HOAX CALLS CLAIM TO BACK LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Lancaster residents and businesses have been getting telephone calls requesting donations for a police and sheriff's organization, but Sheriff's Department officials say the charity is bogus.

A dozen people in two days have reported getting the phone solicitations and deciding they were suspicious, sheriff's officials said.

``For every call that we get, there's probably one or two people actually giving (money) to them,'' said Lancaster sheriff's station Community Services Officer Micah Currado.

The solicitations came from a man who identified himself as Dave Wilcox and said he was a sheriff's deputy, officials said. In most of the cases he said he was trying to raise money for a ``police and sheriff's yearbook,'' which according to officials doesn't exist.

In other cases he called local businesses and said that he was trying to sell advertising space for the yearbook.

The man tried to obtain credit card or bank account information for the donation and promised to send businesses a decal that they could place in their window to show their support for law enforcement.

The caller also provides an 800 number, but when calls were placed to that number, they did not go through.

Such telephone scams are becoming more and more common, but it is rare for a scam to focus so heavily on one community, officials said.

``It's fairly rare that we'll have someone that's canvassing an area with this type of frequency,'' Currado said. ``This guy's probably preying on the fact that the Antelope Valley is conservative and very pro-law enforcement.''

Officials have released some tips to avoid becoming a victim of telemarketing fraud:

--If a caller claims that the charity will support local law enforcement, call the local sheriff's station to verify the information.

--Check to see if the charity is valid by visiting Web sites that include www.guidestar.org, www.give.org, or www.charitywatch.org or by calling at [phone] or [phone].

--If donations are made, pay by check and not cash or credit card.

--Refuse to give a donation to a courier or delivery service.

--Request written information and ask for a callback number.

Sheriff's officials have asked that anyone who has received a suspicious call or has any information about the caller to contact Currado at [phone]. Residents can also call the Federal Trade Commission at (877) FTC-HELP.