Get Gephardt Investigates: Who is the 'Police Alliance' and why are they calling?

(KUTV) For their trouble, officers often get the thanks of the communities they serve. Sometimes that gratitude leads to folks donating to police charities and organizations.

There's no shortage to choose from. There are several national organizations and most, if not all, local police departments have some sort of fund-raising apparatus.

People in Utah are getting robo-calls right now from one organization that identifies itself as the Police Officers Support Alliance. The call came to Get Gephardt to investigate who exactly it is that’s making those calls.

Andy Cottam is among the many who received the call.

"Being that it was a recording right off the bat, it wasn't the way to do it. It was kind of obvious that it was a scam," he said.

It is not unheard of for legitimate police organizations to fundraise. Still, a legitimate charity must be registered with both the state of Utah as well as the IRS, as is required by law. Get Gephardt couldn’t find any records of the Police Officers Support Alliance being registered with either.

The Police Officers Support Alliance does have a website which states that it is registered, not as a charity, but rather as a political organization under the name, “For a Better America.”

There is a PAC called ‘For A Better America’ registered with the Federal Election Commission. Filing documents put the PAC in Texas but, on the Police Officers Support Alliance’s website, the organization lists a physical address in Massachusetts. A Google Maps search shows the address is a mailbox inside a UPS store.

The website lists an email address - sort of. It’s, "info (the at sign) posausa (dot) org” - literally spelled out like that.

The website does not list a contact phone number.

Get Gephardt attempted to call back two different numbers from which people in Utah say they got the call. We got recorded messages for both offering ways to be placed on a do-not-call list. Neither identified to whom the number belongs nor allowed us to leave a message.

The Ogden Police department is now warning its city's residents to beware of the call after hearing from people in Ogden who think the call is coming from the Ogden PD.

Captain Danielle Croyle says neither she nor any of the other brass at Ogden PD have ever heard of the Police Officer's Support Alliance.