{
  "id": "2006-november-december-records-reveal-ties-behind-charity-scam",
  "slug": "2006-november-december-records-reveal-ties-behind-charity-scam",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-november-december-records-reveal-ties-behind-charity-scam.html",
  "year": 2006,
  "month": "November • December",
  "monthNum": 11,
  "headline": "Records reveal ties behind charity scam",
  "kicker": "SPOTLIGHT: PEOPLE AND PROFILES",
  "author_name": "Ronald Campbell",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "The Orange County Register",
  "summary": "Ronald Campbell investigates how solicitors use sound-alike charity names to collect millions of dollars from unsuspecting donors.",
  "keywords": [
    "charity scam",
    "phone solicitors",
    "fundraising"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Business & Economy",
    "Data & Databases"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "It's 7 p.m. and you're just sitting down to dinner when the phone rings.\n\nAnother phone solicitor.\n\nHe's pitching for the American Deputy Sheriff's Association or the Disabled Firefighters Foundation or the American Veterans Relief Foundation or one of dozens of sound-alike charities.\n\nThese groups use similar names, similar pitches, similar techniques and many of the same organizers to reap tens of millions of dollars annually from American donors. In fact, they are all connected in ways most donors never suspect.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
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      "slug": "2005-marchapril-analysis-shows-feds-claims-about-charity",
      "score": 0.241
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      "score": 0.171
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    {
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      "score": 0.088
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-november-december-records-reveal-ties-behind-charity-scam.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-november-december-records-reveal-ties-behind-charity-scam.json"
}