not Call Registry to sell Feature Films for Families DVDs.

The FTC alleges that in another calling campaign in 2009, the defendants called consumers to urge them to buy tickets to see “The Velveteen Rabbit,” a film produced by Baker and released in theaters before going to DVD. The FTC complaint alleges that the defendants’ telemarketers made no effort to avoid calling consumers on the Do Not Call Registry. During this two-week campaign, the defendants called more than two-and-a-half-million consumers whose numbers were on the Do Not Call Registry.

In addition, the complaint charges that the defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule by:

calling consumers who have previously asked that the defendants stop calling them;
failing to provide the name of the telemarketer or seller making the call to Caller ID devices and, instead, providing names such as “CUSTOMER SVC,” “FAMILY VALUE CB” or “VELVETEEN”;
failing to orally identify the seller, the purpose of the call, and the nature of the goods or services when making telemarketing calls; and
abandoning calls to consumers by failing to connect consumers to live representatives when they answer the phone. In many cases, such abandoned calls lead to the recipients listening to “dead air” when they answer the call.
The Commission vote referring the complaint to the Department of Justice was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District for the Northern District of Florida. It names as defendants Feature Films for Families, Inc.; Corporations for Character, L.C.; Family Films of Utah, Inc.; and Forrest Sandusky Baker III, individually and as an owner and principal of Feature Films for Families, Inc., Corporations for Character, L.C., and Family Films of Utah, Inc.

The complaint, filed by the Department of Justice at the request of the FTC, seeks a court order to permanently bar the defendants from violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, as well as civil penalties, and disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains.

NOTE: The Commission approves a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.
The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call
1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. “Like” the FTC on Facebook and “follow” us on Twitter.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Mitchell J. Katz,
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2161
STAFF CONTACT:
Michael Tankersley,
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-2991
(FTC File No. 1023023; Civ. No. 11-197)
(Feature Films.final.wpd)

And here is the case link
http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/1023023/110506featurefilmscmpt.pdf



Plenty of info at www.pfcl.org

I got a call from these guys, and they specifically told me that 100% of my donation went to fallen officers families and that he (the caller) was not a telemarketer.  I asked him about this later in the call and again he repeated this same information (not a telemarketer, 100% of donation goes to charity).  Seems like there must be some law against giving false information like this.

Anyway, after doing some research it appears that this is a long time scam (or technically a "charity" fundraiser where something like 2% of their intake goes to the actual charity they claim to support).  The address they sent me on the return envelope was PO Box 670, Richmond, VA 23218.

See also  877-493-2200, looks like the same guys with a different number.

This phone call appeared legit until they started asking for my credit card numbers. I told them I don't give out my numbers over the phone. Then they asked if my contribution would be made by check. When they asked for my bank numbers at the bottom of my check, bells went off. Felt that was a huge red flag!

Regardless of the precautions you may have taken to protect your phone number, when you dial an "800" number (any toll free number), your own number is revealed to the party you are calling because, according to Verizon, the owner of the 800 number is paying for it. Never call an 800 number unless you know who they are and you trust them.

The name does not come up as Police Protective Fund. Nothing shows on caller ID. They say they are from Police Protective Services. Can find no information on them.

Watch out for these frauds...

Just got ANOTHER call from these people--they come almost daily--they use lots of different numbers but it is always Police Protective Fund--our Caller ID did not identify them, but we screen all calls from "toll-free" numbers and do not answer them:  As we listened, the voice was mocking, rude, and abusive, then they hung up.   Why can't the FTC stop them and have no clout--what good is the DO NOT CALL REGISTRY if it does not work??

I just got a trace result that placed this area code in Russia, specifically the "Republic of Adygea." Another result said it was an area code reserved for companies to use for telemarketing. One thing is for sure--it isn't legitimate.

Just got a call from these guys too. Apparently, after applying for an LLC in Florida, my contact info was sold to these creeps. They called like they were my best friends, wanted to RENEW my donation, knew some personal info like my home address. Good talker!  I told him to send me something in the mail and hung up.

Just one of the thousands of scam charity organizations who pester hard working citizens at this time of the year to try to elicit cash!!

These guys give worthy charitable organizations a bad name.

If you have money you want to donate to a good cause then send it to that cause so they get 100% benefit.  These middle men are only obliged to pass on 16%, that is of course if they are legitimate!

I keep receiving calls from this number.  Initially I answered the phone and was suspicious so asked them to mail me the information.  When I received it I checked this site again and discovered it was a scam so I wrote them and asked them to remove my information from their calling list.  It still keeps coming.  I also have my land phone and cell phone listed  with opt/out so they should not be calling me.  I would like to know how to stop it.  Thank you.

It's a scam!  Police Protective Fund also calls me on 954-689 0539. Called before Christmas asking me to donate to a fund "for the children of fallen police officers" for their Christmas.  I didn't donate and I told him I would check out their organization to see if they were legit.  NOT!!! They have called me many times since then on a regular basis, but I don't answer.  I don't know how to block their number on my home phone.

I got so tired of calls like this one, that I bought a set of Panasonic cordless phones that allow me to block up to 250 numbers. I'm up to 84 numbers blocked!

I did not pick up and the caller did not leave any message. I am afraid of any 800 or such toll free numbers showing as "unknown". on caller ID.

Keep receiving calls from 1-877-343-2477.
They won't say why they are calling and hang up.
Try calling back and all it does is ring. ring, and ring.
Older man says he is Andre, that it's not important.
I am very sick of these calls.
How can we stop these scams.
Don't give them any information.

When a caller  asks  you  to  donate  money,  Ask  for  their  organization's  name  and  EIN  number.   Then  go  to  the  irs  . gov  and  look  them  up.   If  their  legit,  they'll  be  there.
If  they  refuse  to  give  their  EIN  number,  then  they  are  possibly  a  fraud  agency.

These people keep calling.  We do not to hear from them anymor.