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Press Release from the
Texas Department of Public Safety

The number of telemarketers claiming to represent Texas DPS, the Troopers or their interests is on the rise.

Neither Texas DPS or the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum employ telemarketers.

Like Texas DPS, we encourage donors to contact the beneficiary organizations directly to confirm affiliation, speak with management (not a telemarketer) and to request documentation of tax exempt status and legitimacy.

Feb. 1, 2006

DPS does not solicit donations

Telemarketers from private organizations claiming to be with the Texas Department of Public Safety have been calling Texas residents in various parts of the state, claiming to be raising funds to help the families of a Texas State Trooper recently killed in the line of duty.

Texas residents should know that the Texas Department of Public Safety NEVER solicits financial contributions from private citizens. DPS is funded from your tax dollars. The DPS will NEVER call you at your home or business to solicit cash donations.

DPS advises you not to give money to these groups, as the funds are not likely to go to the causes that are claimed. DPS does not receive any of these funds, even if the telemarketers say that DPS does.

Some groups include in their names the terms “Texas Rangers,” “State Troopers,” “Texas Highway Patrol” or “Department of Public Safety.” While some officers may be members of some of these associations on their own time, these organizations are not affiliated with the DPS. They are private associations raising money to fund their own programs, some of which may benefit officers and their families.

If you have been contacted by an organization that you believe is misrepresenting itself, you can contact the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at (800) 621-0508.

For additional information about a particular group, you can contact your local Better Business Bureau, which has information on fundraising organizations and the percentage of donations that actually goes toward helping people or projects.