New Phone Scam Reported in County

For the second time in a month, Ventura County residents are being targeted by scam artists asking for donations in the name of police or firefighters.

In the latest scam, telephone solicitors are asking for donations for the Ventura County Professional Firefighters’ Assn.--which does not solicit money over the phone--and the California Firefighters’ Assn., which a local union official said does not exist.

Two weeks ago, east county residents were warned of a scheme in which telemarketers claimed to be soliciting money for a Moorpark police rodeo. No such rodeo exists, but at least 40 residents have reported getting the calls.

Gillian Herson, administrator for the Ventura County Professional Firefighters’ Assn., said union officials learned of the most recent scheme this week after several residents became suspicious and called the county Fire Department.

Residents were asked to donate money, sometimes as much as $100, to “keep the fire stations open” in the wake of budget cuts, Herson said. If they agreed, they were told to leave a donation under their doormat and someone would come by to pick it up immediately.

Other residents were asked to make a check out to the bogus California Firefighters’ Assn.

Herson said she has not heard from anyone who actually made a donation, but she suspects many cases have gone unreported.

“There must be a lot of people who left money or it wouldn’t be worth doing,” she said.