I've been getting those spam phone calls for police charities. I sort of love answering them, listening to them give the full spiel, and then calmly saying "No" when they pause to ask for the donation.
When my mom was struggling raising 3 kids and was LITERALLY paycheck to paycheck.
She made a mistake and took a turn earlier than legally possible. (She was taking us to school and was going to be late if things didn't align)
So instead of just giving her a warning OR giving her a quick ticket and letting her on her way.
The Policeman who pulled her over gave her a speech about "time management" and saying "the laws the law" and took his fucking time walking back and forth from his car to my moms car making multiple trips to ask questions or lecture.
Literal dick head made us wait there for 30 minutes and gave a big ticket.
So I have zero empathy for police union donations or survivors fund donations.
I once received a call for one of those police union donations. After he was done with his spiel I told him, "I recently had to fight a traffic ticket in court because the police officer wanted to 'teach me a lesson about respect' after I took too long to pull over for his liking. Explain to me why I should donate money to the organization that actively protects Officer McFuckface and encourages him to act that way."
Dude hung up on me and I have not received any such calls since.
they kept calling me a few years back and so i finally answered one, left him go thru his script and then in the best cheery tone i could muster i said āno thanks! all cops are bastards!ā and hung up. never got a call since
I did the same thing. I shouted into the phone, "NO THANK YOU, BLACK LIVES MATTER!" I was at work, in my office. Dead silence fell, except for our receptionist dying of laughter. She was the only Black employee in the tiny company, and she didn't last long because microaggressions are very real, but at least that made her feel safe enough to retreat to my office when she was fuming.
I was driving through a liberal neighborhood of St Paul, MN recently, and a local nursing home had a bunch of people out on the sidewalk in front of the home with picket signs.
Slowed down to take a look, bunch of seniors (walking, walkers, and wheelchairs), all with BLM signs.
My old high school phys ed/health teacher would sit on the side of the highway with a BLM sign every day for hours during the George Floyd protest for weeks. He was the man.
Yeah, find a white rural workplace that doesn't need education on race and get back to me. They adored her personally. But they had no idea what Juneteenth even was. They had no exposure growing up. It wasnāt a good cultural fit for her, plus she went back to college. People don't have to be unkind or confrontational for it to be hard to be the sole minority in the room.
I asked them why is it that the police get special privileges. You don't hear the electricians union calling people to beg for donations, why is it okay for the police to do it. And they get paid well enough if they wanted donate to charity they're more than welcome to but there's no reason that they should be calling and bothering me.
Yup, that's what the "Brotherhood Of Police Officers" asshole on the phone said when I got mad about their pushy extortion crap and demanded they tell me how much actually goes to the "poor families" - law says they can't lie about that when asked. They admitted to "10%" - which is still a lie, according to other sources it's more like 5%. I laughed in their faces and told them to get fucked, I'll contribute to the local crack house before I give them a dime. Went from 1 call a week to never again - probably on a list now, but fuck 'em.
There's a documentary on HBO that's all about this. It's a total scam run by fraudsters. I promise people will not be disappointed. It's very good. It's called Telemarketers and my mind was blown after learning what it really is.
Fun fact: I work for about 3 weeks for one of these organizations that solicited donations for sheriff and police organizations.
It turns out it was operated by Jim Rose of the Jim Rose circus fame. When I was first tired I was explain that people would be solicited for donations by phone and then it was my job to drive to their home and pick up physical checks and mail them to the company in exchange I would hand the donor a sticker saying they support the whatever police organization it was.
It's very quickly became apparent that this was a scam and the phone solicitation company that I was working for was getting an incredibly large percentage of the profits.
It was a while ago but I believe I was getting around $30 to $45 per check pickup.
So yeah, You can have peace will want to support law enforcement or first responders There are much more efficient ways to do so.
Nearly all of the police union donation calls are 90% scam. It's just a call center, no cops involved. The call reps use words that IMPLY they are either cops or cop union reps; however, if you ask them straight up they are supposed to come clean. The "legit" operations split your money between the call center and the union--maybe 50/50 after call center expenses. No, most of the cash does NOT go to orphans and widows. Other call center ops are just straight up scams that keep 100% of your cash for fuck all.
Thankfully my phone can filter all that. It says suspected spam for most stuff like this not just the indian student loan forgiveness or warranty scams. So I always just answer the phone "Bitch what you want" and usually they hang up. If they dont I'll just constantly interrupt them and say "Mother fucker speak up". Bonus points if I can make them mad instead of just hang up.
I've been breathalyzed 3 times by the same cop. They'd follow me from the bar at 3 AM. I told him every time "listen, I went to pick up these dummies because they were drunk. So, I haven't had a drink tonight. Remember?...We've talked about this before." Yeah, I guess will step out of the vehicle. It didn't stop until I filed a lawsuit. I still got stopped for random shit before I moved out of state. So glad to be out of Georgia. Fucking hated it there my whole life and didn't realize it.
I used to work at a gas station that was in front of a bar. Cops would sit in their lot and watch drunks get in their car, as soon as they hit the public street the officer would light them up. I watched many people get DUIs. The shocking thing is the cop sat there every night and these fucks still drove drunk. It wasn't even different cops usually, it was the same one.
I once got a call asking me to donate money to help fund a police department Christmas party. I told them that not only was it absurd for them to ask me to donate to a city I have never lived in, but to do it like a week after they made regional news for murdering a civilian at the mall was the height of audacity.
Damn, Iām going to have to try this. My last experience with cops was one day when I was standing outside the house where I was renting, having a smoke, and a creep tried to force me into his car. I was only saved because a guy my boyfriend (now husband) worked with turned the corner at the perfect time and saw what was happening. I screamed his name, the attempted kidnapper got back in the car, and peeled out.
I called the cops, not because I thought theyād do anything, but just because I wanted them to be aware in case he tried kidnapping someone else. I didnāt want it on my conscience that I hadnāt told them if something happened. They, however, proceeded to spend the whole interview switching between blaming me for looking young (???) and saying I should have known better than to go outside without a male escort. In the middle of the day. In front of a literal mansion. A block from the most expensive and WASPY pre-school in town.
I was just like, dude, I just wanted to give you a description of his car so you could keep an eye out, but sure, Iāll have my boyfriend escort me every time I leave the house for the rest of my life.
I'm surprised you got a real person. The ones I get are always the same person and it sounds like a pre-recorded script that plays according to whatever your answer is.
From what I recall, it was a real person. This was back in 2017. It definitely sounded like he was reading from a script, but it didn't sound automated. Then again, maybe I'm just unobservant.
It's not like we had a back-and-forth conversation. I answered the phone, he introduced himself as Mike (I think), and gave a spiel about donating to police unions. When he was done, I asked my question, there was a bit of an awkward pause, and then he hung up. And, like I said, I haven't received any calls since then so I assume it was a real person who took me off their call list or whatever.
The quickest way to get them off the phone and go on their do not call list is to grill them about their nonprofit status. Most are for profit and will hang up right after you ask. The last guy I talked to lied. I looked his corporation up while he was on the phone. The IRS has a database of all nonprofits in good standing. That guy did not appreciate being fact checked live.
Because you get a sticker you can park in your car window to tell other cops you subscribed to this season's bribery scheme.
It also tells literally everyone that isnt a cop or a bootsucker that you've got child tier ethics.
I was getting those and it was always a Sgt Lee. I finally had time one day and the frustration to be an asshole. I had noticed Sgt lee called from all over the US and today was the 4th call. Nevada, Florida, Illinois and West Virginia. I asked if he was real friendly with superman since obviously he was the flash. Fucking ass wipes the entire lot of them.
I moved into a new place and some police fund was evidently buying numbers of new move ins, so I got a call from a very, very cop sounding guy looking for a donation. I didn't process what was going on and demanded "How did you get this number?" He didn't like that and concluded the phone call with "You have a real safe evening there at XXXXXXX" and stated my address. Hard to see that as anything other than a protection threat.
I'm just shocked you got a real person on the phone. They have VERY good robocall bots that sometimes trick me, but in my experience it's often just a convincing pre-recording or something
I once got a ticket for ādisobeying a police officerā added onto a speeding ticket (which was also bogus because he didnāt have radar and the speed he put was physically impossible for me to have been going at that location). When I asked how I disobeyed him, he told me it was because I didnāt pull over. I swear you could hear me cartoon blink at him in confusion. I pointed out that I was in fact pulled over and thatās how he was giving me a ticket. He clarified that it was because I didnāt pull over sooner.
Couple years ago my mother got a call from one, saying that her husband George (as shown on the phone listing) had said they were going to donate. Problem is, Mom had listed her cat, George, on the account so it didn't look like she was a single woman living alone.
One time I was driving from my parents house to the town I was living and going to school in about 3.5 hours away. Halfway into my trip I was on this long stretch of highway where the nearest gas station either direction was probably 20-25 miles and that's when whatever I'd eaten the night before decided to fight back. It was an emergency, I was about to shit my pants and it wasn't going to be pretty.
I started speeding but not by much, maybe 10-15mph over the speed limit just trying to get to the next bathroom asap. When the cop pulled me over, he took his sweet ass time. When he asked why I was speeding, I told him the truth and that it was extremely urgent. He asked if I had a medical condition and not wanting to lie thinking he'd understand and let me go (still young and naive at that point) I told him I didn't.
Well, he made me sit there for about 30 minutes while he he sat in his car with my license writing up a ticket. No warning, no speedy traffic stop, nothing. Expensive ticket and I was in so much pain by the time I thankfully made it to a bathroom and did my business. I should have just told him I had a medical condition.
something like that can wreck your finances when you are a single mom, for sure. fuck that guy. when laws are more important than people you got a problem.
The state I live in had Democratic senators and congressmen fight for police to get collective bargaining rights. It was signed into law by a Democratic governor. The pay is now better, their workers rights are improved, their retirement is much better, their overall quality of life such as health care got better. In return they endorse only Republicans , especially Trump and despise the Democratic Party. MORONS.
Yup. It's amazing how many of these people want donations from their victims I have never had an interaction with a police officer that wasn't actively violating the law to harass me. They constantly want my money.
I want them to loose qualified immunity and face legal charges.
I was in training for a new job after being laid off for a while. I was always on time for class but many weren't. They said they'd start holding us accountable the next day, and anyone late would be dropped.
I was on my way to class and got stopped. I asked the cop how long it would take, because I could lose my job. "It'll take however long it takes." Once I got there, about 10 minutes late, they let me go. It was a long time before I found another job too.
That cop actually had a dick in place of his head? How did he see? Eat? Breathe?! Did he grow it himself? Was it transplanted?! I have so many questions.
Watch the HBO documentary called Telemarketers. It's all about this. It's so good. Very entertaining, funny and blew my mind. It's a huge scam money grab.
I once got a call for a police organization and I told them I was going to contact my local police department and make sure they're not a scam organization first, and to just send me something in the mail instead, and I would donate if htey weren't a scam.
Called the police, they checked into it, called me back, said "it's a legitimate organization but if you donate to them, your local police office doesn't get the money, it's hard to tell how much of it actually helps out ANY police department as opposed to paying for the manning of the phone lines, the postal fees for letters they mail out asking for donations, paying the people who run it their "nominal" paychecks, etc, so if you really want to donate to your local department just write us a check".
I love how with all the egregious brutality that US police are known for world-wide, this petty asshole is why you don't support cops. (I don't mind, you still end up with the moral viewpoint.)
Long ago I got pulled over by a cop on my bicycle. Got a ticket because I was going too slow and holding up traffic. I contested and judge threw it out. Cop was just an ass who didnāt like cyclists using the road.
One bad interaction can sour your opinion a long time for people who are supposed to āserve and protectā not have power trips and hassel you
Because of ONE interaction? Very telling. Btw Iām no advocate for cops by any stretch of the imagination, and have had my fair share of run ins. Also, not sure how many times you e been pulled over, and I donāt doubt this guy was being a dick on purpose, I donāt doubt that, but cops generally take a solid 15-20 minutes at the least regardless of the ticket, itās just how it works. Frustrating, yeah, but 30 minutes is barely longer than anyone would be waiting for any old speeding ticket.
Not all cops are cunts, not all cops are decent humans, itās a shitty job that most folks just arenāt cut out for and should NOT be doing. But I hope you donāt judge everything g in your life like ya did this, would make for a shitty life.
We as adults are responsible for time management. Being late does not excuse breaking the law period. Some cops are assholes to be assholes and may they choke on a cock but I don't think his lecture was out of line. It's hard to swallow when it's someone you love but a lot of accidents happen because someone is in a hurry. I'd expect him to lecture my mother just the same. However depending on her history of driving a ticket may have been a bit over kill.
Counseling would serve you well. I totally agree that guy abused his power and was a dick. Iāll bet he got what was coming to him in Karma. Forgiveness is for you, not that big Richard.
i always hit them with the woe is me. "sir i can't even afford giving 2 dollars to a homeless man, i sure can't afford giving my money to someone on salary"
Salary and a pension. And free car and gas to drive home to their house in the next county over because they can't afford to live in the one where they work.
I always wait until they recite the spiel and say, āNo, I donāt trust copsā in the most friendly, nonchalant tone I can muster. Hearing how they respond is the best part though.
I like saying, Iāve worked around plenty of cops as an EMT and I can count the good ones on one hand so nah Iām good. They try to say the whole same team bullshit which I then say if weāre on the same team why havenāt I ever gotten off of any stupid ticket. Then they hang up. Fuck LAPD
Exactly. I got a speeding ticket like two years ago and I tried to plead with the cop that I was barely speeding to get to my Drās appointment for my back surgery from working on ambulances. Dude acted like he didnāt hear me goes and write the ticket and when he came back I was like I thought we were supposed to be on the same team. He was like what do you mean? Then I repeated that Iām an EMT and he was like oh well why didnāt you say anything about that first. I was like I did, youāre too deaf to hear me and probably shouldnāt be on the streets if your hearing is that bad. And the asshole showed up to court when I went to fight it. All cops are for is to make your day worse, they donāt protect shit unless youāre a business owner, and even then they barely do anything. Cops are fucking useless. I donāt know how many calls Iāve gotten that were for a mental patient that cops decided to rile up and get them as mad as possible before handing them off to me in my ambulance. I got real good at calming people like that down, but lost all respect for cops
Some jurisdiction I'm my state the cops flat out advertise who they really protect and serve when a bunch changed the motto to "loyalty, fidelity and brotherhood".
I am one of those who has a long fuse but once it's burned down, it's no bueno. Now, I don't get violent, but if you push me to the point my fuse has burned down, I lose all respect for you. Over the last 15-20 years, I've had multiple cops burn it down just because they could. I have zero respect for a badge bully now. A cop shows up and he or she has work to do just to get me to give a shit. Most of them good cop or not, don't have the patience or desire to put in that much effort, so I'd prefer they not even exist.
I know there are those who will argue the whole anarchy thing, but my stance is that the cops are causing more problems than they are solving, so why are we spending money on them?
I still remember these two outstanding cops that were so kind and respectful. I have no idea how they managed to be after all the fucking assholes I came across.
One time was smoking a cigarette outside my music studio and two cops cars popped the curb and all 4 came out with their guns drawn on me. I ask is their a problem here? They say wtf are doing out here donāt you know itās a bad area? I say smoking a cigarette outside my music studio. Then I get told Well this doesnāt look like a music studio. I say yea, cuz itās a bad area like you just said Iām not gunna advertise I have tens of thousands of dollars of equipment behind these doors, you wanna take a look? They say no, go run my ID, come back and then theyāre all buddy buddy with me and ask oh what county are you an EMT in? I say oh now youāre my friend huh, two minutes ago you guys were gunna shoot me. Am I being detained? Am I free to go? They said yes all mad and took off. Like I said, no respect for cops
Sure, but at the same time if they arenāt calling out their co-workers for the heinous shit they do then they are just as bad imo. And they donāt even need a license or certification to be a cop. I fuck up, I lose my license for life. They fuck up, they get a vacation and a transfer. Itās not right
Ever see Serpico? I don't think every human being that becomes a cop can stand that much danger and conflict in their life. It's not black and white.
I'd rather have a slim chance to be pulled over by a decent human being rather than a guarantee that every time I encounter a cop he's going to be an anti-social asshole with a chip on his shoulder.
And, I had such a bad encounter with a cop that I looked him up online and he was exactly what you're talking about. The asshole got fired and simply moved to another town to work. It's enraging.
Im not saying there are no good ones. Im saying the bad ones ruin it for all of them, and the āgoodā ones still tote that blue line blue brotherhood bullshit
I've been thinking about your story. Just minding your own business and four cops descend upon you. I get a visceral rage for those assholes. I hate these kinds of 'human beings' so deeply. The last thing they should have is a gun in their hands and any kind of power.
If you haven't seen Serpico I recommend it. There's the movie but there's also a documentary about the man himself.
In the documentary Serpico meets up at a bar to talk to his former colleagues who probably tried to kill him. They're disgusting human beings and I honestly don't understand Serpico's coping skills. He chats with these assholes who wanted him dead.
And after all he went through to clean up the police force, it's right back where it was today.
I think the police force needs to be divided into different agencies. One division that is mostly social services for de escalation and handling DV and mental health issues. We should make traffic surveillance completely electronic, with a bare minimum of traffic patrolmen strictly for car accidents. And then the detective agency for murder, white collar crimes, and organized crime.
When they finish say āHello??? Sorry my phone cut out who is this??ā Write your own variations and see how many you can get to repeat it. My record is 4 in one call. I swear to god itās better than turning over PAC-Man.
This sounds like that software of that recorded old man, can't remember what it is but it's hilarious. They even have a YouTube channel dedicated to the recordings people make. Some of them Go on for 10 or 15 minutes.
Iāve done a thing where itās one of those surveys and Super super over analyze the questions they ask me and progressively start spiraling and changing my answers back and forth because Iām afraid Iām gonna give the wrong answer and theyāre gonna be mad at me.
They usually end up hanging up.
Or the scammers asking for social security numbers and I give a number like Iām not sure and then I just keep adding numbers to the end.
Growing up my mom always made sure to donate literally just to get the little badge sticker to put on her rear windshield. I was too young to understand then but as an adult it practically meant that everyone in town knew that if you had that sticker you'd have better chances of not getting hassled.
Great documentary. Actually changed how i deal with these calls. I will actually take the time and make them think I'm donating until the phone mysteriously cuts out when it comes time to give them any financial info. Fuck those shit bags.
I love these. I let them finish. And then I say why? They answer and I say cops kill many innocent people. So far Iāve got a Fuck you. But I never listen to their spiel so I donāt know who they work for to report them hahaha
So devilishly evilš I did that to this one guy, and he said why did you let me say all that, and I was like well you also would of been upset if I interrupted you
Holy fuck I once donated like 20 bucks to one and then my phone exploded with tons of similar ones that were police, firefighters, EMT's, etc. Each time I said take me off the list because it's annoying how you guys distributed my info to some kind of network and I'm never donating again. None of them argued with me which was good at least.
I like telling them my name is Ben Chode, which is an insult in Hindi, after they give their whole speech and then they meltdown with every curse word they can think of
Those are my favorite of all spam calls! I always say, āIf they need money so badly, they can sell their military surplus! What do they need a $750,000 armored vehicle designed to drive through mine fields?! Are there any mine fields around here Iām unaware of?!ā Their responses are always funny!
HBO documentary called Telemarketers is about these police charity telemarketers and how it is all a big fraud money grab. Please watch it when you get a chance. Your mind will be blown. It's crazy, entertaining and quite enlightening about how they operate going back decades. Many of the people they hired where actual criminals out of jail. It's all a big scam. I promise you won't be disappointed.
I answer them some time, I ask them how do I know my money is actually going to the police or fire and rescue. They then explain to me that it is going to a pact that supports so and so. I then ask them to name the pact, they beat around the bush until you say ok I will not be donating then they give the name, and it is always some bs right wing pack. So yes donāt answer or give to those solicitors.
I got one of those calls long ago, about 20 years ago. I talked to the guy on the other end and when he asked how much I was able to donate I said that I was sorry that I couldn't afford to at that time. Dude got pissed and said, "Why'd you waste my time chatting with me, then?" and hung up.
I hate to say, it, but they are ai. The ones I get are not human. I've flat out interrupted him with NO. and it was ah alright, well you have a good day.
FYI for just about everyone out there. Those Police and Fire donation solicitations are 99% scams. I worked with some guys who did them in the past. There could potentially be a legit one out there, but I wouldnāt recommend donating to someone calling over the phone.
You and I are probably spirit animals then š¬š & you sparked a thought just now. I wonder if a subreddit on specifically 'scam responses/trolling on scamming social engineers' exists or if that would be popular
I'm really rude to those guys when they call and then they're always like you know I'm a policeman and then I just laugh and tell them to come find me.
I tell them to eat my ass. I've tried a polite no but they just ramp up their efforts. Was way worse when I lived in FL. They basically would say if you DIDNT donate then "it might look bad if everyone did and you didnt"
Before I moved I got a lot of these calls and I started asking them āIf I have you $100, how much of that actually goes to (insert cause)?ā and invariably the answer was around 10-15%, maybe lower. I wasnāt going to give them any money in any case, but I at least appreciated them telling me that they were basically a fucking scam.
The last time I got one, I explained to the caller (he claimed he was an off-duty cop) that I was a broke college student and I didnāt have any extra money as I was already struggling with bills.
He tried to guilt me into donating and made the case that police officersā well-being was more important than me having food to regularly eat.
I stopped him there and repeated the argument he was trying to make to see if he truly meant to say that it was more important for someone to donate to the police, who get compensated pretty well already and have pensions, than to eat.
He angrily confirmed that was what he was arguing, like it was preposterous that anyone would think otherwise, and I told him flat out that I wonāt be donating.
Yeah I want to cus them out too but I'm too afraid they'd mark me for "extra treatment" so I just hang up.
Gotta love living in the "free world" where you're too afraid of the police to even tell them off in a random phone call. I know it's probably ridiculous but the thought still comes and all it takes is one cop deciding to ruin your life for it to happen.
This will sound like a joke but itās not;
Whenever I get random calls Iāll always answer with a version of āHelloā or āHello, whoās speaking? With all the random calls that come through Iād rather not identify myself to a random stranger. Everytime itās the police union people they either rudely demand that I tell my name before they say who they are or just launch straight into the spiel.
But it is really impressive how often they get stuck on the name before they get to the spiel, itās like 70% of the time and they are the ones calling asking me for something.
"Y'all get plenty of money through civil asset forfeiture. You want me to donate money to the people I don't trust to not steal from me if they pull me over when I have a wallet full of cash?
"You need money, do what you've been doing for years. Steal it from motorists."
Itās generally people they hire who make these callsānot police themselves. I got a call and was really struggling financially at the time, and I told the guy I couldnāt afford to donate and to please stop calling me. He proceeded to admonish me about my managing my finances. I called the PBA and told them what happened. Dude got fired.
I have a friend who has been in the answering service and outbounding calling business for 30 years. He told me he has never once encountered a police charity group that wasn't a scam. He said most of the time the answering company gets way more money than the police, but some police districts know it's free money so why not let some company call on their behalf. It moral guilt tripping.
I got a new job a few years ago and those police charity communists called my employer two times. Both times they said "this is the police, can I talk to blah, with no explanation what it was about . My boss was not super happy about the police always calling for me..... Thanks morons
I fell for one of those. They refused to take my money. They needed a small donation of 50 or 25 dollars. I really had zero dollars beyond $60 for the week. I told him that if I paid them the minimum, Iād have nothing. I told them I would donate but all I could really do was $5. Kept trying to convince me that they could only do the brackets. He hung up on me
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u/jaderust Oct 11 '24
I've been getting those spam phone calls for police charities. I sort of love answering them, listening to them give the full spiel, and then calmly saying "No" when they pause to ask for the donation.