Phone charity scam targets Spanish-speaking residents

The Utah Division of Consumer Protection is warning about a new charity scam that uses phone solicitations to target Spanish-speaking people.

Investigators say callers ask if someone at the number speaks Spanish. When the recipient replies in Spanish, the caller begins a pitch asking for donations for a charity group that teaches immigrants how to speak English. The caller also claims that if someone makes a larger donation, they can help bring the donors' foreign relatives into the United States and then requests that cash donations be sent to them through Western Union.

State investigators say the calls have been coming from a pre-paid cell phone and the charity group does not exist.

The division has a public list of registered Utah charities authorized to solicit funds at www.consumerprotection.utah.gov.