SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, or SAPFFA, said scammers have been calling people asking for donations using names that sound remarkably similar to theirs.
"The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association will not ask you for money," said Kirstin Schaffer, public information officer for SAPFFA.
Schaffer said scammers have called people for two years during the SAPFFA's breast cancer fundraiser. She suggested that you ask them for their information, but not divulge your own.
"We will never ask for any type of information over the phone, like your bank card or anything like that," Schaffer said.
Lt. Justin Sifuentes, who works at Fire Station No. 35, said he actually received a call on his cellphone asking for donations from someone claiming to be raising money for a San Antonio firefighter's organization.
"I said, ‘So who are you calling on behalf of?’ I said ‘Well that's interesting, because I happen to be a member of that local association.’ And there was silence and I said, ‘Hello.’ And then click, disconnect," Sifuentes said.
Schaffer grew up in a firefighting home. Her dad is a firefighter in Cincinnati. She said she can't believe someone would scam money in the name of people who risk their lives to save others.
"The fact that there's somebody out there preying on the giving hearts of San Antonians makes me sick," she said.
"For somebody to take advantage of somebody like that, especially using the good name of the fire department … all of us out here are willing to lay down our life any day for the citizens that we serve,” Sifuentes said.
If you get a call from someone asking for donations that somehow relates to the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, you are encouraged to call the SAPFFA's Union Hall. That number is 210-699-9400.
Visit this link for more information: http://www.safirefighters.com/blog/firefighter-charity-scam-targeting-san-antonio.