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Police warn of police fundraising scam — then take it back

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The phone rings, and a sympathetic voice explains that the Police Association of Ontario really needs your donation to help underprivileged children.

Kind officers, little children. What could be lovelier?

Don’t reach for your credit card, Ottawa police warned on Tuesday morning.

Yup, another scam.

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Except that it isn’t.

The fundraising project by the Police Association of Ontario that Ottawa police initially deemed false is, as it turns out, a real fundraiser.

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Ottawa police had to retract their own statement released Tuesday morning warning that the police organization’s “Friendship Through Fishing” campaign was a fraud. Turns out that the donations are safe.

Police learned that after warning people away from the supposed scam earlier in the day.

Anyone who calls the number with a 613 area code will hear a recorded message identifying it as the police association’s office. Police originally said the message is bogus. Again, it’s not.

The “Friendship Through Fishing” program is a joint project by the Police Association of Ontario in collaboration with pro angler Bob Izumi, conservation group Fishing Forever and the Canadian Tire Corporation that “encourages youngsters to go fishing,” according to its website.

Ottawa police Sgt. Jamie Ritchie of the Organized Fraud Unit said there was a miscommunication between the department and the Police Association of Ontario that led local police to believe there was no fundraiser and that it must be a scam. But an unrelated call to the organization’s Toronto office on Tuesday revealed the fundraiser does indeed exist.

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“They realized that the phone calls here in Ottawa were in fact related to one of their fundraising activities.”

However, Ottawa police Sgt. Jamie Ritchie said it still ought to serve as a reminder to be vigilant about phone solicitors.

“There aren’t many phone solicitation campaigns these days that are legit. I just don’t think there are too many charities that do that these days, but there’s certainly lots of guys that try to scam your money from different schemes on the phone.”

But, just to reiterate, the Police Association of Ontario’s fundraiser — not one of them.

With files from Tom Spears

afeibel@ottawacitizen.com

Twitter.com/adamfeibel

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